Julius Caesar knew how to do several things at the same time. Is multitasking a good habit or a bad habit? Caesar could do several things at the same time

Often in the requirements for vacancies, employers write a requirement for applicants - the ability to work in multitasking mode. Candidates are required to be able to quickly switch from one job to another and spend a minimum of time on the buildup. This is sometimes referred to as the ability to do "parallel business." Do two things at once, lead two projects at once. In practice, this situation happens when all employees are fully loaded with work and, in order to save time, they are forced to work in a multitasking rhythm.

At first glance, it may seem that doing many things at once is a more productive approach to work. Such an employee appears to be more busy and productive. But in fact, the practice of parallel cases does not always give the desired results.

In his book The Brain: Instructions for Use David Rock writes that the human brain is inherently single-tasking. He is able to solve two tasks in parallel due to very fast switching from one task to another and back. We do not notice this, but switching from task to task requires a lot of energy, and involvement in each specific task decreases. As a result, a person who tries to combine several tasks reduces the quality of work on both of them. Mistakes occur more often, and the speed of the brain is also reduced.

That is why a person who simultaneously speaks on the phone and drives a car poses a threat to himself and others. He risks reacting more slowly to the situation. Not to mention the high chances of taking the wrong road, missing a U-turn, and so on.

However, a person can do several things at the same time if one of these things is done at the level of habit and does not require a lot. Complex tasks that require a lot of attention are initially controlled by our prefrontal cortex. Over time, when this work becomes habitual and mechanistic, many actions are already performed unconsciously and gradually this type of work can move into the area of the basal ganglia - these are the areas of the brain that are responsible for habitual actions. Therefore, you may well be talking on the phone, making coffee and getting ready for work at the same time. However, there is a high chance that your coffee will run away, you will miss an important detail of the conversation and you may forget something important at home.

That is, it is possible to conduct parallel cases, but it is not recommended to do two complex cases at the same time or often switch from task to task.

How to intelligently do many things at the same time

Sometimes multitasking is just right. For example, if you take a long commute to work by public transport or a taxi, you can easily answer emails or listen to an audiobook in your free time. Similarly, while standing in line at the Russian Post, it would be quite appropriate to make a few phone calls or also check your mail (e-mail).

People who go to work on foot kill two birds with one stone - they do the most useful exercise of all possible (walking) and at the same time you can use meditation techniques - disconnecting from the hustle and enjoyment of the surrounding nature - to be more collected and focused at work .

At work parallel cases and tasks can also be performed. But this must be approached wisely. For example, you allocate two hours of time for one job and during this time you should not divert your attention to the second project. Then - a break is made and in the same way another two hours are spent on the second project. The scheme of work should be similar to that used in universities. On one day, there can be from two to four couples at school. Due to the fact that during one pair you work with only one teacher, you manage to study from 8 to 10 different disciplines per semester. At the same time, you should not try to fit an unreasonably large number of projects in your work on a working day. The more tasks you take on, the more likely it is that the quality of work will deteriorate in each of the individual areas of work. It's the other way around. You always need to know when it's time to stop.

Well-known video blogger and expert in the field of cognitive science Anastasiya Key says that constantly switching from task to task leads to rapid fatigue. The person gets tired faster. New hires often take on more work than they can realistically handle. In the short term, there may indeed be an increase in performance. In the long term, there may be a decrease in performance and even a syndrome and. The splitting of attention and constant distraction from business is also facilitated by the Internet, mobile gadgets that cause.

On a couple:
Teacher: - Alexander, how can you write and listen to music at the same time?
Alexander: -By the way, it has long been proven that music stimulates brain activity and helps to assimilate material.
Teacher: - Yes, I also saw a program in which they said that thanks to music, the cows on the farm had excellent milk yields ...

XX: need to organize at home

XX: what is half duplex communication?
YY: This is a sequential mode - when one speaks, the second must listen. They cannot listen/talk to each other at the same time.
XX: need to organize at home

