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continuous learning

Multitasking v/s Single-tasking

Each team member has important responsibilities that are tailored according to their position. Each employee has certain goals that they must work toward in the allotted amount of time in order to produce the best results possible. However, multitasking becomes one of the most popular strategies to complete tasks more quickly when an employee is under pressure and has a lot to get done in a short amount of time.

One of the most fundamental beliefs is that doing all of the tasks at once would make each one move along more quickly than anticipated. In contrast to this, Devora Zack dispels multitasking stereotypes and explains how single-tasking may help you accomplish more than you might have thought possible in this episode on the How to Be Awesome at Your Job podcast.

Devora starts out by explaining how, in her perspective, multitasking is essentially a myth since, in her opinion, it is not only ineffective but also impossible to process two equally important and concurrently competing things in your mind at the same time. She asserts that individuals frequently conflate task switching and multitasking. Task switching essentially refers to switching between a set number of tasks very fast, whereas multitasking entails completing many things at once.

She believes that this has an adverse effect on both our personal life and the quality of the work we do. The first problem she mentions that arises from multitasking is the lack of productivity. As she describes how multitasking prevents you from getting into the flow of doing one activity with your whole attention, she draws comparisons between multitasking and single-tasking. Multitasking just increases pressure and disrupts your flow of thought and action, which results in unproductive outcomes.

She says that one of the reasons individuals frequently assume they can do numerous things at once is because they fail to take into account the possibility that various projects may require various techniques. She goes on to say that this type of attentional splitting makes people accomplish neither tasks well nor inefficiently, leaving them with average outcomes in the end.

She asserts that many individuals mistakenly believe that if they choose single-tasking, they would be less productive and do fewer tasks. She firmly disagrees with this, arguing that giving a task your whole attention at once allows you to develop a flow that helps you do tasks quickly and effectively. It is far better than hopping between several activities and jumbling all of the chores together to have none of the tasks finished in the end.

Lastly, she also mentions that single-tasking does not always mean performing one task for hours. It simply means giving one thing your whole attention for a certain amount of time before moving on to another.

People often overlook single-tasking considering it an ineffective approach to finish their to-do lists. A completely at odds summary is provided above, emphasizing how single-tasking is considerably superior to multitasking.

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