Managing Time: Multitasking

Multitasking combines tasks into logical and sometimes simultaneous activities. Preparing roast beef dinner only takes four hours. The roast cooks in three hours. Making punch takes 10 minutes. Mash potatoes boil in 30 minutes with an additional 15 minutes to mash. Biscuits are cooked in 30 minutes. A salad with dressing is prepared in 20 minutes.

After preparing the roast it will cook for three hours and it is time to make punch, so it chills in the refrigerator. Then the schedule is open hour and 30 to 45 minutes. This time is free to clean the kitchen, wash laundry, talk to other people, relax watching television, or set the table.

After an hour and 30 to 45 minutes passes place water on the stove to boil. While it is heating chop potatoes and drop them into the boiling water. While they cook prepare the biscuits. The biscuits are placed in the oven leaving time to chop vegetables for the salad. Preparation of the salad might be incomplete before the biscuits are ready to cool and the potatoes moved to a bowl where they are mashed together with cream, butter, salt and parsley. Since the ingredients are prepared for the salad in few minutes it is mixed with dressing and placed in the refrigerator. Everything is done when the roast is ready. The roast stands a few minutes giving time to plate sides and pour drinks. Slice meat and serve dinner. Several tasks are completed during one time frame to achieve a goal.

Another example of multitasking is going to college. In college for every hour of class there are two-to-three hours of study. During a week the student completes several tasks in order to live a health, happy lifestyle. They manage personal grooming, social life, school and work. Most people understand personal grooming. It is similar to an assembly line; shower, dry hair, get dressed and style hair. These are focused activities performed in a logical order. It doesn't make sense to style hair before taking a shower. The person is busy. There is no time to check e-mails or study.

Everyday a person eats two-to-three full meals, so they eat before and after class. Student listens to lecture, reads textbook and writes notes. This is beginning of multitasking. Once a week, a person has to wash laundry. While clothes are in the washing machine they talk to friends, make plans or study. While studying a person can check e-mails or surf the internet for reference materials, though focused study is better. The combination of activities allows the person to spend quality time with friends or perform other tasks like going to the library or grocery store because they were able to make plans while washing clothing. The student graduates while living a functional, rewarding life.

Multitasking skills are required in office settings. Unlike an assembly line where each person is only responsible for one part of the assembly line: press product, file edges, fold boxes or fill boxes with merchandise, physically exhausting and monotonous, a person talks on the phone, enters data in a computer, retrieves scripts from a computer while marketing the company with scripted or suggested phrases. The ability to shift from one task to another must be seamless, mentally exhausting and rarely monotonous.

Though these jobs seem different, between tasks or waiting for a vat of material to form an assembly line worker may need to multitask by discussing a new technique with coworkers or cleaning workspace. A certified technician prepares a vat for machining and continues other tasks like gathering materials or assembling product. A telecommunications employee relaxes a moment before reopening the phone line. People refine skills over time. A new telecommunication employee needs additional time typing notes after the call has ended. An expert will never suspend incoming calls unless on an official break or talking to a supervisor.

Multitasking saves time. It isn't possible to multitask at all times, yet it is a huge time saver. There is no reason to stand around waiting for the roast to cook and then make side dishes. It is also counterproductive to interrupt a skilled task that demands complete attention. After the roast is done a person assembles everything on the plate by moving from one element to the next. Organizing each step may or may not depend on another event happening first; therefore, place activities in a logical form to get best results.

Related Article
College Food
Managing Time: Long-Term
Managing Time: Short-Term
Perfume Beef Roast
Pink Salad