Contrary to popular belief, humans are incapable of truly multitasking. We can switch quickly between two tasks, but we can’t fully focus on more than one thing at a time. The people who appear to succeed at multitasking are really just quite good at quickly and smoothly switching between two tasks. Or, in some cases, they’re devoting their full attention to one activity and letting their muscle memory handle the other (such as someone who can juggle while riding a unicycle). Even though true multitasking is beyond our capabilities, I’ve still found ways to work on multiple things at once.
Something that’s pretty easy and well within the capability of most people nowadays is listening to a podcast or audio book while driving around. If I spend twenty five minutes on my commute to work, that’s nearly an hour almost every day that I could be using to introduce myself to new ideas or remind myself of old ones. Add in mealtimes and that brings my time for passive education up to at least two hours on most days. I don’t always do this, but I’m able to cover a good bit of ground when I choose to do so.
An even easier approach is to devote my full attention to one task while I have another one churning away in the background. For example, sometimes I’ll start a load of laundry before going to they gym. Although I have to put in the clothes and choose the proper settings, the machine does most of the work for me after that and I don’t have to be anywhere near it while it is working. This works with any task that can be either partially or totally automated.
Coming close to multitasking by finding tasks that don’t require my total concentration or involvement has allowed me to make good use of my time and get more things done than I otherwise could. This also lets me avoid the trouble that attempts at genuine multitasking can cause. So as long as I make sure to focus on things that are worth doing and not try to fill my day with tasks just for the sake of being busy, I’ll be in good shape moving forward.