The Multi Tasking Myth

As a manager of IT based work, I would say that one of the top 5 things you need to understand is the The Multi-Tasking Myth. Check out this picture:

Scary isn't it? It means that the simple act of switching between projects costs you - big time. Now, why should a manager really care? He or She should care because it means that the decisions they make have consequences. If you ask someone to work on A, then switch them over to B, then back to A, you are paying a big price.

Does that mean that you should never change course and have your team members drop what they are working on? Of course not. But it does mean that a big part of your job should be figuring out how you can avoid doing this.

Lots of people way smarter than me have a lot to say on this, so do read up on it.