Multi-Tasking

And here’s another bit of information you can use (although you can’t expect your kids to believe you): The young only think they’re better multitaskers. Just look at teenagers and people in their 20s, e-mailing, instant messaging and listening to iPods at the same time and you'll have a good idea of the mulittasking that goes on in most of the younger generations.

However, recently completed research at the Institute for the Future of the Mind at Oxford University suggests the popular perception is open to question. A group of 18- to 21-year-olds and a group of 35- to 39-year-olds were given 90 seconds to translate images into numbers, using a simple code.

The younger group did 10 percent better when not interrupted. But when both groups were interrupted by a phone call, a cellphone short-text message or an instant message, the older group matched the younger group in speed and accuracy.

“The older people think more slowly, but they have a faster fluid intelligence, so they are better able to block out interruptions and choose what to focus on,” said Martin Westwell, deputy director of the institute.

In the computer age, technology has been seen not only as a factor contributing to information overload but also as a tool for coping with it. Computers can help people juggle workloads, according a paper presented this month at a conference at the National Bureau of Economic Research. And, if we use it wisely, technology can help us accomplish more and do it in less time. But, if we only get distracted by it, it is really defeating the whole purpose. So slow down, work on one thing at a time, and see how much faster you are!