TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Slow Down, Multitaskers, and Don't Read in Traffic

Slow Down, Multitaskers, and Don't Read in Traffic

Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)
Sun, 25 Mar 2007 14:46:39 -0400

Slow Down, Multitaskers, and Don't Read in Traffic

By STEVE LOHR
The New York Times
March 25, 2007

Confident multitaskers of the world, could I have your attention?

Think you can juggle phone calls, e-mail, instant messages and
computer work to get more done in a time-starved world? Read on,
preferably shutting out the cacophony of digital devices for a while.

Several research reports, both recently published and not yet
published, provide evidence of the limits of multitasking. The
findings, according to neuroscientists, psychologists and management
professors, suggest that many people would be wise to curb their
multitasking behavior when working in an office, studying or driving
a car.

These experts have some basic advice. Check e-mail messages once an
hour, at most. Listening to soothing background music while studying
may improve concentration. But other distractions - most songs with
lyrics, instant messaging, television shows - hamper performance.
Driving while talking on a cellphone, even with a hands-free headset,
is a bad idea.

In short, the answer appears to lie in managing the technology,
instead of merely yielding to its incessant tug.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/business/25multi.html?ex=1332475200&en=f2956114b1265d9b&ei=5090

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