Is Multitasking a Myth?

It is often said that women are great at multitasking and men are just, well...not.  That's what I have always thought was the case in my household. My hubby isn't really a multitasker (unless you include checking Facebook in the bathroom while bathing the kids) but I am the type of person who isn't satisfied unless they are doing a million things at one time. Until recently, I thought I was a fantastic multitasker.

As I said, I am often trying to do a million things at once. Like making my dinner and another meal for a sick friend; or talking on the phone while I make lunch for the kids; or brushing my teeth while I make the bed. It was that last one that hit me last week. Making the bed while brushing my teeth. Imagine for a moment how that might work? It doesn't.

Here I was congratulating myself for my wonderful multitasking and the reality is I can do two things at once but one of those tasks suffers while I attend to the other one.Yes I can have my toothbrush in my mouth while I made the bed, but there was no brushing going on while I make that bed.

I need one of these over the bed
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/motorized-toothbrush-leaves-hands-free-for-shaving/

It made me consider all of my so called multitasking efforts. Sure, it felt good to "kill two birds with one stone" by doing the tasks at the some time but was I really achieving more? Or am I just taking the same amount of time to do each task. Or worse still am I making both of the tasks take longer because I am not focused on either of the tasks?

There is truth in the claim that women can multitask, but I think it has to do with the ability to attend to more than one (I heard up to seven) source of information. This is definitely true in my household. Read more about this in my Don't Talk Through the Sport News Post. I can read something, listen to my hubby and listen to the kids at the same time and get most of the information. However when it comes to household tasks I fail miserably.

Lately, I have been trying to see the times where I am attempting to multitask. I try to stop myself and focus on one task at a time. It is is actually really hard. I think that I have almost conditioned myself to not be able to concentrate on one task. It is almost as though I need to be distracted or I get bored with just doing a single task.

I don't know if I will ever achieve the ability to focus on one task at a time. At the very least, I have realised the importance of slowing down and taking it one task at a time.

Are you a multi-tasker? Or do you also think it is a myth?


 

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