Comments on: Multitasking. Good or bad? http://www.atkinsonadvisor.com/idea-of-that-thing/multitasking-good-or-bad/ Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:56:52 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Atkinson Public Relations http://www.atkinsonadvisor.com/idea-of-that-thing/multitasking-good-or-bad/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Atkinson Public Relations Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:44:34 +0000 http://www.atkinsonadvisor.com/?p=1079#comment-29 People can do two things at once, but can they do both well? In my<br>experience I don't drop everything to answer an e-mail the second it<br>comes up, but if I see the name of someone I recognize, I get curious<br>about what they want and my mind wanders from the task at hand. It's<br>easy to lose concentration when information is coming at you from so<br>many different places, but I agree that people are adapting. People can do two things at once, but can they do both well? In my
experience I don't drop everything to answer an e-mail the second it
comes up, but if I see the name of someone I recognize, I get curious
about what they want and my mind wanders from the task at hand. It's
easy to lose concentration when information is coming at you from so
many different places, but I agree that people are adapting.

]]> By: Kiddredd http://www.atkinsonadvisor.com/idea-of-that-thing/multitasking-good-or-bad/comment-page-1/#comment-27 Kiddredd Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:34:48 +0000 http://www.atkinsonadvisor.com/?p=1079#comment-27 It's neither. Younger folks can do what is called "multi-tasking" more easily than folks who have only been doing it a few years. Left out of these discussions are how people are learning to prioritize and focus. It's assumed that all this messaging causes folks to "drop" what they're doing to respond. I'm not sure that's true.<br><br>I once told a lady I know that I'd read that there's no such thing as "multitasking;" that what really happens is our brains switch from one task to another, but our brains can really only do one thing at a time. She smirked and said, "You've obviously never driven a car with two young boys in the backseat asking you questions like, "Mommy, where did the earth come from?"<br><br>I think worrying about it is old hat. People adjust. It's neither. Younger folks can do what is called “multi-tasking” more easily than folks who have only been doing it a few years. Left out of these discussions are how people are learning to prioritize and focus. It's assumed that all this messaging causes folks to “drop” what they're doing to respond. I'm not sure that's true.

I once told a lady I know that I'd read that there's no such thing as “multitasking;” that what really happens is our brains switch from one task to another, but our brains can really only do one thing at a time. She smirked and said, “You've obviously never driven a car with two young boys in the backseat asking you questions like, “Mommy, where did the earth come from?”

I think worrying about it is old hat. People adjust.

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