Do One, Two, Three things at a time ... Really!

I often think multi-tasking or high bandwidth multi communication processing is over hyped, over rated and frankly unnecessary! I have seen no dearth of sub-ordinates, peers and even superiors speak about these qualities as a part of their professional skill in glowing terms but still do not seem to make much headway with it!

. I do believe that the sophisticated organ that we call the brain is very capable of processing an amazing number of instruction sets and also the fact that we hardly utilize the capacity of this organ. But be aware though that getting things done in the real world is not just about the brain!

. Long ‘Must Do’ to-do lists that individuals draw up for parallel attention without any clue regarding the commitment and effort involved in accomplishing them also concern me

. In my professional life, I often come across two extreme mental faculties amongst people while most of us fall somewhere in between – Type One, mostly is in eternal awe with their daily routines, in what they need to do, unable to prioritize between the tasks in hand or do not have the information or possible skills to tackle the task they have been handed!

. Even if they can prioritize tasks they have problems communicating where they need assistance & from what kind of skill set. The other set, Type Two set are the supremely confident (the high bandwidth multi tasking types) for whom doing one or two things is way below their intellectual zone and highly demeaning. They are in an eternal rush to take one more than others and complete it quicker than the others. Both types actually end up taking on more than they can chew or what is needed to be chewed and suffer from the consequences – lower quality of work and demonstrating stress symptoms even without realizing!

. The pains associated with Type One are more apparent - confusion, doubt, fear & frustration in not being able to complete the task as required! Consequently, the pains associated with Type Two though more discrete still make the individual and the organization vulnerable.

. The Type Two does not function alone like any one else, they have to interact and succeed with others around them and as they ascend the leadership ranks the leverage and dependence on others increases. Even if they individually can focus and handle multiple tasks on their own, their quality of external communication and their ability to interact and deal with different people and the roles that those people play deteriorates as they take on more tasks.

. Also the people that the Type Two deal with (assuming that they too are carrying the same task) may not necessarily be able to operate in the same multi-tasking mode that the Type Two’s can. The resultant collaborative work quality usually suffers!

. So instead of taking on big bites how about this – irrespective of the mental category you are in, take two or three tasks at a time based on the priority. Then plan to complete each of them within a pre set time period. If you cannot prioritize the tasks or have doubts regarding the time you need to allocate for completion, seek advise from your Supervisor (Do not Suffer in Silence – see related post).

. Handle these two or three tasks with focus, diligence and collaboration. Seek ‘Quality’ all the way. Not just yours but the quality amongst your co-workers as well. Get a high quality job done!

. As you focus on these two or three tasks, you have automatically prioritized them with a time allotment, you now think more clearly because you are attending to these tasks alone and you are working them towards completion either individually or with your team

. As one or more of these prioritized tasks that you are working on gets done, replace them with the next task on the basis of priority from your to-do list and so on. Do this and see how things work …. I will take Quality anytime in lieu of Quantity!

. So what happens when you hit the wall with a task that you do not seem to be making any progress with? Well as soon as you hit the time that you allotted for the task or even prior, judge the priority of the task compared to the tasks still pending. Based on your conclusion either slot the task further down your priority list to be attended to later or if it is immediately crucial then research the task more, socialize with your team members, think about possible alternate options & seek guidance from your supervisor.

. I missed out mentioning honest expectation setting in the midst of all this. As you handle your two to three things and other tasks show up simultaneously with near time delivery expectations – determine its priority in line with what you have in your plate or your current queue. If you have tasks further down the queue that have an equal or a higher priority, then do not be afraid to set the right expectations for a delayed delivery, prior to taking the task – people will respect you for that.

. However, if there is any way in which a new task with a high level of urgency can be prioritized based on the circumstances, then by all means do so. Make sure that the beneficiary is aware of what you have done for him. Adds on as a favor in you ‘frequent flyer’ miles bank