The Lost Art of Focus: Multi-tasking vs. Mono-tasking

Further research continues to indicate that focusing on more than one task at a time actually decreases productivity and may jeopardize the fundamental quality of our work and communication. But this data seems to contradict what many people hold as the vision of a fully engaged and adapted 21st century worker.

The people who engage in media “multitasking” are those least able to do so well, according to researchers. This recent BBC article examines the results of a study done at Stanford University.

And this NPR radio segment also highlights some enlightening research into multi-tasking.

But in today’s workplace, and even just in our day to day lives in the information age, a certain amount of multi-tasking is unavoidable. So it seems the skill to develop is knowing when, where, and what to multi-task. Ali Hale weighs in with what I feel is a reasonable and well thought out opinion in her article ‘Multi-Tasking vs. Mono-Tasking’:

So how do you know when you should “multi-task” and when you should “mono-task”? And how do you manage to do the latter? Some things lend themselves brilliantly to multi-tasking. These tend to be activities which are purely physical, or which by their nature take a set amount of time to complete – however well you focus.

All of this has given me food for thought – as I am a person who is prone to multi-tasking and have convinced myself that I am pretty good at the juggling routine. In fact, I half-jokingly said to my brother just the other day, ‘I’ve got to focus, no more multi-tasking, from now on I’m only going to do two or three things at a time.’

So, here’s a little eye-opening challenge if you feel the same way: try this online game called MULTITASK and see if it might start to change your opinion.

University Programs in Mobile Work

Post Graduate Programs in Remote and Distributed Work?

A blog visitor, Christian M., sent this question:

I’m a 27 year old business consultant in Germany. I want to write a PhD thesis about “work anywhere, anytime”. Do you know a professor at a university, business school etc. who could supervise a PhD thesis about this topic or do you have an advise for me to find one? He could be located anywhere in the world.

I hope you know somebody doing scientific research about this topic.

Thanks a lot,
Christian

My reply to Christian was as follows:

We do not personally know any one who does scientific research into remote work or global business teams, but I may be able to suggest a few places to begin your research.

I am listing below a few universities which offer graduate level programs in areas closely related to your field of interest. Unfortunately, only the first is a PhD program. I believe the other 2 are MBAs but perhaps someone there could offer insight. The final link is to a resource which lists PhD programs in information related fields.

It seems odd given the prevalence of distributed work in our world that the field is still so young and unformed as an academic discipline. I discovered much the same thing when I studied Comparative Religions. I always felt that one of the benefits of that was the diversity of faculty and departments I got to work with – I would get to study under  Anthropologists, Historians, Doctors of Divinity, Sociologists, and Psychologists all in the same program, with only the subject as a unifying principle. So while the newness of telework as a subject of serious study presents some challenges, it likely also presents great opportunities and flexibility.
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Ready.gov’s National Preparedness Month 2009 Business Fact Sheet

It’s not really a ‘put on a funny hat and blow a paper noise maker’ sort of event, but September is National Preparedness Month and I thought in honor of that I would share The Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.gov Business Fact Sheet. The fact sheet is distributed as part of their Ready Business campaign and you can find more details and resources for appropriate disaster planning and business continuity at www.ready.gov.

As our contribution to National Preparedness Month we have made our on-demand teleseminar, Riding the Storm Out, available FREE for the rest of the year.  Visit this page to listen to 4 South Florida experts discuss strategies, tips, and best practices for building a simple but effective business continuity and disaster recovery plan. The whole seminar is only about an hour and is packed full of real-deal advice, and each speaker also provided supporting documents that you can download.

2009 Business Fact Sheet Follows:

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

Fact Sheet

September 1, 2009

READY BUSINESS

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Advertising Council launched the Ready Business Campaign in September 2004. This extension of Homeland Security’s successful Ready Campaign, designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies, focuses specifically on business preparedness. Ready Business helps owners and managers of small- and medium-sized businesses prepare their employees, operations and assets in the event of an emergency.

• Ready Business was developed by Homeland Security and launched in partnership with U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Administration, Society of Human Resource Management, The Business Roundtable, The 9/11 Public Discourse Project, ASIS International, Business Executives for National Security, International Safety Equipment Association, International Security Management Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
• The goal of Ready Business is to raise the business community’s awareness of the need for emergency planning and motivate businesses to take action. The campaign encourages business owners and managers to: plan to stay in business; talk to their employees; and protect their investment.
• Emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks, can paralyze business operations. Small- and medium-sized businesses in particular are most vulnerable to these events. Having an emergency plan can help protect a company and maximize its potential to survive and recover after an incident.
• According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses represent more than 99 percent of all employers; provide approximately 75 percent of the net new jobs added to the economy; and represent 97 percent of all U.S. exporters. If these businesses are prepared to survive and recover, the nation and the economy are more secure. Read more

Special interview with federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra – CNET Blogs

Back in April, President Obama announced that Aneesh Chopra, formerly Virginia’s secretary of technology, would be the United State’s first Chief Technology Officer.

“Aneesh will promote technological innovation to help achieve our most urgent priorities — from creating jobs and reducing health care costs to keeping our nation secure,” said Obama.

“Aneesh and Jeffrey [Zients, the newly appointed chief innovation officer] will work closely with our chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency, and lower costs,” he added.

After hearing the news of Melissa Hathaway’s resignation I got to wondering how Mr. Chopra was holding up. I found this interview he gave on Buzz Out Loud just a couple of weeks ago.

BOL 1033: Special interview with federal CTO Aneesh Chopra | Buzz Out Loud Blog – CNET Blogs.

If you are interested in some background on Aneesh Chopra, Tim O’Rielly posted a comprehensive article on his O’Rielly Radar blog back in April entitled Why Aneesh Chopra is a Great Choice for Federal CTO.

Conference Board Report: Meeting the Challenge of a Dispersed Workforce

Here is a news item that Rachel Hastings at WFC Resources was righteous enough to bring to our attention. WFC carried this story in their Manager’s Quarterly Newsletter and I felt it was significant enough to pass along here as well. Check out where they list five practices found to be shared among effective distance teams and notice that only one of them relates specifically to technology… something to ponder. ~ J

Survey Offers Ideas for Managing Teleworkers

A new report from the Conference Board finds 80% of employers in agreement: the payoff for enabling employees to work at a distance is such that it’s worth the extra cost.

The purpose of the report, Meeting The Challenge of a Dispersed Workforce, was to identify effective ways to manage distance employees. The researchers studied high-performing, dispersed work teams, and found several differences in perception between managers and distance workers. More than half of managers (53%) said they spend more than an hour a week developing working relationships with their teleworkers; only 18% of those workers believe their manager spent that much time with them. And while 90% of managers felt the phone was the most effective communication tool, 70% of employees felt in-person meetings were most valuable. Those meetings were on the list of five practices found to be shared among effective distance teams: others were clear agreements on accessibility, good use of group software, adequate company support and clearly defined roles for members.

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