Comments on: The Multitasking Checklist

By: The Perils of Multitasking « blog.taskrabbit.com

The Perils of Multitasking « blog.taskrabbit.com — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:16:50 +0000

[...] doing other work, but there are ways to limit the damage of multitasking through a few helpful tips. If you curb the amount of things you are multitasking at any given time, you’ll find that your [...]

By: Andre

Andre — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:06:27 +0000

@Rob: Love the comic. It’s sobering and sad to see a paper trail of our stream of consciousness when we multitask poorly.

@Ulla: Thanks.

@Vered: Multitasking consciously is an art. The trick is avoid doing it involuntarily — “finding yourself” multitasking.

@Marelisa: Great analogy. I’m going to steal it for future examples :)

By: Marelisa

Marelisa — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:19:18 +0000

HI Andre, I definitely agree with you that the "don't multitask" advice applies to combining activities that all require a certain amount of attention (like writing a blog post, stopping mid-sentence to answer e-mails, answering the phone while you continue typing, and so on). I like your idea of planning ahead of time when you'll be performing rote tasks and can carry out other activities such as listening to an ipod. Do you know what this post made me think of? Packing a suitcase. Because you look for the most efficient way of getting all of the items in, and a lot of the time you leave the small items out until the end (things like listening to an ipod would be the small items) and then you fit them into the nooks and crannies :-) Marelisa's last blog post: Success - On Your Own Terms

By: Vered - MomGrind

Vered - MomGrind — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:11:49 +0000

Effective multitasking is an interesting concept. I am so used to everyone saying that we should always avoid multitasking. I always feel guilty because I do multitask. "Have fun with seeing how many rote tasks you can effectively overlap." I certainly will. :) Vered - MomGrind's last blog post: Wordless Wednesday: Mona Lisa, Enhanced

By: Dan Stratton

Dan Stratton — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:22:28 +0000

Thank you for this post. It really hit home with me. I am a manager and rarely have free time in large blocks. This helps me as I can plan little tasks that fit with other activities that I can pull out when the opportunity arises. Like, reading blog posts while (chomp, chew, swallow) eating lunch! :-)

By: Ulla Hennig

Ulla Hennig — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:06:31 +0000

I like the idea of a multitasking checklist - haven't thought about that before reading your post! Ulla Hennig's last blog post: In the Neighbourhood

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:09:54 +0000

Great posts on multitasking! Not sure if you check out XKCD, a webcomic, but there's a great comic on the subject today. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you're one of those impulsive news-and-email-checker types. Rob's last blog post: Fresh Start Conservatism