Comments on: Are you Frazzing? http://saunderslog.com/2006/01/20/are-you-frazzing/ A daily round table on the tech industry with experts and callers from all over the globe. Join us as we pick apart the news and get to the meat of what\'s happening out there. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:07:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Jim H. http://saunderslog.com/2006/01/20/are-you-frazzing/#comment-5949 Jim H. Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:22:27 +0000 http://saunderslog.com/2006/01/20/are-you-frazzing/#comment-5949 The first time I heard someone say they were multi-tasking was back in 1989. I had a question of a coworker, but he was busy at his terminal. I waited until he turned to me, but instead he kept going and said, "go ahead with your question, I'm multi-tasking." I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now. I walked away without asking my question. I don't brag about doing it because I don't believe in it. There are certain tasks I can overlap if it means starting one machine process then doing something else, like downloading, doing the wash, etc. That's not multitasking, that's parallel processing. In a human environment it means hiring enough people to do the job. But, most employers, it seems, would rather get a lot of half assed work done than do a good job, completed at a later date. Windows is a good example of a product that was delivered on a short deadline and we're all wasting time dealing with all of its problems. I am a focused person, who turns off the telephone ringer off while I work. If turn the ringer on when I am expecting a call. I do not carry a cell or iPOD into the park when I take a walk. I would rather listen to nature. I like to be disconnected and unreachable for periods of the day. If I start to work into the evening and find a problem unsolvable, I quit, get a full night's sleep and the answer often comes to me within minutes or seconds after waking up. Other times answers to difficult problems come to me when I am NOT grinding away making believe I'm working on them. They come to me when I am taking a walk or other times when my mind is free to process them. A friend of mine, who multi-tasks thoughts while he's trying to listen to other people, responds with, uhm.... uhm.... uhm.... uhm.... LITERALLY! That's because his context switching hasn't caught up with his task switching. Computers that multi-task do a better job than people do. But if you ever worked on a multi-tasking computer system environment such as UNIX, you will notice that it SLOWS DOWN when it is handling more users. It also hands off jobs (delegates) to other devices (I/O blocking, it's called) so it can work faster. Those other devices are analogous to other employees. I consider my stubborn refusal to multi-task or work long long hours for free a badge of honor. I have studied the internals of the UNIX multiprocessing environment and have also read the studies of Dr. David Meyer. He has proven time and again that multi-tasking slows people down and results in poor quality work. Go ahead.. Google +multitasking +Meyer Multi-tasking, in today's context, is B.S.! You want to get more done? Organize your stuff and prioritize your tasks. The ideal time to switch is when your mind is zoning out from the present task. Also.... sleep more and spend time with your family and/or friends. The first time I heard someone say they were multi-tasking was back in 1989. I had a question of a coworker, but he was busy at his terminal. I waited until he turned to me, but instead he kept going and said, “go ahead with your question, I’m multi-tasking.” I didn’t buy it then and I don’t buy it now. I walked away without asking my question.

I don’t brag about doing it because I don’t believe in it. There are certain tasks I can overlap if it means starting one machine process then doing something else, like downloading, doing the wash, etc. That’s not multitasking, that’s parallel processing. In a human environment it means hiring enough people to do the job. But, most employers, it seems, would rather get a lot of half assed work done than do a good job, completed at a later date. Windows is a good example of a product that was delivered on a short deadline and we’re all wasting time dealing with all of its problems.

I am a focused person, who turns off the telephone ringer off while I work. If turn the ringer on when I am expecting a call. I do not carry a cell or iPOD into the park when I take a walk. I would rather listen to nature.

I like to be disconnected and unreachable for periods of the day.

If I start to work into the evening and find a problem unsolvable, I quit, get a full night’s sleep and the answer often comes to me within minutes or seconds after waking up. Other times answers to difficult problems come to me when I am NOT grinding away making believe I’m working on them. They come to me when I am taking a walk or other times when my mind is free to process them.

A friend of mine, who multi-tasks thoughts while he’s trying to listen to other people, responds with, uhm…. uhm…. uhm…. uhm…. LITERALLY! That’s because his context switching hasn’t caught up with his task switching.

Computers that multi-task do a better job than people do. But if you ever worked on a multi-tasking computer system environment such as UNIX, you will notice that it SLOWS DOWN when it is handling more users. It also hands off jobs (delegates) to other devices (I/O blocking, it’s called) so it can work faster. Those other devices are analogous to other employees.

I consider my stubborn refusal to multi-task or work long long hours for free a badge of honor. I have studied the internals of the UNIX multiprocessing environment and have also read the studies of Dr. David Meyer. He has proven time and again that multi-tasking slows people down and results in poor quality work.
Go ahead.. Google +multitasking +Meyer

Multi-tasking, in today’s context, is B.S.!

You want to get more done? Organize your stuff and prioritize your tasks. The ideal time to switch is when your mind is zoning out from the present task. Also…. sleep more and spend time with your family and/or friends.

]]>