Homo Multitaskingus: multitasking person
People who do several things at the same time seem to us to be simply efficiency gurus. But sometimes it happens as in a joke: “Yes, I type 300 characters per minute. True, such nonsense is obtained. " Do you want to be effective or to them?
We can simultaneously enjoy an audiobook, disassemble a mailbox and help a child solve math examples. But we will perform one action better and others worse. The fact is that the brain does not solve problems in parallel and at the same time. It switches between them using its structures: the prefrontal cortex, frontal lobes and so on.
Almost a year ago, we already discussed the myths about multitasking . Today we will talk about the connection of our "multifunctionality" and attention.
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Harm multitasking
• People who consider themselves to be multi-tasking, have a lower density of brain cells in the anterior cingulate cortex (the area responsible for empathy, emotional and cognitive control). In other words, if we are sprayed on several cases at the same time, then involuntarily we become callous to other people's problems and stop controlling our emotions. Perhaps that is why we growl at others in the very flurry of affairs and we are not worried about their difficulties.
• Decreases mental factor. According to the University of London, at the time of multitasking, IQ of an adult man is reduced by 15 points, which corresponds to the level of an 8-year-old child. Therefore, when composing an important letter to clients during a seminar or a meeting, remember that the quality of work will invariably suffer.
• Difficult to return to previous activities. After checking the email, the brain needs more than a minute to return to the previous lesson. If you check your mail or social network 10 times within an hour, then feel free to deduct ten minutes from your working time. And Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, is tightening the framework. She says that every person’s distraction from a classroom costs him 23 minutes and 15 seconds — that is how long it takes the brain to tune in to the task that has been started.
• Decreases the quality of task performance. The specialist will try to do well the actions that are worse. And the fact that he is a real pro will be made worse than it could be. For example, a copywriter who perfectly writes texts and simultaneously performs the duties of a marketer, an Internet analyst and a designer will eventually stop creating interesting articles.
• Switching depletes the brain. To focus on the task, the brain needs glucose. But she also needs the brain to switch to another activity. Choose what you will spend on such valuable fuel.
Igor Polonsky, director and founder of the Director's Event agency, thinking about working in multitasking mode, says: “If you build a system in which an individual is responsible for each function, there is no place for a multitasking employee. For some time, he can still work, but in the end he will lose to highly specialized colleagues who cope with each individual task more efficiently and faster. ” The results of the agency confirm these words: in the first year about 12 projects were implemented, in the second - more than 40 projects.
We will not hide - we like to proudly consider ourselves a multi-tasking person. It is proved that people who are prone to multitasking are less effective, but they feel more emotional satisfaction from the illusion of productive work.
I believe that there are no people prone to multitasking. There are those who are better able to switch between tasks due to the developed properties of attention. My switching is not well developed. Yes, I can listen to music, cook chops and think about the layout of the article. But if I turn off the stove, turn down the sound and take a notebook with a pencil in my hands, the outline of the article will be ready much faster. Ay, I just hear some of you say: "And on the contrary, I work better under Rammstein." Well, it's amazing what you say here)) Listen to yourself, find the environment in which you feel comfortable and create it on purpose. But at the same time it is useful to take into account the properties of attention.
Attention: what is it?
Attention is the focus and focus of consciousness on an important business for a person. Hearing the sounds of the salute outside the window, you will unwittingly distract from this article, as the brain switches to fireworks and even beckons you to see what is happening. But conscious switching is important for work.
Attention Properties
• Switching. Switching attention conscious and should be associated with the formulation of a new goal. Good news - this property can be trained!
• Concentration. It means how much a person is able to plunge into his own business and not be distracted by extraneous noises. The higher the concentration, the harder it is to switch.
• Stability. This is the duration of concentration or concentration. This property depends on the regular appearance of new impressions. Generate interest in the material, connect the essence of the work with your needs, create a comfortable working environment.
• Distribution. A vivid example is car driving training. It is necessary to perform several actions at the same time: look in the rear and side view mirrors, switch the speed, and even keep an eye on whether you are going in that direction. And if at this time the phone is ringing and the child is screaming in the back seat, then it is very difficult to distribute attention.
• Volume. This is the number of separate objects that we are able to perceive clearly and clearly at the same time. On average, it is 3-5 objects.
Working in multitasking mode involves the use of the properties of attention to the fullest - we keep the necessary tasks in the field of attention, we steadily concentrate on each of them, distribute our attention in the right parts and switch between tasks.
Different activities are based on different properties of attention. For example, high concentration is important to the editor and proofreader. The teacher or workshop facilitator needs the ability to effectively distribute attention. The better developed each property, the better we focus on work. And the more effectively we execute it.
What to do?
The secret of imaginary multitasking in the right combination of tasks themselves. An important rule is that at least one action should be carried out automatically . If you are fluent in English, then it will not be so difficult to sculpt a letter in English and answer periodic questions from colleagues. And colleagues will be surprised: "How can he do several things at once?"
Practical tips:
1. Make a plan for the day. Do not contain more cases than you can master, and delegate some tasks in general to others.
2. Set priorities. To help you, the Eisenhower matrix with its important / unimportant and urgent / non-urgent matters.
3. Compose the work blocks based on the main rule of multitasking - automatic action. Switching attention from uninteresting and less important work to interesting and more significant is easier. Therefore, first “eat the frogs”.
4. Set only one main task per day. So you will avoid chaos and vanity.
5. Use mnemonic techniques - associations, rhymes, letter codes, acronyms, consonance, storytelling, and so on. This will make it easier for the brain to switch from one case to another.
6. Practice your attention properties. Find the differences in the pictures, look for numbers in the tables for speed and so on.
7. Ignore the extra information, try to protect yourself from it. When I search for information on the Internet, there is always a temptation to enter the entertainment portal. But I hold on.
Most of the participants of the SmartProgress service to achieve their goals make an action plan for the day, week, month or even year. And then, making sure of the convenience of the service, they set several goals for themselves. Remember the main rule of multitasking: at least one action is performed on the machine . And much greater success can be achieved if the right distribution of power and attention.
We can simultaneously enjoy an audiobook, disassemble a mailbox and help a child solve math examples. But we will perform one action better and others worse. The fact is that the brain does not solve problems in parallel and at the same time. It switches between them using its structures: the prefrontal cortex, frontal lobes and so on.
Almost a year ago, we already discussed the myths about multitasking . Today we will talk about the connection of our "multifunctionality" and attention.
')
Harm multitasking
• People who consider themselves to be multi-tasking, have a lower density of brain cells in the anterior cingulate cortex (the area responsible for empathy, emotional and cognitive control). In other words, if we are sprayed on several cases at the same time, then involuntarily we become callous to other people's problems and stop controlling our emotions. Perhaps that is why we growl at others in the very flurry of affairs and we are not worried about their difficulties.
• Decreases mental factor. According to the University of London, at the time of multitasking, IQ of an adult man is reduced by 15 points, which corresponds to the level of an 8-year-old child. Therefore, when composing an important letter to clients during a seminar or a meeting, remember that the quality of work will invariably suffer.
• Difficult to return to previous activities. After checking the email, the brain needs more than a minute to return to the previous lesson. If you check your mail or social network 10 times within an hour, then feel free to deduct ten minutes from your working time. And Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, is tightening the framework. She says that every person’s distraction from a classroom costs him 23 minutes and 15 seconds — that is how long it takes the brain to tune in to the task that has been started.
• Decreases the quality of task performance. The specialist will try to do well the actions that are worse. And the fact that he is a real pro will be made worse than it could be. For example, a copywriter who perfectly writes texts and simultaneously performs the duties of a marketer, an Internet analyst and a designer will eventually stop creating interesting articles.
• Switching depletes the brain. To focus on the task, the brain needs glucose. But she also needs the brain to switch to another activity. Choose what you will spend on such valuable fuel.
Igor Polonsky, director and founder of the Director's Event agency, thinking about working in multitasking mode, says: “If you build a system in which an individual is responsible for each function, there is no place for a multitasking employee. For some time, he can still work, but in the end he will lose to highly specialized colleagues who cope with each individual task more efficiently and faster. ” The results of the agency confirm these words: in the first year about 12 projects were implemented, in the second - more than 40 projects.
We will not hide - we like to proudly consider ourselves a multi-tasking person. It is proved that people who are prone to multitasking are less effective, but they feel more emotional satisfaction from the illusion of productive work.
I believe that there are no people prone to multitasking. There are those who are better able to switch between tasks due to the developed properties of attention. My switching is not well developed. Yes, I can listen to music, cook chops and think about the layout of the article. But if I turn off the stove, turn down the sound and take a notebook with a pencil in my hands, the outline of the article will be ready much faster. Ay, I just hear some of you say: "And on the contrary, I work better under Rammstein." Well, it's amazing what you say here)) Listen to yourself, find the environment in which you feel comfortable and create it on purpose. But at the same time it is useful to take into account the properties of attention.
Attention: what is it?
Attention is the focus and focus of consciousness on an important business for a person. Hearing the sounds of the salute outside the window, you will unwittingly distract from this article, as the brain switches to fireworks and even beckons you to see what is happening. But conscious switching is important for work.
Attention Properties
• Switching. Switching attention conscious and should be associated with the formulation of a new goal. Good news - this property can be trained!
• Concentration. It means how much a person is able to plunge into his own business and not be distracted by extraneous noises. The higher the concentration, the harder it is to switch.
• Stability. This is the duration of concentration or concentration. This property depends on the regular appearance of new impressions. Generate interest in the material, connect the essence of the work with your needs, create a comfortable working environment.
• Distribution. A vivid example is car driving training. It is necessary to perform several actions at the same time: look in the rear and side view mirrors, switch the speed, and even keep an eye on whether you are going in that direction. And if at this time the phone is ringing and the child is screaming in the back seat, then it is very difficult to distribute attention.
• Volume. This is the number of separate objects that we are able to perceive clearly and clearly at the same time. On average, it is 3-5 objects.
Working in multitasking mode involves the use of the properties of attention to the fullest - we keep the necessary tasks in the field of attention, we steadily concentrate on each of them, distribute our attention in the right parts and switch between tasks.
Different activities are based on different properties of attention. For example, high concentration is important to the editor and proofreader. The teacher or workshop facilitator needs the ability to effectively distribute attention. The better developed each property, the better we focus on work. And the more effectively we execute it.
What to do?
The secret of imaginary multitasking in the right combination of tasks themselves. An important rule is that at least one action should be carried out automatically . If you are fluent in English, then it will not be so difficult to sculpt a letter in English and answer periodic questions from colleagues. And colleagues will be surprised: "How can he do several things at once?"
Practical tips:
1. Make a plan for the day. Do not contain more cases than you can master, and delegate some tasks in general to others.
2. Set priorities. To help you, the Eisenhower matrix with its important / unimportant and urgent / non-urgent matters.
3. Compose the work blocks based on the main rule of multitasking - automatic action. Switching attention from uninteresting and less important work to interesting and more significant is easier. Therefore, first “eat the frogs”.
4. Set only one main task per day. So you will avoid chaos and vanity.
5. Use mnemonic techniques - associations, rhymes, letter codes, acronyms, consonance, storytelling, and so on. This will make it easier for the brain to switch from one case to another.
6. Practice your attention properties. Find the differences in the pictures, look for numbers in the tables for speed and so on.
7. Ignore the extra information, try to protect yourself from it. When I search for information on the Internet, there is always a temptation to enter the entertainment portal. But I hold on.
Most of the participants of the SmartProgress service to achieve their goals make an action plan for the day, week, month or even year. And then, making sure of the convenience of the service, they set several goals for themselves. Remember the main rule of multitasking: at least one action is performed on the machine . And much greater success can be achieved if the right distribution of power and attention.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/305636/
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