Does Multitasking Equal Multifailing?

“Don’t multitask, prioritize instead.”

This is how a recent guest on the podcast Freakonomics Radio said she interpreted the takeaway from tests she was given during an air-traffic-controller position interview. The particular podcast episode addressed multitasking, and how research now shows that attempts to take on multiple tasks simultaneously might better be described as multifailing. 

Multitasking caught my ear while writing a feature article (beginning on page 24) on advantages of using a single control system for all components in a press line. The gist of the article: Such a controls setup frees operators not only from separately having to monitor various press-line equipment, but also from having to remember line-equipment settings for various job runs. With such solid control support, operators instead can focus on monitoring the whole line-productivity picture and stay alert for potential problems—also benefitting from automated production monitoring via press controls.

It turns out, according to research, that humans only tackle tasks in a linear manner, save for involuntary tasks such as breathing or adjusting eyes to brightness levels. Even computers, as I understand, mostly do the same, only in infinitesimal segments of time that make it appear as multitasking. And, when humans try to tackle multiple tasks near simultaneously—referred to as task switching—productivity and performance suffer. This even includes reading texts during a meeting.

“Every time you make that (task) switch, you pay a ‘tax’ on both your time and energy,” explains Dr. Sahar Yousef, a cognitive neuroscientist at University of California Berkeley. “For that reason, it’s almost always more efficient to monotask: Focus on one thing and move on when you’re done, so you don’t pay unnecessary switching taxes.”

Julia Martins penned an article including this quote (asana.com/resources/multitasking) on the website of Asana, a provider of AI-powered work-management solutions. The article supports what I heard on the podcast, which I had to rewind numerous times due to trying to exercise while listening. Like me, those trying to multitask, as research shows and as Martins writes, “in addition to making more errors, almost always take longer to complete two tasks simultaneously.”

For our industry, the point of all of this: Powerful controls, process-monitoring and information-management solutions exist to free humans from the need to try, and fail, at multitasking. MetalForming reports on such solutions all of the time, and we see them on display at events such as FABTECH. Take advantage of this technology to raise worker productivity and lower stress and burnout.

Martins’ article also offers tips on better alternatives to attempted multitasking. Here’s one: try timeboxing. Most-important tasks (MITs) take the idea of aligning priorities to the next level, according to Martins. MITs clarify the most important tasks for the day—identify those and get them done.