In this fast paced, go go go world, it’s no wonder that you’re stuck doing a billion things at the same time.

The word multitask comes up all the time.  They talk about in school, employers list it as a requirement, and we all put so much emphasis on the ability to multitask that we sometimes forget to ask, “Is multitasking really helping me?”

Well the truth is that there is no such thing as multitasking. What really happens is that we end up switchtasking. Our mind just switches from one task to another giving the appearance of multitasking. This is why people shouldn’t use their cell phones when they’re driving. If people could truly do two things simultaneously, then there would be no accidents arising from a cell phone/driving combo.

What marketing guru Alex Mandossian suggests instead is stacking.

Here are some of his examples of what stacking is:

• Eating dinner while watching TV
• Jogging while listening to your iPod
• Driving while listening to the radio
• Writing email while printing a letter

Well, you get the idea. These activities when combined do not compete for the same attention from your brain. Instead, only one of those tasks requires mental exertion.

If you’re looking for spiritual development or personal growth, you will have to think about what is the best way to get on track to achieving your goal. When you think about how to get to that goal, you will invariably think that you can multitask. Newsflash: just as you can’t medidate and watch the news at the same time, you cannot read Arjuna Ardagh while listening to a Tony Robbins seminar.

So stay focused and you will hit a personal development growth spurt.

“Why Multitasking Destroys Your Productivity

Most entrepreneurs I know are proud of their “multitasking” ability.

According to Wikipedia, “Human multitasking is the performance by an individual of appearing to handle more than one task at the same time.” The keyword that multitasking a myth is: “appearing.”

The term originated with computer multitasking — a CPU solves problems by scheduling tasks and switching from task to task until each task gets its turn.

The activity of switching back-and-forth may be a computer-friendly activity, but it’s anything but human-friendly when it comes to an entrepreneur’s personal productivity in the office or home!

Dave Crenshaw wrote my favorite book on the topic and I recommend it to any entrepreneur who still thinks and feels that multitasking is cool.

On page 29 in The Myth of Multitasking, Dave writes:

“Around the end of the twentieth century, some wordsmith saw the connection between our increasingly hectic world and the world of the computer. A catchword was born.

Newspapers began peppering their articles with the word. Talk shows hosts began using it with frequency. Magazines began publishing articles about how to multitask more effectively.

Multitasking quickly became as popular and accepted as the automobile and the hamburger.”

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