How Multitasking Burned Me
There is a common misconception that multitasking is a great way to get more done. I don't think this is true and have read in a few different places that it's actually counter-productive. It may be true that women are better multitaskers than men, and I will let the women win that argument.
I do believe that I am more productive when I focus my attention on one thing at a time. And when I try to do too many things at once, I get burned. No, literally BURNED!
You may know part of the story from our Over the Weekend post, but the real story has a great lesson built into it. I was trying to get some chicken nuggets into the oven quickly so that Kels and I could head out and take her outfit photos before the sun went down.
Making chicken nuggets is not a difficult task.
Here's how we do it:
- Preheat the oven.
- With oven mitts, take out pizza stone.
- Place chicken nuggets on stone.
- With oven mitts, put pizza stone back in the oven.
See, there's nothing to it...when I am focused on the task at hand.
When I try to do too many things at once is when I forget that first part of step four which says, "With oven mitts." And then I burn seven out of 10 of my fingers, and ruin my night--as well as Kelsey's.
We learned that one of our house rules works really well though. After years of saying "I'm OK" when we drop something, I didn't say it this time. I screamed and Kelsey yelled, "Are you OK?" and I replied, "No...I'm not." Kelsey ran to the kitchen to see what happened (and did a great job of treating my wounds).
So, in an effort to save a few minutes, I wasted a whole evening. Let this be a lesson to everyone: 1. Use oven mitts and 2. Don't try to multitask.
Multitaking = BAD. Singular-tasking = GOOD.
Have you ever learned a lesson the hard way?
P.S. You might also like to read Kelsey's side of the story.