Multitasking

Multitasking

In this modern world, every individual to some extent has to be multitasking in some or the other part of the day or for some throughout the day (Cai, 2015). The action of multitasking takes place when two or more work is performed simultaneously at the same time. A constant mental juggling of the tasks keeps taking place. The term is actually taken up from computers that are programmed to be multitasking. The human mind needs practice to excel in multitasking and even after a total grasp on the practice it is seen that the productivity of the brain reduces. The parallel process is followed by the mind when multitasking is practiced as two or seemingly different task are performed at the same time (Guastello, 2013). While sitting on a desk and working it is essential that the brain works in multiple directions to be aware of the work environment and produce the needed results. The brain has to keep in track the work that is to be done and also the immediate requirements that keep popping up in workspace. The use of working memory has to be very much active so that the person working on a desk can keep in mind of the other factors that are present in the workspace. Supposedly, if a man is working on the computer and has a phone call to attend then the attention has to be kept in balance. It is essential that the person keeps the recent developments on the phone call and the subject of work in the working memory so that the work does not get hamper and the conversation on phone yields a result. When a person is on the move and has other works than just to be on the computer, the person needs to be more attentive to the works that are at hand. The man can be moving from place to place and has to keep in attention the tasks that are to be performed in a specific time period. The amount of attention has to be higher as the attentive memory allows the psyche of the person to work according to the work priority that has been set up by the mind.

In management it is essential for a person to be able to perform multitasking at a time due to the nature of responsibility that management bestows upon that person (Loukopoulos, Dismukes & Barshi, 2016). A person working in the management section needs to keep in mind all the sections that are working and the problems each of them are facing. Task switching is a commonly used practice that actually creates a switching cost that lowers the overall response time of the mind (Guastello, 2013). The long term memory allows the mind to remember things that had taken place quite a time back and hence it is of utmost importance in management.

The working memory will allow a person who is on the desk and working on a constant physical setting to make sure that the immediate task list is always kept in mind. The working memory enables a person to recall immediate incidents and work accordingly on those (Gathercole & Baddeley, 2014).Working memory is associated with the duration of the work and it yields the best results when the task is in a short span supposedly of around 45 minutes (Guastello, 2013). The task list or the priority of the work that is done needs to be in the attention as it shapes the behaviour and the attitude of the person towards the given task or the work. Attention leads the mind into giving selective importance on a subject that is to be dealt with in the workspace. While it is an issue that with multitasking, the attention span reduces subsequently, however it is necessary for a modern day employee to be working with the ability to multitask due to the rising pressure and stress in the workspace (Guastello, 2013). The person who has other works than just sitting on a desktop shall be holding a bigger domain of multitasking as it is a requirement for the person to be able to serve according to the various needs that come up in the work. The working memory enables the mind to bring back the immediate events in attention and enables the mind to concentrate harder. The working memory is though referred to as the short term memory or the immediate memory; it is the most useful one in terms of multitasking capabilities of a person.

Cai, A. R. (2015). Social power and the pursuit of multiple goals: effects of power on multitasking tendency and ability(Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London)). Retrieved from : http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1461724/1/Thesis%20Alice%20Corrected.pdf

Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (2014). Working memory and language. Psychology Press. ISBN 1317775287, 9781317775287

Guastello, S. J. (2013). Human factors engineering and ergonomics: A systems approach. CRC Press. ISBN 1466560096, 9781466560093

Loukopoulos, L. D., Dismukes, R. K., & Barshi, I. (2016). The multitasking myth: Handling complexity in real-world operations. Routledge. Retrieved from: https://www.academy.jccbi.gov/ama-800/Summer_2009.pdf#page=111

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