43 Folders

Back to Work

Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

Join us via RSS, iTunes, or at 5by5.tv.

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

43F Podcast: The Myth of Multi-tasking

The Myth of Multi-tasking (mp3)

43Folders.com - "Multi-taskers" are really just splitting their time and attention into smaller slices than you; no one can really do more than one thing at a time. (2:34)


powered by ODEO

Subscribe to the 43 Folders Podcast on Odeo.com Subscribe to the 43 Folders podcast in iTunes

Petro's picture

You are constantly multi-tasking. People manage...

You are constantly multi-tasking.

People manage to drive, navigate (i.e. watch for landmarks), and carry on conversations with passengers at the same time.

Men are particularly good at this. They can track a conversation (usually with a wife/SO) while watching TV/playing a computer game/reading a book, and manage to track the conversation--at least to the degree that they can make the appropriate single-syllable noises at the right times.

It is true that most people who claim to have this ability don't do it as well (or as pervasively) as they claim, and they are, in fact, time-slicing (even thinly), however there are people in other professions who do.

Watch a SWAT team (a good one) work a problem. Watch a good military officer carry out a mission. A trauma surgeon in an ER during a Mass Casualty event. These people are multitasking while working on extremely complex situations were a single mistake, missing a single word in a conversation (say dropping a "not") could get someone killed.

Watch an Air Traffic Controller at a busy airport, or the pilot he's talking to.

Yeah, people can multi-task, but not all of them, and not always well.

There probably is an upper bound on the number of tasks that one can work at a time, and (As another commenter alluded to) you've only got so much attention to go around, so as you dump more and more attention onto one task the others get "resource starved", but with work (like any other muscle) you can build up this ability to a certain degree.

 
EXPLORE 43Folders THE GOOD STUFF

Popular
Today

Popular
Classics

An Oblique Strategy:
Honor thy error as a hidden intention


STAY IN THE LOOP:

Subscribe with Google Reader

Subscribe on Netvibes

Add to Technorati Favorites

Subscribe on Pageflakes

Add RSS feed

The Podcast Feed

Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »