Efficient multitaskers, are you one?

Main question in bold down below if you're looking for the short version.

I think most people have seen studies that seem to indicate that trying to do more than one thing at once leads to a lack of productivity compared to knocking out your tasks one by one, giving them your full attention. But some things are almost totally passive in nature, allowing you to give your full attention to your primary focus while reaping the benefits of the secondary goals. For me it's things like:

<>instead of doing mindless cardio, build a skill while you do it. Juggle a soccer ball, do some jumprope tricks, play tennis. The exercise isn't any less effective just because your mind is occupied and you might be enjoying yourself.
<>don't just lay out in the sun, be active. Walk your dog, do yoga, garden. Your skin will turn just as dark and probably be more even from exposing every angle of your body.
<>if you like spending a long time in a hot shower, take care of some other hygiene related obligations while you're in there. Everyone brushes their teeth, keep that stuff in the shower. Contacts? Your hands will already be clean keep the solution and case in there with you. Take advantage of your warm body by stretching it out a bit.




I'm intrested in any tips anyone cares to share on being super efficient. If you only have an hour a day for self improvement, how do you get the most bang for your buck? Some examples of exactly what I do follow, ignore if you don't wanna be bothered by them.




So, examples of some of the ways to try and combine a few healthy practices into one package:

Today I could have:
1. Gone to the gym in the morning and walked on the treadmill for 90 minutes to burn some calories
2. Laid out in the sun for an hour and a half around noon to work on the tan
3. Played on the basketball courts tonight, shooting baskets while other people rebounded the ball and doing a lot of standing around

Instead I went to the park from 12:00 to 1:30. Played football / basketball with some little kids who were there. Kept moving the entire time, much better workout than the treadmill. Got a bunch of shots up, improved my J. Was barefoot and shirtless the whole time, nice healthy glow from being outside for a while on a beautiful day. Toughened the soles of my feet up as well which I like for future, more adventurous barefoot excursions.




My bedtime routine could be:
1. Spend 5 minutes stretching hamstrings, quads, glutes, groin.
2. Go in bathroom and wash hands, take contacts out and put them in their case
3. Brush teeth for a few minutes while staring at myself.
4. Hop in the shower and stand there for a bit enjoying the hot water.

I always set my water and phone by my bed beforehand and then ... Images of Kramer cooking in the shower might come to mind but I like to get the water running and immediately hop in, get a mouthful of hot water and start swishing it around (I almost always eat immediately before my shower which is immediately before bed). Start pissing if I have to go, hah, and take my contacts out while getting whatever I had just finished drinking out of my mouth. Brushing teeth follows right after, not really having to worry about aiming my spit or drooling. By the time that's over a few minutes have passed and the environment has become conducive to stretching. Body's already warm and loose so I hit a few yoga poses as well, standing head to knee ~ standing bow ~ toe stand. Is it just me or do hamstring stretches trigger a sleep reflex or something? When I was less flexible it would affect me extra hard but it's still something I love to do right before bed to make me feel a little extra tired. Then into my room right across the hall, turn the fan on and straight under the covers.

 

multitasking is the only way I can get anything done...otherwise my A.D.D. takes over and nothing happens

sorry if this doesnt answer whatever the question was because I skipped to the short version and honestly just skimmed through it...no wait..maybe glanced is a better word

 

i can multitask efficiently with some things. basically mindless things like you mentioned.

i'm posting while talking to my mom on the phone right now, and i'm not good enough at multitasking to go into more detail than that.

 

i always admired bill clintons multi tasking ability

 

I am good at multitasking, but I used to be fucking awesome at it.

 

:rofl:

 

masturbating and drinkin beer is the best multitasking i can do

 

It depends on what it is. If it is work related, no. It does not work well. Some tasks are related to each other so they can be combined but normally each task is fairly independent.

If it is everyday stuff then I usually have more than one task on the go at a time. Usually they are timed so that a natural break in one task is when the other(s) need to be done.

