Connectnigeria Articles

By Kobe Eru Godwin

The ability to multi-task is an invaluable tool in any organization. Companies almost always go for that candidate who has a little extra something (in terms of skill) on the side; and multi-tasking is one of those skills. Gone are the days when nobody cared about the employee’s output per duration of time. Times have changed. In contemporary work environments, it is no longer enough to do just one thing at a time. The demands on employees have upped a notch and companies these days often require a single employee to work on several different tasks, ranging from taking calls and responding to pressing emails and instant messages to attending a virtual meeting or creating a complicated database. Thus, being able to multi-task efficiently means the employee is able to juggle a number of different tasks at the same time, all without losing sight of the big picture. For a lot of companies, multi-tasking could be likened to a coin. One side is being able to perform more than one task at a time and the other is having the technical competence for more than one skill. This is the reason why you can see a job ad for the post of an electrical engineer and just under it, a caption saying “knowledge of CISCO is an added advantage”. In an era of specialisation, a multi-skilled workforce has become essential. It can lead to improved productivity for the organization and directly impact the company’s objective. Besides, a recent study has shown that workplace interruptions, such as phone calls or the arrival of e-mail, consume more than two hours of the average professional’s workday. How then, can you multitask effectively? 1. At the start of day, create a to-do list: this is very important because it gives you clear-cut goals for the day as opposed to working in a random manner. Thank God for Smartphones, which give you the option of reminders at pre-set intervals. If you have a supervisor, you might have to wait for instructions from him first but even then, other things like calls, emails, and compilations require your own discretion. 2. Prioritize your responsibilities: this involves deciding what comes before what and ensures that the more important tasks are handled promptly and efficiently. However, there are certain tasks that can be handled simultaneously with others, like taking calls while clearing your desk or replying a mail, and so on. Some others just need you to kick-start them after which they can run on their own to completion. Again, there are certain tasks that are really time-consuming. If you are not careful, they can deter you from handling other equally important jobs and they still would not get completed in good time. At the same time, look out for jobs with deadlines and know the ones which require you to put multi-tasking on hold and give them your undivided attention. 3. Keep your PC organized and use its resources: Approaching multi-task actions from a computational viewpoint with PCs taking the place of thinking and certain decision-making can be worthwhile. This tactic involves setting up notifications that pop up when certain programming tasks have been completed, essentially pushing the information processing burden (the need to be alert and check on the status of certain tasks) onto the computer. A lot of software is at your disposal today and you will be amazed at how much your computer can do for you on its own just by having the right software running on it. 4. Avoid dilly-dallying: simply put, don’t procrastinate. An adage I learnt while growing up says “never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today”. When you have a job to do, plan ahead and address it as soon as possible otherwise one job left undone will lead to many others until they pile up and begin to affect the quality of your work. Avoid distractions because they tend to lead to procrastination. Resist the urge to take a peek at your blinking Smartphone when you are attending to something and train yourself to handle each task immediately without delaying it. 5. Don’t bite more than you can chew: in setting out goals for the day, be realistic. Don’t take more than you can effectively handle at a time. It’s okay to exert yourself every once in a while but be careful so you don’t stretch yourself too thin or to breaking point. If you take more than you can handle per time, you’ll end up cutting down your productivity and even frustrating as well as sabotaging your own efforts.

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This article was first published on 14th January 2013

jehonwa

Joy Ehonwa is an editor and a writer who is passionate about relationships and personal development. She runs Pinpoint Creatives, a proofreading, editing, transcription and ghostwriting service. Email: pinpointcreatives [at] yahoo.com