In business, time and efficiency come at a premium. The countless books, blogs and articles on improving efficiency and various time-management strategies stand as permanent testaments to the value placed on time. One strategy in particular, multitasking, often gets promoted as a time-saving strategy that lets you get more done in a day.

Multitasking Myth

Multitasking boils down to performing multiple tasks at the same time or, in computer jargon, engaging in parallel processing. By doing more than one thing at a time, so the myth goes, you get more done. In truth, human beings can focus on more than one complex task at a time with only limited success. What human beings do excel at is task-switching, moving from one task to a different one and devoting the majority of attention to the individual tasks in sequence. Even this, which can look like multitasking, comes with a price tag. Each switch between tasks costs a tenth of a second while the brain disengages rules governing one task and engages rules governing the new task, which add up over the course of days and weeks.

Combine the Simple and Complex

One place where multitasking does work occurs when people combine simple tasks with complex tasks. Simple tasks that call on limited mental resources or employ skills a person no longer needs to think about let you focus on a separate, complex task. A person could combine walking to the diner he usually frequents with conducting a business call. The walking demands little attention, leaving the mind free to conduct business.

Combine Similarly Complex Tasks

If you simply cannot avoid combining complex tasks, combining complex tasks that involve the same information could prove less costly in terms of time. Working on a report while writing an email that relies heavily on that information, or conducting a phone call about the information that appears in the report at least groups the tasks under a topic. In this approach, you don’t force the brain to move between topics that have no relationship. This approach still runs the risk of interference, a phenomenon where different tasks compete to use the same portions of the brain.

Combine Simple

In any given business, a variety of tasks will likely become tasks that require little or no thought. Combining two of those tasks, such as checking in inventory while placing a duplicate order with a vendor, could prove to save some time as the strategy runs less risk of tasks competing for limited brain resources. Other simple tasks that you could try combining include checking out customers at the counter, fielding basic questions and directing staff to handle more complex tasks.

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