Comments on: Multitasking is killing me (and probably you too)

By: Dave Crenshaw

Dave Crenshaw — Mon, 23 May 2011 06:45:47 +0000

A couple of studies showed that its impossible to multitask what we really do is switching task rapidly back and forth which creates the illusion that we can multitask. Keeping this up over a long period of time, and you have deeply engrained habits that cause stress and anxiety and dropped responsibilities and a myriad of productivity & focus problems. It’s little wonder so many people complain of increasingly short attention spans!

To learn more about the effects of multitasking, take my free exercise at http://www.davecrenshaw.com/exercise

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:38:10 +0000

This was a good post. I really suck at multitasking and I hate it. I work from home and every time I’m working I make sure that all sort of distractions are turn off in that way I can focus to the tasks at hand.

By: Bruce Taylor

Bruce Taylor — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:35:55 +0000

This was a timely reminder. Thanks Nicole. It’s so easy to lose sight of what matters most by piling up the plate with unimportant tasks.

By: Steven Tew

Steven Tew — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:41:05 +0000

I’m suddeny very aware that I’ve been distracted by this interesting and inspiring blog post. Thanks for sharing. Yhe question now is do I continue with this distraction by reading the research papers you have recommended.

By: Gaston

Gaston — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:32:15 +0000

From watching my partners during the last 4 years I’ve come to the conclusion that all men are not created equal in this respect. One of them is a great multitasker (at least it seems so), the other not so much. Me? I suck at it.

I studied printmaking in art school. This basically means working on just a few pieces of wood or metal for weeks, starting at the same drawing while working patiently. (Printmaking is a 500 year old tradition that hasn’t changed much… and the rhythm is almost monastic). From that I then moved to making websites. Holy crap!

I do miss being able to just do one thing at a time and slowly. I’m still slow, but not as slow as I was before. I have to take phone calls, write emails, and work on 3 or 4 things at a time (though I’m not sure it’s a good idea).

As a very practical solution I propose you look at The Pomodoro Technique (http://www.pomodorotechnique.com). I sometimes forget to really practice it, instead of preaching it, but when I do, I remember how fantastic it is.

The Pomodoro Technique is made for the modern “multitasking” lifestyle. The paradox is that the core of the technique is to NOT multitask for short periods of time. So when you set to do one thing, you shut yourself from anything else, focus on only that one thing, then rest. You can “multitask”, but ONE task at a time.

By: Be here now « Nicholas Zakas' Personal Blog

Be here now « Nicholas Zakas' Personal Blog — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:36:23 +0000

[...] had to do. She had started taking a mindfulness meditation class and really enjoyed it (she then wrote about it on her blog). Around the same time I happened to see Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows (a book [...]

By: Linkdump for August 10th at found_drama

Linkdump for August 10th at found_drama — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:03:57 +0000

[...] Multitasking is killing me (and probably you too) at Stubbornella, and w/r/t/ my recent post about The Shallows — Nicole Sullivan manages to say more of substance in this blog post than Carr does in 250 pages. (Perhaps because of its more personal nature?) (tagged: article blog brain energy essay health lifehacks productivity work psychology ) [...]

By: Janet Edkins

Janet Edkins — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:25:53 +0000

In the middle of my own site redesign, working on I don’t know how many projects (that’s scary in itself that I don’t know how many) trying to do all the small business juggling, marketing accounts, etc.

I really enjoyed the post it made me feel connected again.

Thanks for the reminder about mindfulness – I took a class about 18 months ago and have gradually let the practice drop, for all the usual reasons, same as exercise. I made myself a promise to go back to it even if it’s just 10 mins a day. Thanks once again. Glad I found you on Mashable.

By: Cindy Lowrey

Cindy Lowrey — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:26:40 +0000

Thanks for the post. After 12+ years of office life I will soon be working on my own and out of my home. Thanks for the tips to keeping from going bonkers. Very helpful.

Also – great interview on CSS for The Big Web Show. I loved it!

By: Dale Cruse

Dale Cruse — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:07:36 +0000

Nicole,

I strongly agree with Corey Sunwold’s recommendation of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book “Flow.” It all about being “in the zone.”

Interestingly, basketball legend Michael Jordan said he reached a point that he could slip in & out of “flow” as easily as slipping into or out of a jacket.