THE LIMITS OF MULTI-TASKING

"Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things."

Robert Louis Stevenson

19th century Scottish essayist/poet/novelist

Really, the perpetual devotion to most anything comes at the expense of adequate time for all other things.

You may think you've successfully got all the balls in the air at once but you don't.

In any event not all for long.

Maybe Tomorrow

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."

William James

19th century American philosopher/psychologist

Nor as inefficient in the use of resources.

Have you ever considered how much of your company's time and money is wasted by not completing important tasks as soon as possible?

Time Management: Any Fat Left?

"It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste."

Henry Ford

Yesterday's post talked about doing more with fewer people, which relates to time.

Can there be any companies left where time is still wasted?

"What I'm Trying to Say Is . . ."

"To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement."

Mark Twain

This is ironically part of a longer quote addressing the importance of brevity.

What would happen in our meetings if we could impose a "half as many words as normal" rule?

In other words, no meeting can include more than half the words used in a typical meeting.