Dr. Sonya Rogers

Parental Guidance

Multi-tasking is often thought of as the ability to perform more than one task at a time.

For example, one might listen to the radio while studying for a test. Another example is talking on the phone while reading a report.

Some people believe that the act of multi-tasking can create wasted time due to an increase in one’s potential for error. This is due to insufficient attention to a particular task in general.

For those people who possess type A personalities, doing more than one thing at a time seems like a good way to stay proactive and feel accomplished in the respect of completing more tasks in a timely manner. However, the effectiveness of each task performed can prove detrimental at times. To some, qualitative work is much better than quantitative. Let’s say you really need to contact a family member about some upcoming event and you feel you might not have time once you reach your destination. A simple text message couldn’t hurt, right? Well, research indicates that productivity decreases by about 40 percent when people are busy doing more than one task at a time.

Some people believe practice makes perfect and the more they practice multi-tasking, the better they become at it. There may be some truth to that theory. However, as a parent, it would be very disheartening to watch a child text on the phone while he or she should be listening to instructions from a parent. These instructions could be as simple yet complex as knowing the steps involved in cleaning the fish tank correctly or preparing a certain dish for supper. It seems as though one task would hold more attention, whereas the other would receive partial focus.

Tasks that require dedicated focus such as writing a research report can be quite stressful if one is responsible for watching children or trying to do something else that requires an intentional focus. For some people, multi-tasking is a way to keep from getting bored. For instance, sitting in an hour-long meeting can seem interminably tiresome. Doing very little may seem like wasted time for those who are accustomed to being actively engaged in an activity. Yet learning to relax and simply enjoy less stress has its weight in value as well.

In an age of instant technology, we are constantly being bombarded with new information that seems quite overwhelming at times. News reporters are baffled by the amount of people interviewed who admit to checking their cell phone all day long; regardless of where they might be — work, dinner, at a movie with a friend or while driving a vehicle.

Is this a respectful or wise form of multi-tasking?

Dr. Sonya Rogers is a certified counselor who lives in Daphne.

Her column regularly appears in The Bulletin.