Multitasking is something that I constantly do, but am not very good at. As I am typing this there is an episode of Unsolved Mysteries that I am supposedly watching, the phone is right next to me so I can check the news, in what I know will be about two minutes, and my dog is bringing me his ball to play fetch with him. I am terrible at concentrating on one thing alone, but that does not mean I do not pay attention to each thing individually. Of course, I will not remember what this specific episode of the show is about, but I know this response will be exactly as I want it to be, as I will read it over once I am done. Is this efficient? Or has it helped me complete tasks to the best of my ability? I do not think I can truly know if the tasks I complete are to the best of my ability, but if my GPA and grades are a direct product of my ability to multitask, then I would say I do rather well. …show more content…
Growing up I feel I honed(?) my abilities to multitask by reading two books at the same time.
I would go to the library and check out books, but I never had the ability to read one and wait until I was done to start the other one, I could never choose which one to read first, thus, I always read both. I would pick one up, read the first chapter, put it down, and pick the other book up and do the same. It always worked for me and I continue to read that way now and the information from both books sticks with me. Multitasking has, well, I would not say helped, but it sure has allowed for me to retain more knowledge and complete tasks in half the time than focusing on one at a time. As for now, though, Robert Stack
beckons.
Gleick says in his article that by the time Michael Hartl “heads for the bathroom…each morning, he has already got his computer starting... And then, as he runs to breakfast, he…[dials] into the campus computer network, and then gets his web browser started so he can check the news while he eats. ‘I figure I save at least two or three minutes a day…” While Michael is trying to get his computer ready at the same time he is getting ready for the day, he has the potential to rush himself through his hygiene activities which could lead him to not fully completing them. As humans we always want the extra moments in our days to stretch to the maximum that they can, even if it means that we have to cut something else in our day short. We like to be able to say we did more because it gives us a boost in our ego for the day. Doing more multitasking in our days does not always mean we did do more. Switching back and forth between tasks could also take up more time than to stick to one task until it is fully done. When we multitask we have to continuously change the way our mind is thinking and what our body is doing. This could take more of a process to repeatedly get started rather than maintain a single thought on a topic and continuously let it
In the article, “Multitasking Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus,” Alina Tugend centralizes around the negative effects of multitasking. She shows that often with multitasking, people tend to lose focus, lack work quality, have an increase in stress, and in the end she gives a solution to all these problems. Tugend conveys her points by using understandable language, a clear division of subjects, and many reliable sources, making her article cogent.
Multitasking requires that a worker divides his/her time and energy on multiple tasks at the same time. As a result, the care and attention to detail is divided. The amount of focus that could be used to review one assignment is split. In an experiment, Patterson (2017) discovered that students who studied while participating in media multitasking took longer to complete tasks in their classes. This experiment addresses media multitasking in the case of students. While it is not a type of multitasking we normally consider, it does involve performing multiple tasks at one. Instead of putting all of their focus on their assignments, these students’ attention is on the assignment and on their social media. The results of the experiment prove that it when placed in scenarios where people are required to focus on multiple things, it takes more time to complete certain tasks. In this instance, media multitasking caused a decrease in performance. In another experiment, Paridon and Kaufmann (2010) made an observation when studying multitasking in the workplace, stating that people’s reaction time diminished when multiple tasks were completed at once. The believe that multitasking affects people’s performance has also been proven to be true in the workplace, as the speed of people’s production when down when required to complete multiple tasks. Performance can be determined by the speed in which a task is completed.
Having ADHD, I had an issue sitting still and focusing and when they introduced books into my life, it helped a great deal. For instance, when finding the right book, I would take my psyche into an area where the character’s would hop out on to a motion picture screen where I would be sitting and watching the adventure. I would read it so quickly that I my mother didn’t trust I read every last bit of it and tell me to reread it. While in the library I would take hours to find books and genre that I wanted to
David Silverman provided four main reasons why multitasking can be a reliable source for doing many tasks at once. The first reason is multitasking can help a person collect pieces of information faster. Silverman used the example of him getting contact from a customer to make a slide, but wasn't available so his employee started on the slide. After reading his email, Silverman and his employee accomplish the slide within thirty minutes. This example shows how in a certain time a person can collect information quicker from doing another task. The second reason is multitasking can help a person from any distractions or interruptions from doing the tasks
The kids on It List have really helped me. So I don 't get distracted, I actually have an app called "Self-Control" that will make it impossible for you to get on any kind of social media on your computer for however long you say. So I 'll do it for four hours so I can get a break and check everything. But the hardest part is hitting enter--"yes, I want to begin." The four hours of not being on social media. It 's the best thing ever. I wouldn 't get any work done. I used to go to a cafe that didn 't have internet access because it didn 't have internet access. Now that 's where all the writers get stuck. You could do it all day.
