Today I’d like to turn the spotlight on a skill which has become a staple of the “in-demand” list for today’s job market: the skill of multitasking.

Though the concept has been around for ages, the term “multitasking” is relatively new. I’ve heard it used to mean doing more than one thing at once, like watching TV while folding laundry, or juggling projects simultaneously, switching back and forth between them over a period of time. And while some degree of multitasking is both necessary and manageable in our daily lives, the increasing expectation to accomplish more in less time is pushing the limits of our productive ability… not to mention our health and sanity.

Human beings are programmed to multitask to some degree just for basic survival. A mother unable to keep tabs on her environment while breastfeeding might miss her toddler balanced precariously on a stepladder, or a kettle boiling dry in the kitchen. And if one of the simultaneous tasks is routine enough to be automatic -- involving a minimum of brainpower -- there’s no problem performing it while diverting most of our attention to the more complex task. This is why we can hum while doing dishes, or read e-mail while drinking coffee.

However, multitasking that’s carried to extremes (sometimes called “hypertasking”) can be counter-productive and even potentially dangerous. Hypertasking occurs when we try to combine two tasks that both require undivided attention. The act of writing this column, for example, requires me to combine active, creative thinking with the mechanical task of typing on a keyboard. If I tried to do this while taking a phone call, I would end up either typing nonsense or spouting distracted clichés to the caller on the phone. Hypertasking has the opposite effect of what we desire: rather than doing things twice as well, we end up doing them half as well (or even less).

A solution to the hypertasking dilemma is to decide what your clear priority is and make that your primary, if not exclusive, focus. If your goal is to provide customer service, trying to work a spreadsheet while fielding a phone inquiry may end up alienating your clientele.

Another tip is to learn from experience. Past stresses and failures teach us the limits of our own ability to focus, through feedback from customers, supervisors, co-workers, loved ones or even your own body (in terms of its effect on your health and peace of mind). If you’re overextending yourself and taking on too much at once, you need to step back, examine, and retool your approach.

Though it may be tricky at first, it’s critical to recognize when you’ve crossed the line from healthy multitasking to harmful hypertasking. Observing these boundaries is a key step toward improving not only your job performance, but also your personal well-being.

      THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: “Wringing your hands only stops you from rolling up your sleeves.” (James Rollins, American novelist, 1961- )