The limits of multi-tasking

Most people if you ask them will tell you they're good at multitasking. Most people will also tell you that they are better than average drivers, which of course is a statistical impossibility since at least some of those people who think they are good drivers aren't.

So, most people will tell you they think they're pretty good at multitasking.

I think for the most part I do okay at it. I have met people who cannot deal with more than one task at a time, or who become overwhelmed by multiple tasks at an earlier stage than I do. But I know I'm not superwoman.

Why does that word look funny? Shouldn't women be able to lay claim to super power as well? Perhaps Übermensch (without all that nihilism) would be a better word since it isn't gender specific, just referring to humans...

Anyway, I'm no Übermensch. But I think I've figured out one of the secrets of multitasking: you can get a lot done when it's something you've done before.

When you've done something before, you have two advantages over someone who has never done that task before: you know how long each step of it will (should) take, and your body remembers what it feels like to do that task.

Think about when you learned to ride a bike, or drive a car, or even tie your shoes. The first few times you did each of those things, it required a lot of concentration. When you learned to ride a bike, you were tempted to look at your feet on the pedals instead of where you were going because you were concentrating so hard. When you learned to drive a car, your parents probably made you turn to radio off so it wouldn't distract you. When you learned to tie your shoes, you concentrated on the task (and perhaps your tongue found its way out of the side of your mouth as you concentrated on learning how to tie your shoes... of maybe that was just me!)

When those tasks were unfamiliar, you spent a lot of mental and even physical energy learning them, but once they became familiar, you stopped thinking about them. When was the last time you thought about bunny ears, or over around and through?

But while you learn, it takes a lot of mental energy. If you're doing many activities at the same time that you've done before, you'll use much less mental energy than concentrating on trying to perform a new task.

The other advantage in multitasking things you've done before is that you know how much time everything takes. Think of the first time you tried to cook a dinner that had multiple dishes. You probably had some of the food ready far earlier than needed and were impatiently waiting for something else to cook. (Or again, maybe that was just me!) But after you've done it a few times, you know exactly when you need to start everything in order to have it on the table when you want to serve it.

(I will admit I consistently underestimate how long it will take me to cut fruit. Don't know why, but if you come over to my place for food and it's not ready, look for the fruit plate - that's what threw me off - everytime.)

I've been exhausted lately and trying to figure out why, because I've been getting enough sleep, exercise, food etc.

Then I realized - I've been doing quite a few "new" things lately, and simultaneously, and I think that's why my brain and body are rebelling. Too much overload. I'm teaching two courses at a new school, one of which is a course I've never taught before, and both require new preps to match the objectives at this particular school. We're also trying to buy a house - and we've had some hiccoughs. And we're beginning a new elearning project - one that's really far beyond any expertise that I have - I've been talking to lots of engineers and architects for the project, and they speak a language that's unfamiliar to me.

So I've reached the limits of my multi-tasking. My brain and body need a break from all these new experiences, or at the very least, it needs a lot fewer of them. I don't really see when that will happen, but until then, my ability to do multiple things at one time will be compromised.