07 Nov Time Management Strategies: We Should Multi-task, Right?
Time Management Strategies
Time Management Strategies. That’s the name of my game. Actually, it’s not a game. It’s a very serious subject. Implementing the correct time management strategies can make the difference between earning more revenue (or less) for the year, spending more time (or less) building client relationships, and enjoying more time (or less) away from work and having fun.
While doing a quick scan of the day’s headlines, I caught an interesting article title:
Women better at multitasking, scientists confirm.
Being a teacher of time management strategies, this title of course aroused my curiosity. I believe that humans are capable of multi-tasking low function brain skills (painting your toenails while watching the Dallas Cowboys lose another game or shredding papers during commercials while watching television), but I believe that we are incapable of multi-tasking well when it comes to high function brain operations. We cannot complete both effectively at the same time, or while switching back and forth. We can do both at mediocre levels, but not at exceedingly good ones.
I began reading the article, looking for the scientific breakthrough that shows that multi-tasking is, indeed, one of the time management strategies I should be teaching my clients. Alas, it is not to be.
To me, here is the key point of the entire article:
“Researchers found that response times slowed when participants had to alternate between the two tasks, but men’s performance dropped by 77 per cent, compared with 69 per cent for women.”
Translation: Our effectiveness drops by more than 2/3 when we multi-task or task-switch! It’s more proof that the multi-tasking we were told to strive for in the 90’s is definitely not one of the time management strategies we should engage.
If you’re into the gender war, then Hooray! Chicks won!
So, sure women are better than men at multi-tasking – but in the end, we all stink at it.
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