Sarah Sparks wrote an article, “Studies on Multitasking Highlight Value of Self-Control”, on how students claim to multitask on 6 different types of media. Studies have shown that the brain only allows the body to do one thing at a time. When multitasking, the mind seems to take longer than if the task was done individually and one after another. Most teenagers have FOMO, Fear of Missing Out, and they tend to “pay continuous partial attention” which results into them only paying attention to one thing. Researchers have proven we cannot be “two places at once” simply because people can’t cognitively process two things at one time.  When students multitask they have to make a choice and making that choice may cause a bottleneck in the thinking process. Researchers tested students who multitask and students who do one individual task at a time and found that the people who multitask do worse than the individuals. The “marshmallow test”, which used 5 and 6-year-olds to see if they had self-control and to see if they could wait 15 minutes and get a second marshmallow than only getting one but they couldn’t eat that one marshmallow, found that kids who have self-control live better and successful lives. A similar test was done to college students using text messages and researchers found that students who wait to message back get 10% higher test scores. The reader’s attention can be effected when replying to a text message or email because the reader then has to turn their focus on the phone and has to read, understand, and respond to the message while remembering what they read before the interruption. What we consider “multitasking” is not the true definition of multitasking but we can teach our brain to multitask because we live in a connected world.

             Multitasking and “continuous partial attention” are two different things. Computers multitask and humans “pay continuous partial attention”. In my experience, I have paid “continuous partial attention” many times; for example, when someone calls an individual and they are playing an online game, they don’t stop playing the game just to answer the phone and will just agree to what the other is saying on the other line. Do you ever get off the phone and wonder what you were even talking about? Well, when the mind is “multitasking”, it tends to focus more on one task than the other. This backs up Spark’s article because the mind cannot be “two places at once”; the mind simply has to choose between two tasks. When playing an online video game, Call of Duty, and talking on the phone, I find myself playing a game and having a brief pause when my mom asks me a question because I have to understand what she was saying and respond, with a reasonable answer, all while focusing on playing the game and not dying. Another example for “multitasking” can be lecture and note taking, this example can be debated depending on how someone take notes. In a lecture class the teacher talks for an hour and 15 minutes and in that time they have to take notes on what they think is important or what may like information they may have to study for. Note taking may come easily to some but not all because listening to the teacher and taking notes at the same time may be hard because they may fear that they may miss out on something the teacher is saying because they may have to focus on writing notes for themselves. In a lecture, I find myself listening to the teacher more because I can’t concentrate on hearing them speak and me finding a way to think of what they said and write it down in a form where I can understand it better. The brain can only focus on one thing which is either going to be on how to take notes and write them down or what the professor is saying and understanding it all, doing both is complex and some students may miss out on important information because they are focus on taking notes. These can be two perfect examples of why the brain can never be “two places at once”.

            Steve Mueller, author of “Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix Explained”, wrote about Stephen Covey, an inspirational speaker who wrote many books, and his explanation of time management and the four quadrants. Each quadrant had a specific meaning of what task goes in the quadrant and also gave examples. The first quadrant had to deal with important deadlines with very high urgency’s; an example could be getting gas or an essay that is due tomorrow because they need immediate attention. According to Covey, the second quadrant, important tasks that don’t need immediate attention, is the most important because it can help them not have a lot of task in the first quadrant like groceries or an assignment that are due Sunday. The third quadrant should only have activities that are urgent but not important unlike set dates; for example, cleaning the house. The last and final quadrant, fourth quadrant, is all unimportant task that does not add value; like playing video games. In order to apply the time management matrix, understanding what task are needed in order to achieve a long-term goal or any goal in life will be useful. Reprioritizing a ‘to-do’ list can help achieve those goals because that can determine what activities are important than others and which tasks need to get done immediately. Making a weekly assessment every weekend by writing down all of the activities and how long they take may help prepare.

            In order to become successful in college or even in life, knowing how to manage time so they can get plenty of tasks done. In college, I use the time management matrix more often than I think. The time management matrix consists of four quadrants but rarely do I use all four. Most of my time is spent in quadrant 2 because I choose to get my work done ahead of time or try to get a jump start into the week by doing my regular tasks that I have to get done every week; for example, course documents for history and also answering 2 questions a week in history and also doing my prelab questions for chemistry. Rarely do I ever step into quadrant one because I focus on getting ahead so if for English I have to finish a paper Tuesday night or Wednesday I have time to do that. Third and fourth quadrant task will come on the weekends if I have got all of my work done but I usually will choose to get work done that I know has to be finished the following week. A ‘to-do’ list is important to me because I can visualize all the activities I need to get done for the following week. Sunday is when I make my modified weekly assessment, looking at what I have done and not have done and bring it over to my next week’s agenda because most of my task don’t have a certain time limit I am able to do them. Having the time management matrix helps me prioritize all of my tasks in an orderly fashion and not have the anxiety of wondering if I have finished an assignment for my classes.

            Looking at my schedule for the week and planning what I need to get done on certain days helps me out a lot. Having the Time management matrix helps me do one thing at a time so I don’t have to multitask because as Sparks article stated when we multitask we take more time out of our schedule than if we just focused on one thing. Students who “multitask” can be less successful than students who use the time management matrix. Suffering from migraines growing up, time management is a must because being able to work around headaches when getting one can be stress relieving. If students don’t use time management then they can find their selves rushing assignments. People say that they are better when working under pressure and procrastinate but if tasks are done on time or sooner than students will be able to do things in quadrant four of Covey’s time management matrix. The time management matrix is proof that the brain cannot “multitask” and therefore we have to prioritize and take on our responsibilities before doing any other task that may not concern us with our short-term or long-term goals. Action planning, creating habits, and perseverance are all valid ideas on maintaining a constant and great time management matrix in future life and also in achieving one’s goals (“How to manage your time effectively”).

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Work cited

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Mueller, Steve. "Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix Explained." Planet of Success. 09 Oct. 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. <http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2015/stephen-coveys-time-management-matrix-explained/>.

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Sparks, Sarah D. "Studies on Multitasking Highlight Value of Self-Control." Education Week.11 May 2016. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. <http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/31multitasking_ep.h31.html?tkn=PTWFGpBwR5o7bKrnCvQZswL8Vr%2BlUoJB%2B62c&cmp=clp-edweek>.

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Woodcock, Bruce. "HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY." University of Kent.  Web. 29 Oct. 2016. <https://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/time.htm>.