EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
The Myth of Multitasking
“To say that you are an eff ective multitasker is the same as saying you are eff ective at doing things in a less eff ective way.”
Dave Crenshaw, author of The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done
Many people claim that they are good at multitasking. But is multitasking a myth? Dave
Crenshaw, author of The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done believes it is. He says that multitasking could actually be hurting productivity. “Your brain is NOT able to handle multiple tasks at the same time,” he says.
The phrase that Crenshaw likes to use instead of
multitasking is “switchtasking.” He says that what we are essentially doing when we think we are multitasking is switching back and forth between tasks. He adds that there is time lost between all those switches. So someone who is “multitasking” is essentially performing each task slower than if he or she were to concentrate on just one task before moving on to the next. “We think that we are doing multiple things at the same time, but we are really not,” says Crenshaw. “We end up having to retrace our steps and correct things, which takes a whole lot longer than if we just focused on them one at a time.” Although mechanics aren’t multitasking like someone in an offi ce environment (working on a budget, checking emails and taking phone calls at the same time), we have numerous tasks we may be working on at the same time. We might be working on a sheet metal repair when we are called outside to help launch a helicopter. We get phone calls. We receive smartphone alerts to emails, texts, Facebook updates and numerous other distracting notifi cations. We have customers walking around the hangar. We have coworkers who need assistance from time to time. Having to handle several of these tasks in a given
day causes to us take longer to complete a task than if we had just concentrated on that one task by itself. Even more critical than taking longer to complete a task,
switching between tasks can become a safety issue. We can easily overlook steps when distracted by other job duties. What can we do to avoid distractions in the workplace? Put down the phone! These days, our phones are often our biggest distraction. Constant but unscheduled phone calls and text messages are a common culprit when it comes to effi ciency busters. Shut down your device or check it every hour or so, rather than keeping it at the ready if you’re attempting to focus on a particular task. Realize that sometimes this isn’t possible (like when you are the only mechanic in the hangar). Just keep in mind that even a short phone call can cause a distraction that can lead to missed steps in critical tasks. Technology can be a blessing and a curse. Many of us
have become slaves to our smartphones. We constantly check our phones to see what that latest notifi cation about. We need to take control of our smartphone usage and not allow smartphones to control us. Some companies even have policies in place to prevent excessive cell phone use. As far as the other distractions involved in our day-to-
day work, we often can’t avoid them. We need to realize that if we are taken off our job to assist a coworker, talk to a customer or answer a call, we need to be careful when we go back to the job at hand. We need to carefully retrace our steps to make sure we didn’t overlook any critical steps.
Thanks for reading! – Joe Escobar
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HelicopterMaintenanceMagazine.com February | March 2016
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