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Time Management
~ Don't Multi-task When You Can Use Chunking ~
by: F. John Reh
 We spend too much of our day
trying to cram more into it. We adopted the computer term multi-tasking and
tried to apply it to our own daily activities as another step in our quest
to get more done. The problem is that multi-tasking doesn't work.
Multi-tasking Doesn't Work
As you brush your teeth in the
morning, you think about the agenda for big meeting later in the day. It
doesn't take much of your brain's processing power anymore to brush your
teeth, so your agenda planning isn't suffering too much from having to
share. But what about two tasks that require more of your brain's capacity?
You might be talking on the phone while you're preparing breakfast. You may
get both tasks done correctly, but you would have gotten both of them done
better, and in less total time, if you had done them one after the other
instead of at the same time.
 Chunking Works Better
"Chunking" describes how human
memory utilization works. It is important to remember this concept as we
look at doing several tasks "simultaneously". We are in fact switching
between them rather than doing them at the same time (although in the case
of brushing your teeth it may seem like they are simultaneous).
You are on the phone when
someone walks into your office. They ask for your advice or a decision. You
stop listening to the person on the phone briefly, scan the note in front of
you, scribble a response and go back to the phone call. You did not do the
two activities (phone call and in-person conversation) at the same time. You
actually did three tasks in sequence; started the phone call, had the
in-person conversation, and then resumed the phone call. Just as in the
breakfast example above, you could have gotten both of them done better, and
in less total time, if you had done them one after the other instead at the
same time. The reason is that as you begin each task you have to focus on it
and get started.
 Start-up Time Kills
Multi-tasking
When you started the phone
call, you had to think about it, find the phone number, and make the call.
When you were interrupted, you had to figure out what the person wanted from
you in order to be able to give them a decision. Finally, when you resumed
the phone call, you had to remember where you left off. You might even have
had to say, "Oops, sorry, someone walked in. What were you saying?"
The more starts and stops you
make during the day, the more of these start-up moments you have. These
moments are non-productive time. If you have a daily report to prepare, the
start-up moment is probably pretty short compared to that for the report you
only do quarterly. Still, if you are preparing that report and you get
interrupted, you have almost the same length of time for start-up each time.
I can write my weekly report in
about 30 minutes without any interruptions. I have had it take several hours
to complete simply because my job is operational and requires that I deal
with unplanned tasks a lot. The culprit was not the people who interrupted
me. The culprit was the time required for start-up moments each time I
re-started the report.
 Some Times You Have to
Multi-task
Okay, sometimes you have to
multi-task. Your job may be operational like mine. So what is better than
multi-tasking? Chunking is better.
Chunking is the concept of
breaking up your day into larger chunks instead of reacting to each
"emergency". The more chunks of time you can devote to specific tasks, the
fewer start-up moments you will have. Since you won't be spending as much
time in start-up moments, you will have more time and you will get more
done. As a bonus, since you will be able to focus on the single task at
hand, you will do it better.
Chunking
So how can you start chunking?
Start small until you get the feel of it. Pick a single task, perhaps your
weekly report. Set aside the 30 minutes you know it will take. Close your
door. Put up a sign that reads "Genius at work" or something like that and
then concentrate on the report and nothing but the report. Ignore the phone.
Don't check email. Just write the report. After about two weeks you'll
notice how much more quickly you are able to get your report done.
 When you're ready for the next
phase, set aside a chunk of time for another activity. For example, instead
of interrupting whatever you are working on to read each email as it comes
in, set aside a specific time to tackle a chunk of emails. One manager I
know reads all her email at the beginning of each hour and then ignores it
until the beginning of the next hour.
Bottom Line
Don't waste so much of your
time trying to multi-task. Instead, make yourself more efficient and more
productive by chunking.
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Set aside chunks of time
for specific tasks
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Reduce the time spent in
start-up moments
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Don't allow interruptions
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Increase the number and
size of chunks during your day and week
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Recognize that there will
still be interruptions no matter how well you chunk.
Use chunking to make yourself
more focused and ultimately productive. |
