Having recently graduated from university, I know the feeling of having too much on your plate – and I don't mean food! The last year has been a crazy whirlwind of courses, assignments, exams and presentations which seemed never-ending; but, I‘m happy to say that there is a method to the madness if you take it one step at a time.
Initially, at the beginning of each semester, I planned to read the chapters of all my textbooks and all the academic articles I had to read before the relevant class. I soon found that this is not plausible if you still want to have a life. So I made a list of every deadline for all my courses and checked off each assignment as it was completed. This way, I had a finite way of measuring my progress. Completing one assignment or a group of assignments a day helped me to deal with the increasing pressure of deadlines.
I also combined fun activities with not-so-fun ones. I completed assignments while hanging out with friends by using their expertise in a certain area to aid me in my assignments. Then when the assignment was done, I got to hang out with my friends.
Another way I coped was by using a highlighter relentlessly. If I highlighted the main points in articles, they were much easier to remember. I found that listening to Baroque music helped me to absorb the information in the articles better, and this exercise further assisted me in my music course.
Once in a while, when the right elements are combined and there is a system in place, multitasking really can work. It just depends on the number of tasks you're trying to perform at one time and the complexity and cohesion of the tasks.
So next time you have a deadline and need to perform a number of tasks at a time, try combining two seemingly unrelated tasks (preferably a complex task with a simple one, or a manual task such as typing with an auditory task such as a phone conversation) and you may just be able to master the art of multitasking.
Nuzreth Vanrobaeys, B.Mgt
Asyma Systems Ltd. |
