Infographic Category Business

The High Cost of Multitasking

By | source: Feb 9th, 2014

No doubt we are all used to texting, having 1-on-1 conversations, using Facebook and at the same time working on an assignment. We like to say we are multi-taskers. We’ve got all the power to stay ahead. I can read my e-book, cook, clean, and talk on the phone all at the same. But really, who the heck am I kidding. Who are we all kidding?! The person on the other end is annoyed, cleaning gets half-assed, the chicken comes out dry, and the material only gets skimmed over.

Maybe it’s only me and I do a terrible job at juggling, but I doubt that. The infographic shows that an estimated $450 billion are lost annually due to people not being immersed in the task at hand. The lack of immersion excluded, our minds are elsewhere. On average we are looking at our cellphones 150 times daily! We even have syndromes that define the sensation of feeling like you got a text.

This country’s economy is doing better, sure. But what are we doing to the companies that we work for if during our briefings and conferences we are using our electronic devices to do completely unrelated things. Our efficiency, even our IQ, falls while trying to multitask. So, if we are really trying to save time by multi-tasking, or just find momentary enjoyment, why don’t we save ourselves some more time and focus on one thing at a time. That way, there is more time for fun later. [via]