Multi-Tasking & Social Media – Mastering the Balance
Feb 11, 2009 Social Learning SIG
While reading Will Thalheimer’s blog on multitasking, I started playing out situations in my mind.
- Twitter, email and IM popping up new messages
- Going through my RSS feed
- Checking LinkedIn & Facebook
- Answering the phone
- Attending to visitors
Yet as we do this we are all learning. So if it actually is a disturbance to multi-task, where is the line? What is considered multi-tasking and what is considered fruitful learning & performance? This is what I have come up with initially…
I see myself in a constant state of learning. But those non-formal times of learning which are best for me are when they are targeted. It doesn’t matter if I use 100 different resources or 1. But if I am focused then I can use all my tools to accomplish a task.
For example, yesterday I was trying to find a way to create a movie in Camtasia, send it to Adobe Premiere and produce the final with a clear picture. The ones I was doing were decent, but I needed more clarity. To do this I integrated a google search, help search, Twitter shout-out and email. I wasn’t multi-tasking. Instead I was focused on one task even though I was using multiple avenues.
Recognizing this some time ago, I have turned off email popups and check my RSS feeds, LinkedIn, Facebook and NING sites on purpose (as apposed to haphazardly). (Twitter I still have on, but often I let those go until I can check a bunch at a time.) If I am heavy into the moment I let my phone go to voicemail. And in desparate times I “pull out the plant.” This large plant blocks anyone from visiting me. All these things keep my learning and production focused, avoiding the multi-tasking.
One last thought – I have found there is some benefit to procrastination. Interruptions don’t always receive immediate brain share. They are put on the backburner unless they are an emergency (Covey’s “Important vs. Urgent”). Sometimes they disappear before I get to them. Often my brain will, in the background, deal with the situation so when I do allow it to occupy my time I can speedily take care of it. The brain is a beautiful thing.
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Tags: Camtasia Studio, Facebook, LinkedIn, multi-tasking, RSS, social, social media, Twitter
February 12th, 2009 at 1:33 am
Good reflection on multitasking in a twittering world.
One of the things I’ve thought about for years is spontaneous ruminations and their effect on learning. Here’s what I mean: If I learn something at Time 1, then go on and take a walk, I’m likely during the walk to think about what I just learned. Isn’t this rumination a repetition, and a spaced repetition at that, and a spaced repetition in a slightly different context (all of which improve and deepen learning).
If, instead of taking a walk, I watched Law and Order (or spend time Twittering?), the likelihood of having that rumination decreases significantly, and I lose the learning opportunity.
What I’m curious about is the benefits of doing something like twittering after learning, because I might be likely to use the learning from Time 1 to make a creative connection between my Time 1 learning and my Twitter learning. One more complication: The rumination during the walk would increase memory accessibility which would make further creative connections possible for Twittering, etc.
But here’s a problem for Twitter users in evaluating the benefits we feel we are deriving from the creative links we make in Twitter. We can see them, but we can’t see the benefits from a walk we didn’t take(or any reflective time).
November 10th, 2009 at 5:56 am
It is true that learning is a continuous process and it is very difficult to multi task. Every time I tried to do that I had a tough time in managing that. Nice post anyway !!
November 13th, 2009 at 6:03 am
You are perfectly right in writing this about multi tasking. I remember that a few years ago, people used to talk about multi tasking with awe and being able to do so was considered a mark of capability. However, today, we are unlearning and going back to the days of single minded work ethics. You’re not alone in pulling out the plant. You pull the plant, I pull a lazyboy across the door
Nice post!
November 19th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Men are not meant to multi task. Every woman knows that! The only multi tasking men are really good at is drinking a pint and eating a bag of crisps at the same time.
November 25th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Hi … as johs said Social Media as a tactic to social principles as the foundation of each flourishing business Social Media In addition to Facebook pages, there is talk of Twitter comments possibly appearing in the search engines for all to see.you can’t expect great things from facebook because it is , after all, just a place to hang out .
December 8th, 2009 at 6:35 am
Our social ad platform is built specifically to serve social… It can render ads that contain Twitter messages , comments from web communities , and virtually any social data from any site including your.
December 13th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Anonymous blogs and commenters are the biggest problem. It gets in the way of being open, honest, and authentic. It is also an indicator of how poorly and rudely we treat each other… civility and politeness have been lost. As an online society, we are timid… we say and write things to each other online that we would never say orwrite in person.
December 13th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Wow this is a really good article. I m glad to have read it. I m looking forward for more of your articles………….Keep up the good work and Wish you all MERRY CHRISTMAS…..
December 16th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
The social media not only changes the news but also it changes the strategies .The social media is all about create , serve and report.
December 22nd, 2009 at 3:58 am
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December 24th, 2009 at 7:23 am
I think India turns the social media into new strategies.This “one to many” and “many to many” strategy will create a wide scale social influence on the customers and communities they serve.
December 29th, 2009 at 12:27 am
It is also an indicator of how poorly and rudely we treat each other… civility and politeness have been lost. As an online society, we are timid…
January 12th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Great post Congratulations.