Multitasking: Working beyond your Limits

The medical director of the popular TV series Grey's Anatomy encouraged the head resident to "learn to delegate" when the medical resident has done a lot of multitasking in the facility. The latter did the delegation apparently but ended up doing the job herself basically because she did not have a sense of trust with the other co-worker. The medical director continued, "Go home to your family or you'll end-up going home to no one…"

Some doctors in the field tend to overlap into their job description due to various reasons. Sometimes they felt that they could do it all most especially when their personality is a competitive one. The know-it- alls , do- it- alls principle does apply to many individuals who are confronted with many issues within work which is becoming unhealthy for them as they continue such multitasking in the organization. In some health facilities, under-staffing provokes employees to fill in the task of the absent person. In the long run, they would have to do their work while eating, abuse or push the methods of modern technology to its maximum; create conflicts with other co-workers (because of overlapping responsibilities) and putting their own health at risk. The same is through to other work environments- nurses in the health care facility, financial analysts, call center agents, etc. Almost all work environments today have multitaskers and their kind is greatly preferred and encouraged.

Today's knowledge-based economy, multitaskers are the most in-demand type of people. Yet, their value to the company can only be measured through organized processes. Multitaskers must learn the principle of "work-life balance" in order to achieve the so-called company objectives. Bosses love these people undeniably because it is the trend of today's modern lifestyle in the advent of modern technology. Just because there is technology, does not always have to push humans to adapt with technology. Isn't it that technology should be used to aide humans with their work and that humans must not be the ones fitting himself into existing technology? Ironically, humans are the ones adapting with the advent of modern living hence the word "upgrade" does not always apply with technology but to humans as well. He or she undergoes professional enhancement or worse, work outside of his or her qualifications thus re-creating a figure of him as the living robot of the century. The more he does multitasking, the more he compromises his quality of work because it is a fact that the human brain literally shuts down when it can't handle all the processes that it needs to act upon. John Arden, a psychologist and Dr. Glenn Wilson, commissioned by HP in 2005 have correlated findings regarding multitasking and memory. In their separate findings, Wilson showed that an average worker's functioning IQ drops to 10 points which may lead to sluggishness posting greater health risk in chronicity while Arden stated that "Multitasking decreases memory ability" which will allow a demonstration of "divided attention', another similar concept that will cause "shifting from one activity to another".

Reasons for Multitasking

1. Out of Desperation

Time is an element in which an individual has no control of. He cannot prolong time, stop it nor turn it back so that could do more tasks in an hour or a minute. The inclusion of "time management and planning or realistic schedules" is an efficient way to avoid "cramming". When a task is given ahead of deadlines, one should plan to finish it ahead of schedule to avoid going through desperation. One thing more, one should not accept additional assignments when a certain project has not yet materialized or it requires total attention. Prioritization is a keyword and "quality" should always come first when results are being talked about.

2. Impulsively

Most people are easily interrupted by ringing phones, text message alerts, fax machines while meeting or discussing a certain issue with a co-worker or a boss. An ability to control "technology" to answer the demands of a current problem requiring human interaction is a plus in order to put multitasking to a proper basket. Impulsively, interrupts communication and becomes a moving obstacle in gaining effective feedbacks from sender and receptor, vice-versa. When you have experienced stating, "Where were we?" after taking too much call, one is on a verge of multitasking impulsively.

3. Pride

David Mayer, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan stressed that "Many people delusionaly believe that they are good at this." He explains that the brain is only equipped to do heavy-duty multitasking. Although people are asked to do multiple things, they would need a superhuman ability which is only true when one performs two activities that require the use of the same part of the brain. So does it apply to one reading a financial report while making love to his spouse? This would be futile.

As the three experts suggests, multitasking could result to serious health risks. Further it affects one's level of concentration or focus. You can just imagine how many of these people who gets a car accident while answering their mobile phones. Scientifically speaking, stress hormones play an integral part in straining the human body. Drugs (like sleeping pills, vitamins and supplements) mistakenly taken to boost the body's defenses could result to even more serious problems like dependency and addiction. Occupational safety and Health researchers confirmed that with this biologic changes, it would contribute to headaches, sleep problems, stomach problems when in acute phase but for long term effects, could lead to heart diseases, depression and back pain to name a few.

Time magazine in an article about "Inflammatory responses" also affirms that chemicals produced in response to the body's stress leads to many debilitating diseases of the century like diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases.

Aside from this, multitasking is a significant factor to brain cell permanent damage which would latter make a person have difficulty doing one thing at a time.

Work-Life Balance Promise

Work-Life balance is concept that has been gaining buzz in most contemporary organizations. Little emphasis on work-life balance creates influence to employers' attitudes, behavior and values in the workplace. This concept could be an answer to addressing multitasking problems; wherein an employer or employee, who has not been able to balance these two core concept: work and life, tend to resort to multitasking. Balancing to avoid multitasking can be achieved by engaging in a formal work-life planning process in a structured disciplined manner. The measures could be allowing alternative working arrangements like flexi-time work arrangements. It is a promising solution which would decrease tension between superior and subordinates, creates more responsibility and empathy in the workplace.

The benefit of work-life balance is owed to policies developed that includes family or simply goes with the principle of family-friendly policies. This would result to a wide array of solutions from reducing employee absences, better staff retention, easier recruitment or filling of positions, improvements in morale, commitment and productivity of the employees.

As a conclusion, truly an answer to this multitasking problem is to stay organized and avoiding putting work on hold for tomorrow. Thus, tasks are done during the course of the day and decreases piling of work loads. When you are working on a project, control technology like ignoring your cell phone when it rings, your IM when it pings, and focus. Take a break: have a brief walk, take a nap, browse the net for fun in less than ten minutes, and sip tea to calm your nerves as the experts say. Focus on one task at a time. Don't be pressured and resist the urge to do multitasking.