Multitasking or Hyper-Focusing - There is No Middle Ground for Me
-
So I've been doing a lot of thinking about how people work. I've observed how people around me work and also thought back to how I work and kind of compared and contrasted. What I've noticed:
Most people seem to work on one thing at a time. In my experience, most people will work on one ticket/case at a time, and they are focused at a normal person's level, which means they are still aware of the world around them. Once they complete that task, they move on or they get as far as they can and make a note of where they left of.
Most people can't hold multiple conversations. I have also noticed that most people can only hold one conversation at a time. Whether this is by phone, chat or in-person, the vast majority of people I've seen can only be doing one at a time. If they try to do more, they seem to get very flustered very quickly.
Most people think multi-tasking means you are slacking/not being productive. This has seemed to be the general consensus among many people, including co-workers and supervisors.
--
I find these things to be both interesting and disturbing. In regards to me:
I either multi-task when I'm working normally or I hyper-focus. I have found that me doing only one task at a time is bad for me. The reason is that if I try to do only one thing at a time, I either become distracted or bored. Multi-tasking actually allows me to accomplish things the way most people accomplish things by doing one thing at a time. The other problem is that when I do hyper-focus and go full-blown OCD on something, the outside world around me disappears. I become completely engulfed in what I'm doing and I've had people talking to me for several minutes before they realized I couldn't even hear them and they had to physically touch me to let me know they were there. This can be beneficial when dealing with tough issues, but it's dangerous for me because I can not move from a spot for 8 hours and have no idea that the time has passed.
I usually have 3-4 conversations going at any given time. I am often on the phone and holding at least two or three different chat conversations while I'm on the phone. Or, if I'm not on the phone, I'm listening to the multiple conversations going on around me while I chat with other people via IM. Even when I'm talking to someone face-to-face, I'm usually hearing the other conversations around me at the same time. This is not something I do consciously (when talking face-to-face) but just do without trying. I actually have to make a real effort to fully dedicate my attention to someone if we're talking face-to-face.
Multi-tasking keeps me productive. I mentioned it earlier but multi-tasking keeps me moving. My biggest problem is when I stop moving and then can't get going again. I will openly admit I'm not perfect at this. Sometimes I will start doing a task while doing something else and I start to hyper-focus on the secondary task. I've gotten much better over the past couple years about not doing this, although I still have a long way to go. However, as a rule, jumping to and from task to task and going back and forth keeps me sharp and fresh. It prevents any one task from getting stale and therefore boring. I know many people will see it as something that decreases productivity, but for me it's the opposite. Still haven't found a good way to explain that to supervisors...
So my question: am I the only one like this or is there anyone else out there similar to me? I've seen @scottalanmiller work and I know he's often doing several things at once. @Minion-Queen is ALWAYS multi-tasking but I also know that she works much better when she can go from single task to single task. Her problem is just not having the time.
So, what's it like for everyone else?
Thanks,
A.J. -
multi-tasking generally means you aren't doing any of the tasks as well as you could be. You are being productive but, not producing the quality of work you should.
-
@thecreativeone91 that isn't necessarily true. People like @scottalanmiller have to have more than one thing to do at a time or nothing gets done at all.
-
@Minion-Queen said:
@thecreativeone91 that isn't necessarily true. People like @scottalanmiller have to have more than one thing to do at a time or nothing gets done at all.
Yeah, I've found that's how it is for me too. @thecreativeone91, that is the common feeling I find among most people, but it's a bias that is true for most people but not all. People like @scottalanmiller and I are just the opposite.
-
I find that it depends on what I am working on... If I am doing helpdesk tickets, then I can do several things at once. If I am working on a project type thing, then I am laser focused and xx amount of time could pass before I even realize it.
However, I have to practice maintaining my awareness to my surroundings due to a hearing problem. Folks can't really sneak up on me too much because I have a wide peripheral vision, lol.
-
Yeah, really depends what I am doing. If writing or coding, I can only do one thing. But a lot of the time I am doing interrupt driven work and when doing so multitasking is the only way to get things done.