There are many strategies that can be used to help students study efficiently. After participating in the “VARK Questionnaire” the results revealed that I have multimodal preferences. (A multimodal learning preference is a preferred way of learning new information or material that incorporates several different styles of learning. Different modes of learning are combined such as, visual and auditory). Two of my strongest points in studying are reading/writing and kinesthetic. As I don’t use one specific strategy, I have many different study strategies. A very common technique is writing down information using the internet as a source. Most of the research that I provide is aided by the internet. I like to take notes on the research so that it will be easier to summarize the information. Another common strategy I use involves reviewing the information I have gathered repeatedly. Even though I tend to understand certain difficult topics with visual aids but I still use memorization as a key method. In most of my school related environments, memorization was a technique which was used influenced by instructors the most. Visual presentation, diagrams and charts are also very helpful in the studying process (VARK, 2013). When I am studying complicated and/or lengthy topics visual and physical representations are very essential. The use of visual aid helps me process the information more efficiently and remember the material. Some topics can be very complex and harder to understand, when you have situations of this type I address them with another individual.
Read every-day from a various source (internet, books etc.) to increase the level of knowledge.
Multitasking with non-course material results in a student’s attention being diverted from the course material that is being taught. This can result in errors in memory for the student and also a more difficult time learning the information outside of the classroom (Kraushaar & Novak, 2010, p.1). The University of Vermont completed a study in order to determine the impacts of multitasking with a laptop during a university lecture. Through the experiment they were able to determine that “students with a high [and long] frequency of software multitasking during lectures will exhibit lower academic performance than students with a low [and short] frequency of software multitasking” (Kraushaar & Novak, 2010, p.6). This shows that repeated and lengthy multitasking with technology in particular laptops during lecture times can cause extremely negative results in a students academic performances and
According to The Dangers of Multitasking, the downsides of multitasking outweigh its upsides (Davies 39). Multitasking students can miss many necessary information that they really need to pass tests and understand lessons when they multitask during the lectures, which causes them to get a low grade on their tests. “Many experienced multitaskers have experienced an unexpected thing when, for example, their e-mail service was disabled for a period of time. They discovered that they were actually more productive during that period of time” (Multitasking 758). That means that multitaskers are more productive when they concentrate on one task; so students will do better on tests and in school in general, if they quit or cut back on multitasking during classes. Moreover, “The human brain works more efficiently on a single task and for sustained rather than intermitted or alternating periods of time” (Multitasking 758). So, this does not mean...
Strayer, D. L., & Watson, J. M. (2012). Supertaskers and the multitasking brain. Scientific American Mind, 23(1), 22-29.
The relationship between multitasking and critical thinking is that multitasking hinders critical thinking. According to the article Foundations for Critical Thinking,“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information.” So how are people be able to critically think if they are being distracted by multitasking? In the short clip “Multitasking and the Effects on Concentration” Cliff Nass talks about how some companies encourage their workers to keep their emails and social networking sites up while they work because they think workers will multitask and get more work done. Nass argues that multitasking will do the opposite. In
Use at least one assigned reading to support your
Multitasking is a poor long-term strategy for learning. People can’t filter out irrelevancy because multitasking has become a habit. A majority of people have the misconception multitasking will help them accomplish tasks in a faster manner, yet it does the complete opposite. Multitasking is not doing a plethora of tasks all at once, but rather switching from one task to another in a continuous cycle. Each time the brain switches task, there is lag time between that adds up. Multitasking distracts people from doing the task before them, so learning and memory becomes spotted and limited, and it doesn’t help that there is technology constantly at people’s fingertips. Multitasking is a poor strategy to to use why trying to complete a job. Multitasking has negative benefits in all aspects of life and is a habit that needs to be broken.
Alzahabi, Reem, and Mark W. Becker. "The Association Between Media Multitasking, Task-Switching, And Dual-Task Performance." Journal Of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception & Performance 39.5 (2013): 1485-1495. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.