One step at a time
Does multitasking delude us into thinking we are being more efficient?
You return home from college with your head buzzing with all the things you need to get done. Being the class monitor, you have to coordinate the logistics of the upcoming class picnic. So you quickly post a note on your Facebook page asking your friends to sign up. Before you start working on your Chemistry record book, you plug your iPod into your ears to listen to the song your friends were discussing this morning. As you start recording your observations of the Chemistry experiment, your cell phone beeps. Your friend sends an SMS asking whether you are coming for tuition. You respond and then get back to your record book. Within a few minutes, your mom calls saying that she will be late. While talking to her, you quickly check your Facebook page for updates. Twenty-four friends have responded. You quickly send another message on What’sApp asking about the picnic. You also text your friends saying the song is really cool. You then get back to writing your Chemistry observations.
