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The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done (2nd Edition) (Project Management and Time Management Skills) Hardcover – February 9, 2021
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Multitasking Doesn’t Work—Learn What Does!
“…multitasking is, in fact, a lie that actually wastes time, energy, and money. Most of all, it robs us of life and our relationships with others.” —Chuck Norris, world-renowned actor and martial artist
Through anecdotal and real-world examples, The Myth of Multitasking proves that multitasking hurts your focus and productivity. Instead, learn how to be more effective by doing one thing at a time.
Productivity and effective time management end with multitasking. The false idea that multitasking is productive has become even more prevalent and damaging to our productivity and well-being since the first edition of The Myth of Multitasking was published in 2008. In this revised and updated second edition, author and productivity expert Dave Crenshaw provides a solution for the chaos of distraction that multitasking creates—and a way to combat the temptation to constantly switch between tasks.
Learn how to actually get things done. Dave Crenshaw takes the idea of multitasking as a productivity tool and smashes it to smithereens. But rather than leaving you with the burden of wading through the wreckage all by yourself, he shows you how to focus, move forward, and free up more time for what you value the most.
In this new edition of The Myth of Multitasking, discover:
- Updated research on how and why multitasking doesn’t work
- Worksheets to help you figure out how to manage your day effectively
- Easy, actionable steps to manage your life well and accomplish your dreams and goals
Readers of self-improvement books and time management books like Indistractable, Free to Focus, or It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work will love increasing productivity and personal success with The Myth of Multitasking.
- Print length224 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMango
- Publication dateFebruary 9, 2021
- Dimensions5.25 x 0.65 x 7.25 inches
- ISBN-101642505056
- ISBN-13978-1642505054
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“In Dave Crenshaw's book The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing It All’ Gets Nothing Done, he demonstrates how multitasking is, in fact, a lie that actually wastes time, energy, and money. Most of all, it robs us of life and our relationships with others.” ―Chuck Norris, world-renowned actor and martial artist
“The Myth of Multitasking provides just the medicine we need to create order from chaos. Dave Crenshaw restores deep focus to enable your most creative, strategic work.” ―Jenny Blake, author of Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One
“Dave's book is a time-management classic and a must-read for professionals at every level.” ―Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You and executive faculty at Duke University Fuqua School of Business
“Every great CEO and rainmaker needs this book!” ―Jeffrey J. Fox, author of How to Become a Rainmaker
“The Myth of Multitasking will show you how to not just to be more productive, but how to treat people with greater respect. Dave's book is essential reading to ease our overloaded minds.” ―Jordan Harbinger, creator of The Jordan Harbinger Show
“Move with speed but not with haste. Be ambitious and hold your focus. This is how you become a force for change. Dave's book will help you create these habits.” ―Michael Bungay Stanier, author of the WSJ bestseller The Coaching Habit
About the Author
As an author, speaker, and online trainer, Dave Crenshaw is a master of building productive leaders.
The irony of Dave’s productive mission is his inherently chaotic and unfocused nature. When he was clinically diagnosed as “off-the-charts” ADHD he took this as a personal challenge and developed simple systems to be organized and productive despite himself. Now, hundreds of thousands of high-performers worldwide utilize Dave’s training to improve focus, productivity, and profitability.
Dave has decades of experience training leaders in Fortune 500 companies, universities, and organizations of every size. His humorous and engaging approach always hits the mark with audiences. His speeches are described as dynamic and life-changing.
Dave’s courses on LinkedIn Learning―such as Time Management Fundamentals and Improving Your Focus―are consistently among the most popular in the world and have received tens of millions of views.
He also frequently appears in the news worldwide, including TIME Magazine, FastCompany, USA Today and the BBC News. However, Dave is most proud of being cited by Chuck Norris in The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book.
He is the founder and CEO of Invaluable Inc., a coaching and training corporation that promotes productive leadership on both the personal and organizational level.
Dave lives in the shadow of Utah’s Rocky Mountains with his wife and children.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From the book:
While collecting her thoughts after Phil’s multitasking exercise, something caught Sally’s attention outside. “I think I’m witnessing a perfect example of what you’re talking about right now. Look out the window.”
Helen and Phil turned to look where Sally was staring. Through Helen’s second-story office window, they had a perfect view of the first-floor office area.
A young man wearing a T-shirt from a local college was standing next to a seated female co-worker. To Phil, it looked as if he was trying to share something very important with his coworker.
“Look at Tracy,” Sally said, pointing out of the window. Tracy the coworker was attempting to focus on her computer monitor―probably a company report―while attempting to give half an ear to the man standing next to her. “Is she even listening to Jason?”
“Jason’s one of our interns,” Helen explained to Phil. “He does good work, but he can be a little overeager sometimes. Tracy is his supervisor.”
