Research: Multi-Tasking

Everyone has to multi-task to some extent. Not only do I find myself constantly multi-tasking for school (going to class, studying, shooting, image editing, writing papers, etc) but I have to multi-task between my academic career and my role as mother (feeding, cooking, changing diapers, changing clothes, washing clothes, cleaning, picking up toys, playing, putting down for naps, comforting, reading stories, etc). Needless to say, it is extremely difficult.

In my images, I appear multiple times to try to demonstrate the constant activities/tasks I perform in taking care of my son. In the image where Henry appears as multiples and I am only there once, I am trying to demonstrate the energy he puts into everything he does, seemingly effortlessly, and my inability to keep up at times. Thinking about all of this led me to research multi-tasking.

Human multi-tasking or multitasking is the performance by an individual of appearing to handle more than one task at the same time. Some believe that multitasking can result in time wasted due to human context switching and apparently causing more errors due to insufficient attention. Since the 1990s, experimental psychologists have started experiments on the nature and limits of human multitasking. It has been shown multitasking is not as workable as concentrated times. In general, these studies have disclosed that people show severe interference when even very simple tasks are performed at the same time, if both tasks require selecting and producing action. Multi-tasking has also been shown to have a negative effect on happiness, as it only allows you to skim the surface of activities rather than give them your full attention. (See the article here.)

I feel that the definition and explanation above are pretty accurate for describing the way I feel about my constant juggling of various things. I find it extremely difficult to give my full attention to anything, but more often than not I give it to Henry, ignoring my homework and other daily tasks. I struggle with this because while I want to be a great mom, I want to keep up the grades I have worked so hard for over the last three years, I want to keep my house clean, I want to get enough sleep, and it goes on and on.

Hopefully my collages are depicting this multi-tasking struggle effectively. My midterm critique is this afternoon, so I guess I'll find out...