The Art of Multi-Tasking
Perhaps a godly feat from realms unknown lies the unknown discipline of simply performing more than one task at the same time. I get it. We all want to get things done faster, and what better way to do that than by multi-tasking
Quality is something that we care for and want but can never truly have. It’s something that’s unreachable as finding that one quarter that rolled under your couch, and its also the primary argument against multi-tasking. I mean Jeremy Clarkson from the popular show Top Gear said “ Multitasking is the ability to screw everything up simultaneously.” Jeremy Clarkson. Performing efficently isn’t on the end of the spectrum between messiness and neatness, but it’s finding that sweet spot — like the difference between cheap Kroger cookies to homeade and then to gourmet 5 star chocolate chip deluxe. It takes too much time to be perfect so why not be efficient and still maintain decent quality. You see, multi-tasking is all about getting things done quickly, yet still keeping some form of quality control.
But it’s like saying that teleportation is amazing and not explaining how it can be done, so now, how does one multi-task? Well it’s very much comparable to a discipline. A form of thinking. A form of art in a sense. It’s all just about actually doing it — you don’t have to be a genius. I mean, think back to the last time you had to study for some test but at the same time you needed to complete some homework. By the time you knew it, you were mowing through both of ’em at the same time. Just practice it. Read a book and try to run through your flashcards or write an essay and eat at the same time.
“Multitasking skills are important because they create an efficient work environment. … Allowing more work to be accomplished during your day”(Bill Gates)
Our brain is a muscle. Kind of. The more we work it and use it, the better and smarter we can become. IQ for example isn’t just something that you’re born with but something that you can develop and temper making it a fluid number. The more we develop our brain the more we can be normal in abnormal situations, such as mitigating your nervousness during a surgery or a presentation. And multi-tasking may also act like a form of meditation. It’s the way your brain is used when you perform many things at the same time that allow you to focus a whole lot more — whether it be due to the stress of the situation of something else. But that focus allows your brain to improve, so you can also focus without that initial stressor. We still don’t know a lot about our human body and how it works. Heck, we don’t even know every vitamin that our body needs. But this form of improvement and mental fortitude has been shown to reduce heart disease.
When it comes to our mind and bodies, we always wish the best for ourselves, yet we overlook one simply way to escape our everyday life — multi-tasking. Better job performance. Reduced risk of heart failure. The ability to get more things done. It all wraps down into that one discipline. Try it out. Be efficient!