Jason continued to speak enthusiastically, and Tracy nodded in response without ever turning away from her computer screen.
“Oh! Look!” Sally said excitedly. “Now she’s walking away to take a call on her cell!”
Jason stood there, hovering in mid-sentence, as he watched Tracy walk away. He dropped his arms in discouragement, shook his head, and shuffled away.
“Poor Jason-the-intern,” Sally said sympathetically. Helen glanced at Sally, and Phil caught the look of doubt on her face.
As the scene downstairs finished, Phil spoke softly. “It’s bad enough losing efficiency and effectiveness when we try to multitask. But when multitasking―switchtasking―involves another person, the costs are deeper.
“People deserve our full attention, whether at home or at work. When we give them only partial, piecemeal attention, the switching costs extend to damaging relationships.
“Moments like you just saw make people feel unimportant. They tell me this all the time.”
“I want people at GreenGarb to feel like they matter,” Helen offered.
Phil nodded. “I can tell you do. And when you focus on them, they feel that. But when you don’t focus on them, it’s the equivalent of seeing someone and saying, ‘Hi, you’re unimportant.’”
Sally chortled. “We’d never do that!”
“Of course not,” Phil replied. “But―”
“But we do that, don’t we?” Helen said. “All the time.”
Phil paused. Both women looked very deep in thought, and he gave them space to take in the moment.
Sally was the first to break the silence. “I have to admit, I need to work on this. I have a tough time giving people my undivided attention.”
Phil smiled encouragingly. “We’ve all done it, Sally. And we’ll continue doing it as long as multitasking―switchtasking―is seen as acceptable.
“The message is this: when someone says they’re ‘good at multitasking,’ they’re really saying they’re inefficient. It’s like publicly admitting you’re going to make it a habit to screw up multiple things at the same time.
“And, ironically, people who consider themselves great at multitasking are statistically more likely to be the worst at it.
“It doesn’t matter how effective you think you are at switchtasking. When you do it, you will take longer getting things done and hurt relationships in the process. Whenever possible, it’s better to focus on one activity―and one person―at a time.”
Product details
- Publisher : Mango; 2nd edition (February 9, 2021)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 224 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1642505056
- ISBN-13 : 978-1642505054
- Item Weight : 7.9 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.65 x 7.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #128,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #162 in Time Management (Books)
- #241 in Personal Time Management
- #2,260 in Success Self-Help
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Dave Crenshaw develops productive leaders in Fortune 500 companies, universities, and organizations of every size. He has appeared in Time magazine, USA Today, FastCompany, and the BBC News. His courses on LinkedIn Learning have been viewed tens of millions of times. His five books have been published in eight languages, the most popular of which is The Myth of Multitasking—a time management bestseller. As an author, speaker, and online instructor, Dave has transformed the lives and careers of hundreds of thousands around the world.
DaveCrenshaw.com
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No! I was background tasking!
That’s one takeaway from the book. You’ll learn the distinction between multitasking, switchtasking, and background tasking. And while you’re learning some of these technical differences, you’ll also discover how to manage your calendar and increase your productivity.
While the turkey simmered, I put my feet up and read this enjoyable little business story in about an hour. Short and sweet, the book covers valuable productivity principles. It shares eye-opening insights on how to enjoy richer relationships and a more relaxed life, as well.
Best of all, it does so in story form. The author leads you through a client/ consultant relationship. Since the best teachers show more than tell, this approach is both effective and engaging.
A great little book, and a terrific way to spend my time on a snowy afternoon.
No it is not a generational thing as our brain does not evolve that quickly and, sorry ladies, there is no evidence, other than urban myth anecdotal evidence, that women can multitask and men cannot. To do two things at once is to do both things poorly.
Thank you, Dave, for sharing this story and for all the great exercises in the book which can help professionals, like my clients, understand that multi-tasking is such a lie and how to go about changing it to improve their productivity at work and, ultimately, their lives.
The book describes the story of Phil who is called in my Helen for some reason. He convinces her that multi-tasking is not efficient (as she seemed to believe) and teaches her different ways of organizing her work so that she does not need to "switchtask" and becomes more effective. Of course, she believes the consultant, changes all her habits and her company and a happy end.
The book is easy to read. It's also small, you can read it in about an hour!! There is not much more than the above story in the book and some quotes from different research (of which some are actually interesting). One thing that annoyed me is that the author decided to rename "multi-tasking" to "switchtasking". I kept wondering why he couldn't call it simple "task switching" which is the common term for this.
The book didn't bother me. I got a couple of useful research quotes out of it and one interesting game to "prove" multitasking is inefficient. The book is small and therefore it might be easy to read. Don't expect much though. 3 stars.
Top reviews from other countries
This was an interesting read, and at time difficult to accept that the author has a point. By the time I finished the book, I was sold on the title, and could see a way to improve the outcomes I was hoping to achieve.