California Career Briefs: Stop Multitasking

California Career Briefs

“New data suggest multitasking is counter productive... Stick to one thing at a time. You'll get more done.”

- Harvard Business Review March 2013

Stop Multitasking

Did you know?

The increasingly common professional and personal habit of multitasking – conducting two or more unrelated tasks at the same time – is making the world less rather than more efficient. In fact, multitasking reduces workplace productivity by approximately 40 percent. While certain simple tasks are amenable to multitasking, in today’s workplace employees have important job responsibilities that require clear judgment, thought and creativity. These higher level thinking tasks demand attention. That is why employers wantemployees to put aside multiple distractions and focus on one thing at a time. Since most students are ultimate multitaskers, this activity will challenge them to identify the “real facts” of multitasking and encourage them to find their focus.

Do this…

• Ask students questions about how and why they multitask.
• View video.
• Distribute Student Activity, review instructions and complete.
  (Answers: 1,F; 2,F; 3,T; 4,F; 5,F)
• Discuss students’ responses to multitasking realities.
• List students’ suggestions on how to find their focus.

Get Real!

Show your students how multitasking really slows them down with this video, and the Stay Focused activity (on pages 20-21) in the Backpack to Briefcasebooklet .