Where did proverbs come from?
Never wondered where some of the expressions that have already become
sayings? People hear a catchy expression somewhere, remember it,
use themselves ... And off we go. Now sayings are born in
mainly from the replicas of the heroes of popular films and statements
politicians. In the past, the situation was about the same, except for the fact that
There was no TV or movies. Many sayings came to us from ancient Rome,
where oratory was at its best - respectively, and linguistic
many pearls were born. However, over time, many sayings
lost some of the words, as a result of which their meaning has changed somewhat.
A textbook example: not everyone knows that the Roman proverb "In
healthy body - a healthy mind "was completely sounded like this:" In a healthy body -
a healthy mind is a rare success." :)
Below we will talk about the famous saying that "Caesar can do
three things at once". Recently I found out where this phrase came from. After all, it seemed
would, scientists proved that a person, due to the peculiarities of the structure of the brain,
can only engage in one type of intellectual property at a time
activities: i.e., say, writing and speaking at the same time
impossible. Neither one nor the other will really work. And then Caesar, on you,
three things at once can ... How? Genius?
... In ancient Rome, gladiator fights were not just entertainment, they
carried an important religious message. In fact, these were
sacrifices to the gods. Therefore, those who did not go to fights were looked at
rather askance - something like in Russia they look askance at those who do not drink vodka
drinks :) Gaius Julius Caesar was just one of those whom gladiator fights did not
interested. Probably because he couldn't stand the sight of blood, more like
because after all the wars he conducted, gladiator fights looked
just like backyard football after the World Cup. However, as
"life consul" he was forced to attend the battles. Populism in
those years were much cooler than now :) In order not to waste time, Caesar in
his box was engaged in work with correspondence. (At that time the head
states received as many paper letters as we all now
comes electronic, but there was no spam then :)) So, when
one of the close people reproached Caesar - how can he at the same time
watch fights, and write letters? - Gaius Julius invariably answered, not tearing
eye from the letter that "Caesar can do not only two, but even three
things at the same time - and watch fights, and write letters, and talk."
This is how the EXCUSE eventually became a SAYING.

(Information taken from the book "Life of 12 Caesars" by the ancient author Gaius
Suetonius Tranquill).

The Assassination of Caesar (Carl Theodor Piloty, 1865). Photo: Wikipedia

Today's date, March 15, is significant in that Gaius Julius Caesar, an ancient Roman statesman and politician, commander, was killed on this day. A lot of rumors and legends live for centuries about this historical figure, some of which we will present here.

Place where Caesar died

For example, many mistakenly believe that Caesar was killed in the Senate building. However, this is not true. The Senate burned down before Caesar took the reins of government into his own hands. He gave the order to build a new curia, but during his lifetime he never saw it. The Senate was completed already under Octavian Augustus, and the building that has survived to this day was erected during the reign of Emperor Diocletian.

Due to the fact that there was no specific place for the meetings, they were always held in different rooms. Moreover, this practice continued after the curia appeared. On the day Caesar was assassinated, the place for the meeting was chosen next to the "new building" - the Theater of Pompey. It was here that the conspirators attacked the "emperor". During the reign of Augustus, the place of Caesar's murder was considered cursed and was walled up, and a public lavatory was built nearby.

Bust found at the bottom of the Rhone, identified with Caesar. Photo: Wikipedia

Were Caesar's last words "And you, Brutus?"

It is believed that Caesar called out these words when he saw that Mark Junius Brutus also drew his weapon and was preparing to strike. This phrase has become catchy, however, apparently, it was invented and immortalized by William Shakespeare in his play "Julius Caesar". The Greek philosopher and biographer Plutarch, who describes in detail the murder of a Roman politician, does not report any phrases thrown by Caesar to Brutus: head toga and framed himself for blows. The historian and writer Suetonius also expressed doubt that Caesar said something to Brutus: “And so he was struck by twenty-three blows, only at the first he let out not even a cry, but a groan, although some suggest that Mark who rushed at him He said to Brutus: “And you, my child!”

Caesar's name was Kai

This variant of honoring the so-called prenomen, or the personal name of Gaius Julius Caesar, is indicated in many different sources. This is also fiction (for example, in Ilf and Petrov's The Golden Calf). However, this pronunciation of the name is incorrect. The reasons for incorrect pronunciation may lie in the following. Initially, the sounds [k] and [g] in written Latin were not distinguished in any way. In addition, the alphabet from which the Latin later developed did not contain the letter [g]. When literacy began to spread among the Romans, and the volume of written information increased, a tail was attached to C so that similar sounds could be distinguished. At the same time, the capital letter C was used as the initial of the names Guy and Gnei (C and CN). The Romans were very reluctant to change what had already become traditional. And if they abbreviated the name Augustus as AVG, then the name Guy was still abbreviated as C. This could cause the Roman commander to be incorrectly named.

Gaius Julius Caesar dictates his sayings. Pelagio Palagi, 1813

Caesar could do several things at the same time

It is believed that Gaius Julius Caesar could do several things at the same time. Suetonius, in his biography of Augustus, writes that during circus performances, Caesar "read letters and papers or wrote answers to them." Plutarch notes, with reference to a certain Oppius, that Caesar could, during a campaign, sitting on a horse, dictate texts for different letters to several scribes. Pliny the Elder in Natural History informs us that “he could write or read and at the same time dictate and listen. He could dictate to his secretaries four letters at a time, and on the most important issues; and if he was not busy with anything else, then seven letters each. Scientists have proven that a person is not able to do several things at the same time, like electronic computers. It also describes nothing more than skillful switching from one task to another, the correct prioritization.

Caesar - a descendant of the ancient gods

Caesar was very fond of mentioning that the Julius family, to which he belongs, goes back to the most ancient Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus. Caesar considered Aeneas, the progenitor of Romulus and Remus, to be his ancestor. Aeneas was allegedly the son of the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite and the nephew of King Priam, the last ruler of the fallen Troy. This "fact" Caesar used for personal gain.

