Multitask or Unitask?

[Cyclefrance]

So does multitasking save you time or does it slow you down?

Ask any business efficiency expert and he'll say Multi is inefficient - ie. its better to do 100% of task A followed by 100% of task B followed by 100% of task C than say 1/3rd of A+1/3rd of B+1/3rd of C, followed by 1/3rd of A+1/3rd of B... well, you get the idea.

Reason being: do 100% straight off and that task is finished - if someone is waiting for that task to be finished then they aren't delayed unnecesarily (clearly the order of tasks has to be considered). Split the tasks and each one stays open longer and so each gets finished later, plus the action of jumping between tasks involves time taken to re-familiarise with the position as it was when you left off and what then has to be done next to resume.

Sounds OK, but then multitasking might also be applied to an activity like setting a kettle to boil and then using the intervening time to do something else other than watch the damn thing until it does!

Add to this the fact that men are renowned for their ability to focus on one thing properly (that's a polite way of saying we cannot do two things at once!) whereas women (allegedly) thrive on doing several things at the same time - Mrs CF is in her element when she's preparing the evening meal while talking on the phone and also partaking of a generous flute of Frex all imperceptibly occuring at once (maybe being 'in her element' has a lot to do with the presence of the Frex!).

But then as we all know - a woman is never ready on time, whereas a man always is. And let's not forget how long a woman takes in the loo/powder room (what goes on by way if multitasking in their boggles the imagination!).

Any thoughts as to the answer to this conundrum?