Or to rephrase this, how quickly would you be fired for multi-tasking at work?
A 2005 study by the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College, London shows that people who allow themselves to be constantly interrupted by email and instant messaging perform slightly worse than those who are stoned on pot.
Researchers asked two sets of subjects to take IQ tests. One group had to check e-mail and respond to instant messages while taking the test. The second group just sat down and did the test without distractions. Surprise, surprise, the distracted group didn’t do as well on the test—10 points worse than the control group. In similar testing conditions, people intoxicated by marijuana had scores 8 points lower.
Discover Magazine [via Tom Mighell]
The above study tested the effects on IQ, but I’m quite sure that both activities impair judgment just as badly. How strange it is that multi-tasking is considered “good” in today’s work environment!
Apart from its effects on our IQ and judgment, multi-tasking can also waste an incredible amount of time. Every time we switch from one task to another, it can take us fifteen minutes to get up to speed on the new task. Each time we interrupt ourselves to check email, we are costing ourselves a fifteen minute delay, even if we only spend two minutes away from the original task.
How to avoid this trap:
- Turn off your email notification chime!
- Define specific times of day during which you check email, and don’t check email at any other time.
- Don’t use your inbox as a task list — this will only suck you into email every time you want to get some “proper” work done. Instead, once you have determined that a message requires work, drag it into a special folder entitled “Action”, or drag it into Outlook’s task list. You can even write it down on a piece of paper. Whichever method you choose, the main thing is to get it out of the inbox.
If you succeed in resisting the urge for constant stimulation, you will be rewarded by being able to complete solid chunks of high quality work, and you will probably benefit from a significantly lower stress level, too.
Email programs have not changed much in the past decade, but the amount of email we get has grown by a tremendous amount, significantly impacting our email productivity. The average information worker gets far more mail than s/he can cope with, and an increasing number of people suffer from "email overload". In this blog, Itzy Sabo analyzes the causes of email overload, discusses strategies to cope with the constant bombardment, and provides practical tips for getting the most out of our email programs. 
5 responses so far ↓
Paul Freeman // June 27, 2006 at 3:38 pm |
I’d love it if were this simple, and I’ve had email notices off, checking email at set times, and writing things down to Post-It notes for a while now.
The only problem is, other people still phone up to ask “Did you get my email?”, usually within 5 minutes of sending it, or then following up with phone calls to see “How are you getting on with…”. – Maybe I should subtly pass on this post and see if they can figure out why I keep trying to get them to change their methods for themselves.
Itzy Sabo // June 27, 2006 at 5:06 pm |
Paul, why do you answer your phone when you’re busy? Try letting people leave messages, and check your voicemail at frequent intervals, e.g. between tasks.
Walter // June 28, 2006 at 6:33 pm |
I agree with Paul, but I’ve found it necessary to do things like Itzy suggested. I have found it necessary to manage the expectations of OTHERS because they won’t do it themselves. Eventually they get the message but it does take some doing sometimes.
At first they think you are just loafing but when they start to see your results come in on time and usually better than those they get (because you actually thought before you acted) they learn eventually.
Stress // August 11, 2006 at 9:46 am |
I agree with Itzy, I wont check emails because I always busy at work. If I can answer the phone then can check emails too. Checking messages and voice messages in intervals is the best thing.
Very good tips.
Umamiblog » Blog Archive » It's actually a really really stupid idea // September 1, 2007 at 12:59 pm |
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