It’s time for the weekly speedlink here on Beyond the Rhetoric, so let’s just dive right into it.
We start off with Stephen Fung, pictured above, who is feeling a little frazzled these days. That’s because it’s the slower time of the year and he’s sharing ways to keep the business buzzing. We just got back from CES (make sure you enter my swag contest), so he’s hoping to nurture some of those continued relationships into viable income sources. How else can you ride out the leaner months for your small business?
Continuing with the topic of self-employment, we turn to Gregory Ciotti. He’s sharing some great tips on how you can use science to be more productive in 2013. It’s important to engage in “deliberate practice,” for example. We should also recognize that multitasking is counter-productive. Focus on one thing at a time, utilizing “intense segments of productive work where maximum energy [is] exerted.”
Switching gears, we turn to the fictional world of television where Shouting into the Void discusses the problem with The Big Bang Theory. It’s a very popular comedy that seems to celebrate geek culture, but at the same time, we are being led to laugh at Raj, Howard, Sheldon and Leonard rather than laugh with them. It also makes you wonder whether Sheldon really does have Asperger’s Syndrome.
Hockey is back! Before the new NHL season officially kicked off last Saturday, John Biehler made his way to Rogers Arena for a Vancouver Canucks scrimmage game. He snapped some great photos of our boys in blue and grey as they tried to get themselves back into game shape. Based on how these first two games have gone, maybe they needed some more scrimmage time.
Last but not least, we have Daree Allen who discusses some random acts of kindness. She has one story about how she and a colleague got the boot, plus a list of ways how you can be creative with your own random act of kindness… just because. Would you pay for a random stranger’s groceries?
Stephen looks like he is having a caffeine overload!
I disagree that multitasking is counter productive though. There are many ways to multitask, one of which is the try to do everything at the same time. This type of multitasking is what most people consider the definition of multitasking is, but they would be wrong. That is the definition of unorganized mass chaos.
The proper definition of multitasking is to accomplish multiple tasks at the same time using organized tools. As an example, I am currently the technical lead for 3 major projects for the school district. For each one I have a team of experts in what I need to get done and delegate tasks accordingly. While I do have the ability and knowledge to do all the tasks myself, I don’t. By choosing what I delegate and what I involve myself in I am able to multitask all 3 projects. They are all up to date and on schedule while I work on all three every day.
I just see the unorganized multitasking and put it off to poor planning and education in management.
Delegating and multitasking aren’t really the same thing.
I think you are stuck on semantics Michael. I can multitask by delegating. I am still getting more than one thing done at the same time, just not having myself do all the leg work. I still check on them multiple times a day, and realistically no one can do more than one thing at the same time. You might be talking on the phone and IMing someone, but you either are talking on the phone and your mind is thinking about what you are saying or you are concentrating on the IM.
The mind as we use it cannot do two things at the same time. Einstein could, or possibly Stephen Hawkings, but not you or I or 99% of the worlds population. Multitasking is a computer chip strength, not a human brain strength with humans at this point in our development.