Now if you do two things at once but can keep the majority of your attention on only ONE of those things, that's a whole different animal. I call this stacking. Dave Crenshaw calls it background tasking. (You can call it whatever you wish.)
Stacking helps you get more done, faster and better. It is a productive use of your time because only ONE of the tasks you are doing requires mental effort.
Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:
- Eating dinner while watching a video
- Jogging while listening to your iPod
- Driving while listening to the radio
- Writing an e-mail while printing out a document
- Munching on a snack while riding a bicycle
- Listening to the news while showering
- Reading a book while getting a haircut
Stacking doesn't necessarily guarantee that you'll become more effective (by doing the right things), but it can practically guarantee more efficiency (doing things right to get maximum results in minimum time).
