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Multi-Tasking
Part of a Modern Day Dichotomy
We were reading
newspapers from around the country and glanced through the want ads. Most
professional positions required the future executive to be skilled in both
effective communication and multi-tasking. The question is, how can a
person skilled in multi-tasking be an effective communicator? The answer
is, he can’t.
In truth, multi-tasking is a biologically un-sound
assumption and contrary to effective cognitive function. Yet, if we
ask anyone in the workplace about his or her ability to multi-task, most
will proudly affirm this skill and present the good news as a badge of
honor.
Just take a look
at Jake here. He can talk on the phone with a client, update his daily
planner, reply to his email, play solitaire, drink coffee, and balance six
paperclips on the end of his pencil all at the same time. But why would
anyone be proud of that?
Jake’s client is
being heard but Jake is not listening to what is being said. Jake’s daily
planner is orderly but he has not invested thought in how or why the new
tasks should be accomplished. Jake’s email may be free of spam, but what
about the reply he sent to his sister? Doesn’t she deserve his full
attention? And as for the coffee and the paperclip sculpture, does Jake
really believe that we all want him to slurp and dawdle in our midst?
Aside from a blatant disrespect for one’s fellow man, and aside from
ignoring lost opportunities for true interactive communication,
multi-tasking is contrary to basic cognitive
function. Neural stimuli, competing in such
an environment, prevent the brain’s synapses from strengthening. Hence,
cognitive resources are simply wasted. Multi-tasking is not a badge
of honor. It is a thief of neural nutrition, a symptom of interpersonal
dysfunction, and evidence of a poor work ethic. And that is not something
to be proud of.
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Let us reclaim
the courtesy and good manners that once marked us as a civilized society.
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Let us give our
fellow man the attention that once permeated our workplace.
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Let us protect
the chemical resources that fuel neural activity.
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And let us
devote to quality the tasks set before us, keeping our thoughts unhindered
and our concentration focused on excellence.
… and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun,
whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;
Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9: Verses 9-10
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