Being Multifunctional: Is It What You Need?

What does it mean to be multifunctional? Is it a useful skill? At first glance, it seems that it is beneficial for a person to have this skill. Let us consider this quality, define the advantages and disadvantages, and make a conclusion.

Defining the Skill

When people refer to their multifunctionality, they imply that they can handle several tasks at the same time. It seems like a beneficial quality, and a lot of people can indeed call themselves multifunctional. However, sometimes, fulfilling more than one task is not the best idea.

However, quite often, employers require the ability to act in a multitasking environment. Multifunctionality is often mentioned as a required skill in job descriptions. So, it is a necessary ability, or is it the enemy of productivity, as many people say? There are a lot of opinions in this regard. But regardless of their points of view, it is the functionality of the brain that people should pay attention to.

Why Multifunctionality Doesn’t Work

People’s attention has a certain momentum. They need some time to focus on a particular task. After a while, the brain gets tired. If in the process, a person suddenly changes its activity, the brain will have to concentrate again. In this way, a person will get tired faster. The outcome will be the same if you continuously switch between different activities.

Without completing the first task, you start fulfilling the second one. Your brain is still focused on the first assignment, but you force it to concentrate on the other. Hence, you cannot focus on and provide an effective result for any of the tasks you are working on. You will spend much more energy because you fulfill two assignments at once, which is impossible for your brain.

How to Avoid Multitasking

If you want to make your brain work to its fullest effectiveness, you will have to change the strategy and try to work in a mono-tasking environment:

  • Work on tasks in a sequence: the human brain works most effectively on sequential processing of information. In other words, you should fulfill one assignment at a time, not paying attention to anything else. It is hard, especially if you are used to a multifunctional approach, or phone notifications or calls are continuously distracting you. But it is how the brain functions better and more effectively, i.e., it likes fulfilling assignments in sequence.
  • Give yourself room to maneuver: people are bad at estimating the time they need to fulfill particular tasks. To avoid this situation, plan some extra time in your schedule. Foresee half an hour or an hour that you use in the case of an emergency or unpredicted situation. If you can complete the tasks on time, spend this hour at the end of the day doing something useful or pleasant.
  • Do not give in to sudden impulses: for example, you are working on some essential task. Everything is going as scheduled, but then you have a brilliant idea. Your brain immediately switches over and starts thinking about a new idea. Stop! It is a violation of the main mono-tasking rule, i.e., you are switching to another assignment before you have completed the first one. Therefore, describe it in your notes with a couple of phrases and keep working.

Conclusion

Regardless of requirements imposed by many employers, multitasking is not so beneficial as it seems at first. It is caused by the nature of the human body. Thus, if you think it is essential to have this skill on your CV, add it. However, it is better to think well before working in a multifunctional manner. How long will it take until you feel burnout?