Multitasking

I came across this blog about the drawbacks of multitasking.  I have noticed that I can get more done if I simply focus on a single task at any given time.  I also find my work more enjoyable, and I usually have more energy at the end of a day with a smaller amount of multitasking than the other way around.  While I multitask occasionally, I try to avoid it whenever possible.  Then I read this rebuttal and realized that "multitasking" can mean different things to different people.  So how would I define multitasking?

• Focus your attention on a single task at a time.  If another issue emerges that is more important, that should get 100% of your attention.  If it is not more important, then it can wait.
• Multitasking is about the attention to a task and does not refer to the number of thoughts you must keep in your head at any given time

So avoiding multitasking doesn't mean closing off all contact with the outside world while you're working on a particular task.  You could designate certain times during the day for contact for non-urgent issues, with the understanding that you would be available by phone at other times if needed.  You could treat e-mail the same way - check e-mail periodically throughout the day, but only respond to non-critical e-mails at certain times.

Avoiding multitasking also doesn't mean that you can't put aside a particular task if you're stuck.  It means focusing 100% of your attention on whatever task you are trying to accomplish at any given moment.  If you are not making any headway, going to another task temporarily is not multitasking in my view; it's serial single-tasking.

Finally, the author of the rebuttal blog seemed to think that doing complex tasks qualifies as multitasking.  As a programmer, when I get a request for a feature change to software that I'm building, I need to consider many different ideas:

• The most effective way to implement the solution
• The needs of power users
• The needs of the first-time user
• Costs for my client
• Unintended consequences that might arise because of my fixes

However, all of these ideas are working towards a single goal: determining how best to implement a feature requested by my client.  It is a single, multi-faceted task.  When a single task gets too complex to control, then I break it down into multiple tasks and address each one separately.  I'm still not multitasking, and by single-tasking the components I have an easier job putting the pieces together in the overall task.

So if multitasking makes one work less effectively and accomplishes nothing worth noting, then why do it on a regular basis?