Here’s one more dig at multitasking: a study reported by the Wall Street Journal (January 3) suggests that drivers who are talking on cell phones drive slower and that interferes with the flow of traffic.

Are you surprised by that? Probably not. In my time management seminars, one of our focal points is multitasking and its side effects. Research has consistently proven that we are less effective when we try to perform two tasks simultaneously vs. doing one thing at a time. Yet people persist in thinking that they are accomplished multitaskers. Reality is that even though you feel you are doing two things (or three, or four) at a time, one of those takes precedence, with the others coming in close behind.

In relating back to the driving while talking on a cell phone, have you ever wondered why a car was not moving the way you would expect, and then you look to see if the driver is talking on a cell phone? Usually the answer is “yes.”

Don’t get me wrong. I am not against cell phones. As a business owner, it is great to be able to be in contact regardless of what city I am working in at the moment. My rant would be against the driver who begins his or her day backing out of the driveway (already a danger area) with the cell phone held up to his ear, and then continues on to slowly move into the freeway’s entrance ramp.

80% of crashes and 65% of near misses are due to distracted drivers.

Now add the fact that they are slowing me down in reaching my destination. Cell phones can be a time management tool. Don’t let yours become a block to effective time management for others.