The Pros And Cons Of Multitasking

I often find myself multitasking; may it be as an associate pastor/drummer/teacher/translator/content creator for my local church or while at the office or at home. I am sure you find yourself juggling several hats and having to do several things at once. While we all do it, I think we must acknowledge some pros and cons as it pertains to multitasking. In this blog post, I will mention three pros and three cons as it pertains to multitasking.

As previously mentioned, we all multitask. To some, it is easy to walk, chew gum, and talk at the same time. While for others, not so much. Here are three pros when considering multitasking as a method for completing an item from the to-do-list.

multitasking Pro number one.
You can complete several tasks at a time, even if it is just a little bit at a time. You may not find yourself getting the ball down to the end zone quickly, but you will further along with the progress. By multitasking, you can achieve some of project A, while still working on project B.

MULTITASKING PRO NUMBER two.

Developing the ability to be flexible; after all, what is multitasking if not just moving back and forth from activity in a swift motion? Being able to switch hats promptly is something some people struggle with doing. When we multitask, we may be expected to be able to switch from one thing to another at a drop of a dime. You may be sending an email while making a call, or answering an email while receiving one, and still responding to a text message.

MULTITASKING PRO NUMBER three.

Resourcefulness. Some tools utilized to complete project A can also be used to complete project B, at least that is what a multitasker will say. Where others are trying to think outside of the cubical, a multitasker has already seen the various possible angles. They are resourceful when called upon, and it is that resourcefulness that makes it look effortless.

We often multitask in our everyday life, but we also tend to miss out even when we are physically in the room. Here are three cons as it pertains to multitasking.

MULTITASKING con NUMBER ONE.

Multitasking can cause mistakes. It's easy to make mistakes when you're focusing on multiple things at once; Trying to finish multiple tasks at once, and divide your mind to focus on multiple areas at once. It may be beneficial if you are focused on one task at a time; put all of your energy into completing one project and then move on to the next thing based upon priority.

MULTITASKING con NUMBER two.

Multitasking makes you susceptible to distractions. When multitasking, you are called to complete what you are working on while focusing on the next thing; therefore, you may neglect some details and make mistakes. As you try to accomplish multiple projects at once, you may become distracted by impending deadlines, last-minute changes, etc. You often hear a sports coach tell a player: "get your head in the game." The fact is that the player has to think about the offense, the defense, remember the scouting report, and in some cases, even block out the pain of a lingering injury; after juggling all of that, they still have to face several reporters at once.

MULTITASKING con NUMBER three.

Multitasking can cause you to not be present. After the athlete gets grilled by the coach, they sometimes turn it around. When asked after the game what changed, they say: "I just played my game." But what does that mean? It means they were present. They stopped thinking about the next play, and the next player, and the scouting report and just focused on the one task they had in that one moment - rather on defense or offense.

Being present means that you're in the moment, and nothing else matters. You aren't thinking about anything else, and all of your mental power, physical power, and energy go into this one thing. Being present allows you to provide the best service possible on the task you're doing for the people you're serving.

When we are not present, several things happen:

Number one: We are not providing the best service possible.

Number two. We are not representing our organization in the best way possible.

Number three. We are not being faithful to the organization's vision.

final thoughts.

Ultimately, I think multitasking is a useful tool, but it's not always beneficial. If all we focus on is how fast we can get from point A to point B or how many things we can get done at once, we may forget to serve. We cannot forget that the name of the game is service. The moment that we take our eyes off of serving, the vision falls to the wayside, and everyone suffers.