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Multitasking comes into our lives when a lot of things fall on us. Everyone does this - children eat and watch TV (or play on the iPad) at the same time, adults walk around the city at the same time and look at something on their smartphone. We pride ourselves on our ability to multitask, because that way we add more value to employers and households. But this is wrong!

In contact with

Think back to your last multitasking job and answer the question, “Did I actually do more with the same quality”? That's it.

Our love of getting everything done in one time slot shows that we strive to be productive. But multitasking is definitely not the best way to do it.

But here we have a very serious enemy - our brain. When we do several routine, boring operations at once, he rewards us with the release of the "hormone of joy" dopamine. It causes very pleasant sensations, and we want to experience them again and again. This is why multitasking is so hard to get rid of. And it would be worth it.

More doesn't mean better

Why? After all, each of us knows from childhood that the more things you do at the same time, the better. But scientific research refutes this notion. Scientists are sure that our brain is simply not designed to focus on several things at the same time.

In other words, if you have to focus on two things at once right now, you will never be able to fully control both. All your brain can do in such a situation is switch between objects very quickly and give you the illusion that you are 100% both there and there.

In this mode of operation, you cannot be as efficient as when performing only one task. As a result, mistakes (because the brain must focus again after switching to the next task, and this does not happen immediately) and a feeling of stress due to the fact that you constantly need to switch between tasks. Memory suffers - and, of course, the quality of work. Yes, you can get more done by the end of the day thanks to multitasking. But what about quality? Have you had time to properly think about what you are doing?

If you want to work well, then you should give up multitasking in favor of working on only one task at a time.

Single-tasking produces better results

Research shows that working on only one task improves the ability to control attention, memory and reduces stress- after all, in "single-taskers" the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for concentration of attention, decision making, forecasting, emotions, will, mental activity in general and behavior, better controls the more ancient limbic system of the brain (responsible for the basic autonomic and somatic reactions that we cannot control).

How to become a "single-tasker"?

Here are some simple tips:

Turn off unnecessary ones!

Open only one tab in your browser. How often do you open 15-20 tabs at a time? Everyone does this – and it’s completely in vain, because in the futile pursuit of multitasking we lose concentration, and therefore we do our work worse than we could. So remember - only one tab, and only one task.
Start small. If you switch to "single-tasking" abruptly, your brain will get scared - and may well bury a good undertaking. Don't rush, take it step by step. Eat in silence today, without TV or PC. Tomorrow, when you come to the cafe, turn off your phone. Fight multitasking at this pace and you will quickly notice that your life has become more meaningful.
Set your priorities. We all have hundreds if not thousands of things that deserve our attention. But let's be realistic. It is better to single out the main ones from among them and do them well than to do everything at once in a hurry on the principle of "it will do."

Modern life imposes more and more responsibility on a person, at the same time, taking up more and more of his resources. In this regard, many people have to do several things at the same time, otherwise there will be no time.

Is it possible to productively do several things at the same time? As practice shows, many people live in such a rhythm: they check mail, talk, and solve problems at the same time. Plus, they snack.

This mode of life is called multitasking - solving many problems in one period of time.

Working on one problem at a time is called single-tasking.

It seems that multitasking is far superior to single-tasking in terms of its efficiency. Truth?

Unfortunately, everything is exactly the opposite.

Whatever the case does not include multitasking, in addition to purely physical participation, such a mode of work always seriously increases the requirements for both the human brain and the emotional sphere as a whole.

At the same time, that with multitasking, that with single-tasking, a person cannot go beyond his own resources.

But if, with single-tasking, all the forces of the body, roughly speaking, are aimed at solving one specific problem with maximum efficiency, then with multitasking, these same forces are scattered in many areas.

In this regard, if a person does many things at the same time (even if it is a set of extremely simple actions), then this negatively affects the productivity of his work:

It is difficult for the brain to sort and filter out information;
Human memory in such conditions works with low efficiency;
Thought processes, due to the dispersion of attention, are violated;
The very concentration of attention falls;
It is difficult for a person to bring the work started to the end;
The percentage of creative, creative solutions is low.

It turns out that even the introduction of a simple action at the same time as the main work can seriously reduce the likelihood of a quick positive result.

What happens if you only do one thing at a time

Sequential execution of tasks, unlike multitasking, is an efficient type of work.

With single-tasking, all mental processes are subordinated to only one thing: to achieve the completion of the work as accurately, efficiently and quickly as possible.

At the same time, the brain of such a person retains concentration for much longer and is able to work without loss of speed and efficiency. And the creative abilities of a person are subordinated to one task - the search for the most correct solution to the problem.

Remember how often we do something while listening to our favorite songs, talking to someone on distant topics, or occasionally glancing at the TV screen.

By learning to avoid this (avoid even this kind of multitasking), we can take our productivity and efficiency to a whole new level.