A word on multitasking.

Commitment to one task or process allows a person to dedicate his or her cognitive capacities to the project at hand and not be burdened or slowed by having to switch back and forth between various tasks or projects, says Todd Campbell, who is affiliated with the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research in Milwaukee. So why are we obsessed with doing it all--all at the same time?

"As our jobs, family responsibilities, and society in general place more demands on our time, we can easily be trapped into trying to be superpeople, superemployees, and superparents," he says. In recent years, the pressure to be a multitasking whiz has increased. However, it is an overrated and counterproductive trap, often misconstrued as dedication to the job, while failure to multitask is often seen as being lazy. "There is a growing body of research indicating that multitasking is actually inefficient in terms of mental processes and capacity," maintains Campbell. He asks us to consider: "Do we really want people driving in their 'auto-office' hurling down the highway at 60 mph, playing music in the background, talking on a cell phone, trying to figure out who's calling their pager, perusing their computer map in order to find their next business stop, voice-activating their client invoice on a laptop, all while shaving and eating a hamburger? I don't think so, but our workplaces often expect the equivalent throughout our workday."