SST® Newsletter
April 2007
Unmasking the Multitasking Myth
In the early days of my consulting career, I recall working with a technology company on their strategic plan. When we got to the Opportunities part of our SWOT1, the CEO wrote www on a flip chart. Showing off all the reasons why they hired me, I asked: “What is that?”
It was 1994 and the world was different. We didn’t have the information super highway. Nor did we have iPods, camera phones, PDAs or instant messaging.
Thirteen years later, we have more devices designed for convenience and to enhance productivity. But do we have more time? Or are we tied down with electronic tethers? Is the quality of life really better when a cell phone rings in the middle of a concert? Am I the only guy who sometimes wants to reduce the cacophony in a restaurant by ripping the mobile phone away from an ill-mannered diner?
Not too long ago, I saw the off-Broadway show: I Love You. You’re Perfect. Now Change. Before the show started, one of the actors addressed the audience and said:
“We love you. You are perfect. And all of that will change if your cell phone goes off!”
Those who have participated in one of our workshops know that we kick things off with a similar announcement. However, it is not unusual now to get a little push back accompanied with the assertion that younger learners can multitask.
Guess what: multitasking is a myth.
Research reported in the New York Times (March 26, 2007) concludes that:
“Multitasking is going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes. Disruptions and interruptions are a bad deal from the standpoint of our ability to process information.” David Meyer, Cognitive Scientist, University of Michigan.
The same article reports research that a group of workers at Microsoft:
“..took on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks like writing reports or computer code after responding to an incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment sites.”
Now think of what that does in a workshop when one or more participants checks out for an average of 15 minutes at a time. It is devastating!
Partner Harry Koolen and I always make the observation that a successful workshop is one where we learn as much as the participants. We do not pretend to be the only resource in the room. When a workshop participant is checking e-mail, he is unfairly depriving the other participants of his contributions to our subject.
Do you believe multitasking can be done better by younger workers? That seems to be the conventional wisdom. Well, think again because that too is a myth.
In a study conducted at the Future of the Mind at Oxford University (reported in the same New York Times article), researchers found that the older group performed just as well as the younger one in completing mental tasks when interrupted by a cell phone or instant message. The caveat, however, is that it does not mean anyone actually performs better. Instead, the study revealed that performance for both groups dropped 10 percent when they were required to multitask.
Since this is the SST Newsletter, it is appropriate to put a personality type spin on multitasking. We know that Extraverts are more prone to distraction when working. When the phone rings, Introverts feel disrupted. But we Extraverts usually welcome a ringing phone and are anxious to pick it up. The take away here is that, if you are Extraverted, you may want to pay special heed to these recommendations:
1 SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats