Passion, Purpose & Profit: Can You Really Multi-Task?
Don Roulo is the CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer) of Life Quest. He is a life, career and business coach as well as a Certified 48 Days Workshop Facilitator. He travels nationally and internationally to conduct business and career training as well as marriage and family workshops.
By DON ROULO
Does this sound like you? On the phone … looking for your youngest child who is playing hide and seek … cooking dinner … putting the clothes in the dryer.
Or, does this sound like you? Researching a work project on the computer … answering the phone … a co-worker steps into your office asking for you agenda notes from a meeting you had yesterday … wiping up spilled coffee on your desk.
It seems we all multi-task now. Our cell phones have pushed us to multi-task on a single device. Our phones have gone from a simple phone ‘for important things only’ to texting, Facebook, email, weather updates and more.
I realize we seem to be doing five or six things at once, but is it really possible? Most of us can physically do a couple of things at the same time. Most of us can listen to the radio and type an email. Most of us can watch TV and post something on Facebook about the movie we are watching.
However, are we really multi-tasking? I recently read an article which debunks the pride we may get from multi-tasking. The article addressed how our brains really work as it relates to a task we are doing. I was surprised to find it saying we cannot technically multi-task. This really did come as a shock to me, because I fancy myself to be pretty good at doing several things at one time.
The article simply said our brains can only focus on one thing at a time. It may seem to be focusing on several things at once, but it is not possible. It said it our brains my ‘seem’ to be doing several things at once, but it can’t. What really happens is our brains switch from one thing to another so fast it appears to be multi-tasking.
Physically we may be capable of doing several things at the same time. We can walk, talk and chew gum at the same time – at least most of us can. We can talk on the phone at work and be looking for a file. All seems well, but let’s think about it for a moment. If we are communicating on the phone with a business associate, how can we intently listen and therefore respond correctly, if we are searching for a file?
Your brain is switching back and forth between listening and trying to locate the “Smith, Bill” file. Back and forth, back and forth – now comes your turn to respond to Bob on the phone. You end up calling Bob, Bill, because that’s the file you need. Then you pull the “Smith, Bob” file because Bob is who you are talking to on the phone.
I am not saying it is not possible to do some easier forms of multi-tasking, but you need to be aware of how your brain is working. You also need to give thought to how well can you do two three and four things at one time? How effective and productive are we if we constantly are multi-tasking?
I only bring this up to give us all something to think about. How can we give our absolute best and do our absolute best if we are trying to do so much at one time. As I said earlier, I have prided myself on doing about three or four things at one time, but am I giving each one the attention it deserves? This is just food for thought.
Maybe we need to do what Charles Emerson Winchester III, a character from the show M.A.S.H. once said, “I do one thing, I do it well, and then I move on.”
About the Author
Don Roulo is a life, career and business coach as well as a Certified 48 Days Workshop Facilitator. He travels nationally and internationally to conduct business and career training as well as marriage and family workshops.
As a business consultant, he has written business plans and worked to market products or services as well as organizing financial statements for investors. Because of his success in the sales and business arena, Don has been blessed with the opportunity to train, motivate and inspire others. His passion is to motivate and equip people to find their passion and achieve their goals and God given destiny.