top of page

Dakota Miller             

ENG. 111

15FEB2016

Multitasking and Time Management Essay

​

            When you get to the end of the day and you think about what you’ve accomplished. Do you believe it is a product of your ability to multitask

​

or have good time management? Or was it the lack of those abilities that caused you to be unproductive? Can time management and multitasking be

 

used at the same time and are they even real skills that people can use?  Let’s see what the experts have to say and what they have found in their

​

research.

​

     Sarah Sparks, a staff writer for Education Week, believes that multitasking, by its original definition, is not an ability we as humans poses (Sparks).

​

“Multitasking” has become a daily function for many people in the world. This has come about with all of the different types of media available to

​

users at the click of a button. It has been found that people, ages 13- 18, use up to or more than 6 types of media when not in a classroom setting. This

​

much use of media can have a negative effect on the student’s ability to learn. When they give small amounts of attention to many things instead of all

 

their attention to the task at hand it can be very difficult for them to complete it, or even concentrate on completing it. In fact, it is impossible for the

​

brain to complete more than two tasks at one time. Even switching from one task to another slows the process because the prefrontal cortex, where the

 

brain makes decisions, is overloaded with too many decisions to make and it can only make one at a time. Generally, people who let their brain focus

 

on one thing at a time are found to score higher on memory test than those who say that they are avid multitaskers.  They also score lower on test if

​

they are multitasking by trying to listen and text or test and text at the same time. Multitasking can also affect learning or studying when trying to read.

​

When the reader receives a text they are temporarily halted from learning in order to respond. They also learn at a slower pace because they must re-

​

read some of what they have already been over in order to find where they left off or fully understand it. The inability of people to focus on one thing

 

is best described by a study known as the “Marshmallow Test” conducted in the 1960’s. It revealed humans basic need of instant gratification, or

 

wanting something right away, but it also found that the subjects that could resist the gratification where more successful at everything later in life

 

than those who could not resist. The same is shown for students who immediately answer text during a classroom or testing session. Those who

 

replied right away scored considerably lower than those who waited to text, or did not text at all. In other words, multitasking can prove to be very

 

troublesome and not truly possible.

​

      I have found it impossible to multitask myself. The many times I have tried have resulted in work on one project taking too long, or not being

 

completed at all. More often than not, I attempt to do most things around the house with the television on. I tell myself it’s just for background noise

 

and it will feel like things are getting done faster. Truth be told, things are actually getting done slower because I find myself watching what’s on, even

 

the commercials. This shows me that I am truly unable to do two things at once, even when I’m not trying to do one of them. It isn’t possible for me

 

to stay on task and have the background noise. I’m either paying attention to one or the other, and every time my attention changes from one to the

 

other I have to reassess what is going on and what I’m doing. Making a smooth transition doesn’t occur and the entire process of both things is made

​

very slow. Doing one at a time would benefit me greatly, but I don’t have enough self-control to do that. I allow myself to be taken over by the want

 

to watch television and immediately satisfy that need. All the while knowing I could watch as much as I want when I finish my work and actually

 

understand and enjoy the show if I would just wait until I was finished with my work. Because I cannot multitask, I find it more beneficial to focus on

 

time management in order to complete task on time.

 

     Time management is very important in most people’s lives. Everyone uses it to a degree or else nothing important would get done. Just the things

 

that are fun. Dwight D. Eisenhower defined managing activities into “urgent” and “important” task. To begin using Eisenhower’s principle you must

 

simply understand the difference of these two and then make a to-do list based on his four categories. Important task are the ones that benefit the doer

 

themselves and not anybody else. These help obtain goals either in their job or home. Urgent task are most often oriented towards another person’s

 

goals. Task that are important and urgent should come first on the to-do list. These are the task that were procrastinated on or that sprung up at the last

 

second, but must be completed immediately. Next comes those that are important but not urgent. These are work or personal goals that benefit the

 

doer and their advancement and are the task that are produced with the highest quality. Third are the task that are not important but are urgent. These

 

tasks are most often done for the benefit of another or a group as a whole, but generally can wait to be done for some time. Finally we have tasks that

 

are neither important nor urgent. These are things that do not benefit the doer or anybody else and can be put on hold until time opens for them to be

 

done or they can be forgotten and not done at all with no consequences.

​

     Unfortunately, I find myself spending too much time stressed out in the important and urgent quadrant, because I’m also spending too much time

 

in the not important or urgent quadrant. In order to fix this I plan on implementing some time management practices into my life. First, I would like to

 

get a notebook for each and every class I’m taking and in the front I will write down each and every assignment I know and when it is due. Also, in

 

order to keep myself organized and further aware of assignment due dates I plan to follow the 3C procedure from the JMU Learning toolbox website.

 

The first C is creating a calendar which I plan to do with a white board so it is always visible to me. On the calendar I will write down all major

 

projects and assignments. Next comes creating a weekly planner. This will be a weekly planner with the assignments and scheduled times when I

 

should work on them well ahead of the due date. Finally, I will also create a daily to do list on my white board that coordinates with the calendar and

 

the weekly planner. I believe this will organize me much better and allow me to spend more time in the quadrant of important but not urgent, and

 

allow me to live my life a little more stress free.

​

     Unfortunately, multitasking is not a discernable skill. Attempting it can prove to be disastrous as well. However, time management is a skill that, if

​

not everybody has, can be developed and all required tasks can be completed. Carefully developing a time management quadrant, and ceasing to

 

attempt multiple things at the same time, can lead to success and a little less stress.  

​

​

​

Works Cited

 

Sparks, Sarah. "Studies on Multitasking Highlight Value of Self-Control." Education Week. 15May2012. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

​

     < http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/31multitasking_ep.h31.html>   

 

Mueller, Steve. "Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix Explained." Planet of Success. 09OCT. 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

​

     <http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2015/stephen-coveys-time-management-matrix-explained/

bottom of page