So even with multitasking it is planned for me to accomplish it.

 

Ite so I came up with:

cardio + skill building + sun exposure

and

hot shower + stretching / yoga + brushing teeth + (contacts) + (morning protein shake / smoothy / coffee and using hot water to clean cup while you're there)

Nobody has anything like this to offer? Sharing is caring.

 

I'm fairly good at multitasking. I'm usually good at coming into a situation that's a mess and making some order of it.

.

 

i came up with

talking on the phone + posting



specific examples aren't really that useful because different people want to accomplish different goals. for example, yesterday at work i was washing giant plastic lids one at a time in the dishwasher, and while the dishwasher was cycling i was putting cheese into pizza crusts. i seriously doubt that that is useful for anyone but myself though.

likewise, i don't do go out of my way to exercise, tan, or work on my basketball skill, nor do i stretch, do yoga, or drink anything but water in the morning, so your suggestions are pretty much useless to me.

 

I tend to waste personal time and save the multitasking for work.

 

I'm not sure if what I do is multitasking, or just my weird obsessive compulsive patterns. I tend to start one thing, then I'll start something else, and then something else, and so on, and then I just keep going back to each project until they're done. Now I only do this at work, when I'm at home, I don't do that at all. When I am at home, I am wasting the hell out of my time, and I love it. There's no point to life if you don't enjoy some of it.

 

That's exactly the kind of good shit I'm talking about! I had forgotten about chores that just require a set-up then enough time to complete themselves. Cooking / dishwasher / washing machine / drying clothes can all be comined into an hour or two for a super productive morning or afternoon. So how about twice a week or thereabouts you just have a chore session where you knock everything out:

Cook some healthy meals for the next couple days + wash all your dishes + wash all your laundry + dry clothes as they come out + clip your nails / trim your hair during any downtime you have (while watching football or something on a day like today for me)

with some GOOD MUSIC on in the background the whole time


and you have a really enjoyable, productive period of time. I know I usually end up wasting a lot of time while doing these things. If you do one thing each day you'll probably end up wasting twice the amount of time standing around waiting for things to finish up.

 

There are some specific tasks at my job that lend themselves to "overlapping" with other duties. Part of my job involves using a small press to set up what are called phenolic counterplate- these are left on impression for a couple minutes which free my hands up for more labor intensive duties. It may not technically be multitasking but it's making use of "dead" time where I'd otherwise be standing idle by the press.

I don't tend to multitask much at home. It's my time and I'll squander it as I see fit. I'm with you there.

 

i suppose now that you mention it, i do multitask with my laundry. i don't have my own washing machine, so i'll go to the laundromat, get everything in the wash, then while it's washing i go grocery shopping. then i come back, switch clothes to the dryers, and while they dry i go home, put away the groceries, and clean up my apartment.

 

Shower + Stretching + Teeth

Music + Chores + Grooming

Exercise + Improvement + Tanning

I like that Stinkfoot, making use of dead time. That's getting more on track of the idea I'm looking for. Feels like our language is lacking the ability to perfectly describe this concept ... multiple activities with inherent dead time lending themselves to be combined with other similar pursuits in order to minimize the down time of the involved individual?

Somebody do me one better

 

when i'm playing video games, i usually smoke pot during the cutscenes so i don't have to pause the game for it.

 

I have a 7 month old baby, if I didn't multitask I'd never get anything done and I'd just end up sitting in a puddle of drool.

 

sports like basketball tend to only work the short burst endurance. that's why i've started running lately.

being more efficient and multi-tasking chores i guess i always try to do. actual different things at the same time i can't do at all. i've always been a more one track mind kinda guy. hyper focus on whatever thing im working on. i can't write a letter while talking on the phone or any neat stuff like that. always thought people that could were pretty lucky though. it'd be a cool ability to have. i've heard theres ways to train yourself to be able to do that though.