Multitasking is dead. Or it should be.
Many of my college students have iphones, blackberry storms, droids, and other gadgets renown for their multitasking capabilities. At the semester beginning a student even zapped my brain with a quick Google search when my mouth could not retrieve a word. In a word, nifty.
At meetings that seem to go on and on I occasionally read and respond to emails. Could something be wrong with being super-efficient–being in two places at the same time?
As one year gives way to another it truly dawns on me that it is difficult, perhaps, impossible, to be present in two places at the same time. On a recent visit to a class at Harvard Business School I was encouraged to hear that students there are not allowed the use of laptops or other technological marvels during class time. Hurrah!
Multitasking is, of course, not always inappropriate. But for moderate to complex tasks, quality is almost always poorer without commensurate time saved.
Perhaps, I exaggerated earlier. Perhaps multitasking is not yet hooked to a respirator. But multitasking is fettered to a world of fear and uncertainty-the fear and uncertainty that we need to get it all done or else lose our tenuous foothold in the world.
My nod to 2010 is an acknowledgment that I cannot be in two places at once. I cannot be in 2009 and 2010 at the same time. One me. One place. One time. Now.
