What is Multitasking
The term multitasking is known as the ability to work on many tasks simultaneously at one time so that it is considered to have high productivity.
Many people think that it is no longer impossible to do multitasking while doing work, even some people often do it as a daily habit.
Multitasking is now considered an important ability & must be had now in order to be productive at work, where several jobs can be done quickly and finished at once at that time.
But did you know that basically humans do not have good multitasking abilities and there are negative impacts that can cause work to be less than optimal?
The following article will discuss more completely all your curiosity about multitasking, starting from the definition, advantages & disadvantages, to tips for doing good multitasking.
What is Multitasking? According to Verywell Mind, multitasking has 2 meanings. The first means doing two or more tasks at one time. The second means shifting focus from one task to another quickly
It can be concluded that multitasking is the human ability to work on many tasks received simultaneously in a short time & simultaneously with the hope that they can be completed quickly.
Multitasking behavior can be an activity carried out by switching back and forth from one task to another.
Multitasking is often needed in an effort to complete existing tasks in everyday life immediately, accurately and efficiently. It is undeniable that multitasking is one of the most sought-after abilities in various types of work.
In practice, an individual tends to pay more attention to one task before moving on to another. Sometimes this causes overlapping of tasks.
This activity is considered unhealthy, especially for human thought patterns and memory. In addition, without realizing it, multitasking can actually cause distraction so that someone has difficulty concentrating and focusing on their work.
Examples of Multitasking
Some types of jobs that often involve multitasking activities are customer service, administrative staff, teachers, nurses, producers, journalists, digital marketing, event planners, event organizers and many more.
Here are some examples of multitasking activities that are often done while working:
Planning content strategies, designing, editing to scheduling posting times, while also supervising and reviewing many social media accounts
Taking care of the completeness of various client documents in large numbers at once (administrative tasks)
Active in several projects at once at one time
Designing proposals while scheduling subcontractor activities
Something as simple as listening to songs while doing calculation tasks is also a multitasking activity
Multitasking: Definition, Function and How to Do It
Multitasking is a term for carrying out multiple tasks at the same time. Check out the right multitasking strategy here.
Multitasking is a term that means carrying out multiple tasks at the same time. Although its effectiveness is quite doubtful, in some conditions, this activity can help increase your business productivity.
How to do it? Check out the complete multitasking strategy and method here.
Definition of Multitasking
What is multitasking in humans? Working in a company often requires the ability to manage more than 1 task at the same time. This activity is commonly referred to as multitasking. Literally, the meaning of multitasking is dual responsibility.
If explored further, the meaning of multitasking is the skill of doing many activities or tasks at the same time. Such as answering the phone while typing or doing assignments while listening to music, humans are generally used to multitasking in everyday life.
Multitasking, Good or Bad?
Usually, someone multitasks with the intention of saving time. However, research actually shows that multitasking is an inefficient habit that can be harmful to health.
This finding is quite reasonable considering that multitasking requires a lot of energy to change focus between work tasks. Without the right strategy, multitasking cannot function optimally.
In fact, this habit can reduce the quality of work results. Therefore, someone needs to understand how to multitask before implementing it. If not, here are things that can happen:
Reduces Productivity
Productivity is not only measured by the number of tasks completed, but also the quality of the work results. Often, multitasking behavior is intended to speed up work.
Unfortunately, with the extra burden on the brain, someone who is less skilled tends to show low work performance. This will affect satisfaction and work achievement in general, thus reducing productivity.
Increases Stress
The burden during the heavy work process and unsatisfactory results will have an impact on increasing stress in the workplace. The general term for stress that arises due to multitasking fatigue is burnout.
This can further reduce a person’s ability to process information to long-term work motivation.
Multitasking Methods
With the right strategy, multitasking skills can increase work productivity. But don’t just do it, first understand the various multitasking methods below.
Create a To Do List
In order to optimize multitasking, you need to list all the jobs that need to be completed within a certain period of time. After all tasks are recorded, determine an independent deadline and priority scale for the work. You can display all these activities in a To Do List.
Remembering many tasks at the same time, without writing them down, will burden the mind. This can also make you susceptible to forgetting or neglecting deadlines.
The function of the To Do List in multitasking is as a reminder as well as a tool to help organize your tasks. Therefore, making a To Do List is one example of recommended multitasking.
Doing Related Tasks
Still in line with the tips above, a To Do List will also help you identify related jobs. Categorizing these job themes can help you focus more easily while multitasking.
One way to reduce the burden of multitasking is to avoid unrelated jobs. That way, our brains don’t have to work extra hard to switch focus between very different tasks. In addition, the results of multitasking between related tasks tend to be better.
Maintaining Focus
If you still haven’t found an effective way to multitask, you should avoid working on more than two tasks at the same time. Develop this habit slowly and healthily. With this example of multitasking, your brain can adapt more easily by maintaining focus in multitasking.
Managing Rest Time
To avoid burnout, you must wisely manage your rest time. Recognize your body’s condition when multitasking. If you feel you need energy, you can take a break to increase your enthusiasm and work focus. Good rest time management is one example of effective multitasking.
Avoid the idea that a little sleep will make you more productive. In fact, the brain and body need quality sleep patterns to be able to show the best work performance.
A tired body condition will make it difficult for someone to concentrate, which tends to reduce the quality of work results.
Multitasking Applications
In the digital world, multitasking is a term for running several applications or software simultaneously. This is considered to be able to help gadget users in managing a number of jobs, such as opening an Excel data processing application and a browser at the same time.
Whether using a mobile phone or laptop, you can enjoy this convenience in several ways. On a laptop or personal computer, various applications and software that are running will be displayed in the taskbar which is usually attached to the bottom of the screen.
Meanwhile, on smartphones, multitasking applications are usually not displayed on one screen. You can check the running applications by pressing the recent apps button next to home. After selecting an application you want to run, the list of multitasking applications will automatically be hidden again.
Multitasking is one of the basic skills in a company. If implemented without the right strategy, multitasking can have a negative impact on employee performance.
The reason is, employees will be susceptible to burnout which results in loss of focus, stress, and decreased job satisfaction. Don’t worry, the multitasking methods above will help you manage these risks.