Proof multi-tasking does not work...

Earlier this week I was attempting to walk, talk, get someone's attention, pick up a piece of paper from my desk and move my coffee cup off the aforementioned piece of paper. All at the same time.

Now, I know that multi-tasking is not an efficient way of working. I've talked about it in my book and it recently featured in an article I wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald about how to 'Stick To The Important Stuff' which featured the advice "avoid multi-tasking".

But the day-to-day temptation to try and do everything at the same time is strong. And little did I know that the lid on the coffee cup was not quite secure. The result is as you can see below.

A disaster.

Two rolls of paper towel and 15 minutes later order was finally restored.

I completely forgot what I was trying to do or say.

And worst of all?

No coffee for Karen. Boo Hoo.

There's a lot of research and a lot being written about multi-tasking that support that the two or five things we try and do at once are not such a good idea. Here's a selection I found that you might be interested in:

Multi-taskers bad at multi-tasking

Is multi-tasking bad for your health?

Is multi-tasking a myth?

Whatever the research or discussion, the lingering smell of coffee, that I'm not quite sure how to get out of my keyboard, reminds me that doing one thing at a time might be a better idea!

Next time I'm heading to the coffee shop!

Karen