Josh Nankivel has started blogging and picked up on the perennially-favorite topic of multi-tasking: Multi - tasking, Covey and TOC.
Multi-tasking is a subject I'm passionate about. Passionate about NOT doing actually, whenever possible. Let me start by identifying two types of multi-tasking, bad and required. ...
He talks about the theory of constraints connection, and he also makes connection to Covey's 4 quadrants. I particularly like that he makes a clear link from the "bad multi-tasking" concerns of the TOC world to his personal issues with multitasking.
Personally, it is becoming painfully obvious how much damage jumping from task-to-task does. Over the end-of-year break, I've had more free time than I need, so I end up starting many little activities that take much longer than they ever should do. I laugh at myself in the morning, as I prepare everyones' lunches: "Do one at a time, Jack. One at a time."
Nankivel discusses his daily routine. I read a lot of what David Allen proposes in Getting Things Done. It's also similar to what Covey talks about in the four quadrants discussion of importance and urgency. With a brain full of extra stuff because there is no trusted system, I am almost guaranteed to multi-task.