Myth about multitasking

True masterpiece from Scott Adams that shows one of the ills plaguing all levels of contemporary software development. Numerous researches have shown that human brain is not effective at multitasking. In fact multitasking slows us down since multitasking makes us deal with irrelevant information as well.

Yet, all of us have been seduced by the lure of multitasking - overestimating our capabilities and trying to do two(pun intended) much at the same time. Responding to emails while attending meetings, preparing plans while sitting through architectural discussions, watching tv while taking a call from home, we have all tried our hands at it in many forms.

Reflecting on my experiences, I do not remember much of meetings/conversations during which I checked emails and my email responses at that time weren't great either. Unless we stop thinking of the "other things" we are bound to miss the finer details of our current task. That would also explain why reading in the bathroom is not multitasking unless you want to concentrate on finer details of using the bathroom ;-)


So, is multitasking overrated? How does one manage high pressure day(and night) job with new information flowing in constantly?

The answer to those question lies in how you adopt multitasking. Effective human multitasking is not very different from computer multitasking. A processor gives "appearance" of handling multiple tasks at once. However, at any given moment only one task is being executed - not a single cycle is spared for another task. Only a higher priority task can preempt the current task. If current task is interrupted (waiting for input/resource etc) then next higher priority task is picked up for execution.

In a very similar fashion, instead of attempting multiple tasks at the same time, we should prioritize and pick up highest priority task first and then give it our complete focus. Periodically, new information reaches us (new tasks, events) which should be used to adjust our priority and we should continue with execution of highest priority task. Undivided attention to a task is the only way of getting a task done with good quality. This is especially true of high priority tasks where there is little room for iterations for refinement and delays are just as bad as poor quality.

In short, only way of multitasking effectively is to deal with multiple tasks at the same time but not in the same moment.

As a manager, it is extremely important to understand this reality. It is all too easy to put a lot of tasks on a team member's plate. This might render them ineffective or affect the quality of their delivery. If a team member reports little progress on multiple tasks or cites one task as reason for lag in another, it is a strong indication that you need to sit with them and help them prioritize and execute. It might take a few iterations/weeks before team gets into the groove of prioritizing and then executing with focus but it is worth the effort, after all this is indeed manager's highest priority task - building a highly productive team.

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