Don’t believe the hype: multitasking is for PCs not people. Learn how to free up your frenetic workload

Trying to keep your plates spinning or continually juggling to ensure all the balls stay up in play? Then it sounds like you are already the star performer in the melodrama of multitasking.

Simply put, multitasking is trying to do too many things at once. It may be answering the phone, reading your emails and making a list, all at the same time, or trying to handle too many projects at once, or even cramming in a busy social life on top of an already demanding job. Pressure in the modern workplace leads many of us to think that if we can do two things at once, we could save time, take on more and be more satisfied. What actually happens is that more mistakes are made, so we have to do tasks more than once, effectively lowering our achievement levels and creating frustration for those we work with and ourselves.

In today’s workplace, the skill of multitasking has been elevated to a quality to aspire to. It is made out to be a skill that we should all master. But in reality, it is a style that can spiral out of control and dump us in some sticky situations.

There are many reasons why multitasking is expected. Our pace of life has speeded up. We have more opportunities, higher expectations and everything is expected in an instant – fast travel, fast food, instant information and instant communication. But tasks take time, whether you are doing them for yourself or someone else.

So how can we opt out of starring in the melodrama of multitasking and improve our performance at work?

Next page: tips on how to direct your drama away from a crisis

Focus and finish

• Concentrate on one task at a time and complete it before moving on to the next.
• Try to handle each piece of paper only once, deal with it rather than shuffling it around your desk.
  
  
• If you are in the middle of a conversation, don’t interrupt it by starting another, until you have finished the first.
  
  
• Know your limits and learn to say NO.
  
  
• Concentrate on the present. The ability to stay focused will give you a sense of accomplishment as you see the completed tasks grow. It can also help you enjoy life more, by applying this principle to every activity you do. If you are taking a bath then focus on that moment and don’t waste it by thinking about what you should or could be doing instead. Precious times are lost when we forget to focus on the moment in hand.

Plan and prioritise

• Slow down and take time out. Life’s hectic pace is wearing us out. In a recent survey of 200 GPs, a third of them said that they had seen a 50% rise in the number of worn out young people in the past two years.
  
  
• The experience of low energy can last for weeks, if not months. So, set aside time in your day to plan your activities. Without this time, you will always be responding to the urgent, which is not always the important. Work out what is important to you and make sure that you give enough time to your important tasks.
  
  
• Build into your schedule time for yourself. These are stress-free periods when you can relax and redress the balance of a busy lifestyle.

Next page: more great tips

Simplify and socialise

• Look at what you are trying to achieve in your life. Are you being over ambitious or too diverse? If you have too many calls upon your time then you will struggle to attend to any of them well.
  
  
• What can you give up, (maybe just for a time), in order to simplify your life? One activity worth hanging on to is spending time with good friends.
  
  
• A good social network in one of the most important and effective insulators against stress. A chat with a good friend will ward off depression, relieve tension and can sometimes yield some practical help.

Take a break. Chat to other like-minded souls.