We work in a world where multitasking is the norm. If we don’t work on at least two (2) things at the same time, chances are we won’t get much done in a day.
Some of us admire those who multi-task while some others frown on those who do. Those who are against multitasking argue that it is the result of poor time management.
But everyone is different.
There are those of us who are high-income professionals who earn plenty of passive income and could afford to spend a great deal of time for travel & leisure.
There are also those of us, however, who are low- to middle-class income earners who live hand-to-mouth from pay-check to pay-check, with very little in savings to show.
Many high-income earners living the easy life wouldn’t espouse the thought of multi-tasking, as they’d see no rationale for it, given they could buy resources & delegate time-consuming duties to subordinates.
Low- to middle-income earners would likely be where we’d find most multi-taskers. They’d be those of us who are not only doing the time-consuming duties delegated by high-income earning superiors but also, they’d be the those of us who would try to get as much more work done, especially if that work will result in either reducing expenses or generating additional hard-earned cash.
We can liken multi-tasking to burning a candle from both ends. We get double the light by burning a candle’s wick at each end, but we shorten the candle’s useful life by half. Hence, as Ms. Millay poetically stated above, the double-burning candle won’t last as long but for the time being, we at least would have a “lovely light.” We reap double the benefits in half the time when we multitask.
Multitasking has become more of a requirement than a choice. Some so-called self-help experts say we have the freedom to do whatever we want; we have the power to be proactive; we are free to decide how we lead our days.
Yeah, right. To the high-income earners who have money & time on their hands, that may be true. But for we who are low- to middle-income earners, opting to do whatever we feel like shall likely result in negative consequences.
Most of us who are not-so-well-to-do face challenges which constantly demand our attention and actions. Our superiors assign us tasks which we can hardly refuse. We cannot ignore responsibilities to our families or our households. Government agencies command us to comply with rules, regulations, and requirements, especially if it involves applying for benefits such as social security or public health insurance coverage.
We are saddled with tasks which we are bound to do within limited periods of time. For higher income earners, they could afford to let someone else do these tasks for them. For low- to middle income earners, we would be that “someone else” on top of what we’d need to do for ourselves and our families.
Hence, we multi-task out of necessity because we don’t have the luxury of time. We don’t have the freedom to choose because opting for the alternatives would bring forth unenviable outcomes.
We multi-task to ward off uncertainty and avoid adversity. We aim to get things done as much and as fast as we could. In short, we try to be more productive with what time we have available.
Credits:
Ellery's Essays 
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