-
While the traditional wisdom is that multi-tasking is just task switching, there is some evidence that some people can do it (or are so fast at task switching that nobody can tell the difference):
http://www.businessinsider.com/multitasker-test-tells-you-if-you-are-one-of-the-2-2014-5 -
@thecreativeone91 said:
multi-tasking generally means you aren't doing any of the tasks as well as you could be. You are being productive but, not producing the quality of work you should.
This is exactly it. I tell my boss I can do one thing at a time really well, two kinda mediocre and I'm a real pro at bungling anything over 3-4. This is why we have tickets so we can time prioritize.
-
@Nic said:
While the traditional wisdom is that multi-tasking is just task switching, there is some evidence that some people can do it (or are so fast at task switching that nobody can tell the difference):
http://www.businessinsider.com/multitasker-test-tells-you-if-you-are-one-of-the-2-2014-5Under some conditions I am able to write posts and talk to people at the same time.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@Nic said:
While the traditional wisdom is that multi-tasking is just task switching, there is some evidence that some people can do it (or are so fast at task switching that nobody can tell the difference):
http://www.businessinsider.com/multitasker-test-tells-you-if-you-are-one-of-the-2-2014-5Under some conditions I am able to write posts and talk to people at the same time.
Part of the trick seems to be to use different sensory modalities, as they appear to have separate working memory in your brain. For instance it's very hard to count two different counters at the same time, but if you do one using your inner monologue, and one using your inner eye visualizing a ticker scrolling past, most people can manage to do that with some practice.
-
Yes, when I type and talk it is two very different parts of my brain in action. I can also do "copy typing" where I read something and type it and my brain never acknowledges it. I read the letters and my fingers type them but I don't know a single work that I have typed.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
Yes, when I type and talk it is two very different parts of my brain in action. I can also do "copy typing" where I read something and type it and my brain never acknowledges it. I read the letters and my fingers type them but I don't know a single work that I have typed.
You and I are so much alike it's kinda scary...
-
It's not unusual. For tasks that your brain is familiar with it can use it's sub-concious part and still use the concious part for other things. Like having the ability to drive a car, listen to the radio, and talk at the same time - everyone can do that. You just turn on your brain's autopilot to drive the car. When you've written as many forum posts as Scott, then your brain is bound to use it's sub-concious part to do it. But there's probably only a handful of people in the world that have written that many posts.
I can type and talk at the same time, which occasionally dazzles my colleagues. But I've been typing for over 30 years now. Some of the mutlitasking that my 9 year old can do whilst playing Minecraft dazzles me. I guess that his brain is getting programmed differently to how mine was at his age, which may or may not turn out to be a good thing.
I get really annoyed when I'm reading a book and my mind starts thinking about something else. I carry on reading then at the end of the chapter I realise that even though I've read every word, I have no idea what I've just read and have to start again.
-
@Carnival-Boy said:
I get really annoyed when I'm reading a book and my mind starts thinking about something else. I carry on reading then at the end of the chapter I realise that even though I've read every word, I have no idea what I've just read and have to start again.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that happens to!
-
@thanksajdotcom said:
@Carnival-Boy said:
I get really annoyed when I'm reading a book and my mind starts thinking about something else. I carry on reading then at the end of the chapter I realise that even though I've read every word, I have no idea what I've just read and have to start again.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that happens to!
Happens to me constantly. -
@mlnews only happens to me when I'm... uh... altered in some form.
-
@MattSpeller said:
@mlnews only happens to me when I'm... uh... altered in some form.
It's my norm...I have a real hard time reading.
-
@thanksajdotcom said:
@MattSpeller said:
@mlnews only happens to me when I'm... uh... altered in some form.
It's my norm...I have a real hard time reading.
I usually put music on when I read to help alleviate this. It gives my mind something to be distracted by so I can focus.
-
@thanksajdotcom said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
@MattSpeller said:
@mlnews only happens to me when I'm... uh... altered in some form.
It's my norm...I have a real hard time reading.
I usually put music on when I read to help alleviate this. It gives my mind something to be distracted by so I can focus.
The trick is finding a song and putting it on one song repeat. It needs to be the same thing over and over. If I use a playlist or shuffle, the constantly changing music is distracting without helping me focus.
