The Art of Multitasking

Multitasking – that revered skill that every job description subtly demands but never quite explains. It’s like one of those magic tricks where the magician is juggling flaming swords while pulling rabbits out of a hat. And in the corporate world, we are all expected to be that magician, minus the applause, and probably adding a dash of existential dread.

Let’s face it, multitasking in the workplace is just a fancy term for “doing too much at the same time and hoping none of it catches fire.” Imagine sitting at your desk, a cup of cold coffee that you’ve reheated twice sitting beside you, while you’re on a Zoom call, replying to an email, and internally panicking about the report that’s due in an hour. Oh, and did I mention that your boss just pinged you to ask how the project is going, the one you forgot existed? Yes, that’s multitasking in a nutshell – a chaotic dance where you’re both the performer and the janitor cleaning up after the show.

The beauty of multitasking lies in its ability to make us believe we’re being ultra-productive, when in reality, we’re just spinning our wheels. Take, for instance, the art of responding to an email while on a conference call. Sounds impressive, right? Except you’ve probably sent your grocery list to your boss and accidentally agreed to a deadline that you’d need a time machine to meet. Classic multitasking mishap.

Then there’s the added spice of switching between tasks. Psychologists call this “task-switching,” which sounds like a skill, but really it’s just our brains desperately trying to remember what we were doing five seconds ago. You start writing a proposal, only to be interrupted by a notification about a meeting, during which you remember that you need to reply to a client, but halfway through your reply, your phone buzzes with a reminder that it’s someone’s birthday. Naturally, you now have to wish them on three different platforms. By the time you get back to your original task, you’ve forgotten what the proposal was even about. But hey, at least you’ve mastered the art of distraction.

Multitasking is like trying to cook an elaborate five-course meal while simultaneously vacuuming the house and taking a yoga class. In theory, it all sounds doable, but you know something’s going to burn, and it’s probably your sanity. And yet, in the workplace, multitasking is seen as a superpower – the more you do, the more valuable you are. Forget quality; we’re all about quantity here. It’s like playing a game of “How much can you do before you crash?”

Of course, no one tells you that multitasking comes with a cost. You may feel like a productivity ninja as you switch between tasks, but really, your brain is more like that hamster on a wheel, running endlessly but not getting anywhere. And let’s not even talk about the toll it takes on your stress levels. Have you ever tried to send an important email while your coworker asks for an update, your phone rings, and your Slack notifications go off like it’s a fireworks show? By the end of the day, you feel like you’ve fought in a war, and the only thing you’ve won is the right to go home and collapse.

And yet, we persevere. Why? Because we’re masters of multitasking. We thrive on it. We wear our busyness like a badge of honor. Sure, we may not remember what we did by the end of the day, but who needs details when you’ve answered 50 emails, attended five meetings, and somehow managed to convince your boss that everything is “under control?” but for the sake of truth, nothing is ever under control.

But here’s the secret that no one tells you: multitasking is really just a series of half-completed tasks disguised as progress. We like to think we’re being superheroes, but in reality, we’re more like the guy juggling too many balls – sooner or later, one of them is going to hit the ground. And when it does, you just hope it’s not the one labeled “urgent.”

So, the next time you find yourself trying to simultaneously draft an email, join a meeting, and eat lunch (because who has time for a proper break?), just remember: multitasking may seem like an art, but sometimes the most productive thing you can do is focus on one task at a time. Or, at the very least, try not to burn your lunch while doing it.