I started my career, as did many pre-boomers, in a corporate training program that allowed me to learn the business, the procedures involved in my job, and the way to interact with other employees as well as the company's clients.
That was nearly 50 years ago -- hard to believe, but it was.
They repeatedly told me to plan my work and work my plan.
Once the workload was prioritized, then we were free to concentrate on the items needed immediate attention and move on in an orderly manner.
I realized early on that the more I thought about what I had to do and prepared myself accordingly, the better things went.
This discipline served me well as I moved up the corporate ladder and later when I started my own business.
And I still approach things the same way today.
Along the span of my career, multi-tasking became a buzz word for people who were busy doing many things at the same time.
Many applauded this as a boom to productivity.
I will admit multi-tasking is an important asset for air traffic controllers, distribution managers and taxi cab dispatchers.
But most people don't need to perform tasks simultaneously.
Just as it's impossible to have two different thoughts at the same time, it's not likely you can do two things at once and produce the results you want.
It's a matter of giving thought and consideration to whatever is being done so the best results can be achieved, one task at a time.
This applies to the way we deal with people as well.
Putting people on hold to take another call, reading mail and writing unrelated thoughts when talking on the phone are forms of multi-tasking.
I call these actions rude and the results are always disappointing; believe me, I learned this lesson the hard way.
Interruptions sometimes force us to multi-task.
I used to have call waiting on my phone and caller ID, too.
The monthly costs for these services are more than you might think, and finding out who was calling caused me to stop talking to the person I already had on the phone and make a decision as to whether I would rather continue my conversation with them or switch to the other party.
Now, if a person calls me and gets a busy signal, they can try my cell and leave a message or send me an email.
This allows me to give I'm on the phone with the undivided attention they deserve.
By the way, while writing this piece I heard the familiar "bing" several times indicating new emails arrived.
These will be read and dealt with once this task is completed.
Oh, the phone also rang, so I'll be sure to listen to the message later.
I don't want multi-tasking to get in the way of writing this article for you.
That was nearly 50 years ago -- hard to believe, but it was.
They repeatedly told me to plan my work and work my plan.
Once the workload was prioritized, then we were free to concentrate on the items needed immediate attention and move on in an orderly manner.
I realized early on that the more I thought about what I had to do and prepared myself accordingly, the better things went.
This discipline served me well as I moved up the corporate ladder and later when I started my own business.
And I still approach things the same way today.
Along the span of my career, multi-tasking became a buzz word for people who were busy doing many things at the same time.
Many applauded this as a boom to productivity.
I will admit multi-tasking is an important asset for air traffic controllers, distribution managers and taxi cab dispatchers.
But most people don't need to perform tasks simultaneously.
Just as it's impossible to have two different thoughts at the same time, it's not likely you can do two things at once and produce the results you want.
It's a matter of giving thought and consideration to whatever is being done so the best results can be achieved, one task at a time.
This applies to the way we deal with people as well.
Putting people on hold to take another call, reading mail and writing unrelated thoughts when talking on the phone are forms of multi-tasking.
I call these actions rude and the results are always disappointing; believe me, I learned this lesson the hard way.
Interruptions sometimes force us to multi-task.
I used to have call waiting on my phone and caller ID, too.
The monthly costs for these services are more than you might think, and finding out who was calling caused me to stop talking to the person I already had on the phone and make a decision as to whether I would rather continue my conversation with them or switch to the other party.
Now, if a person calls me and gets a busy signal, they can try my cell and leave a message or send me an email.
This allows me to give I'm on the phone with the undivided attention they deserve.
By the way, while writing this piece I heard the familiar "bing" several times indicating new emails arrived.
These will be read and dealt with once this task is completed.
Oh, the phone also rang, so I'll be sure to listen to the message later.
I don't want multi-tasking to get in the way of writing this article for you.