8 Startling Truths About Multitasking And Productivity

8 Startling Truths About Multitasking And Productivity One of the more popular posts on this blog described how to save time writing blog posts. Perhaps I ought to have taken that to heart. Over the three days it took me to write this blog post, I found myself writing it: While watching TV. While babysitting three little kids. While periodically checking Twitter. With two side-by-side computer monitors, one running a news feed. That would explain why it took me three days to write one post. What destroys your blog? Irregular posting. Sloppy writing. Unanswered comments and conversation. No new ideas. Split focus  on everything but writing blog posts. Andmultitasking. Content marketers are a busy lot, especially if they are going it alone. They are planning editorial calendars and  content marketing strategies, managing social media, engaging and networking with others and, of course, writing blog posts.  Multitasking seems like the perfect solution: get more done in a limited amount of time. Time is like a pie isnt it, after all? You can slice it up into as many pieces as you want and still have a whole pie. Except that a pie sliced into lots of tiny pieces is a mushy mess. It isnt much of a pie at all. Content marketers are true multitaskers. And thats not a good thing. 8 Startling Truths About Multitasking And Productivity via @JulieNeidlinger1. Multitasking is damaging your brain. Let's start with the big one: your brain. Ever write your blog posts while watching TV? Sitting in on a conference call? Listening to the chatter in the open office? You're asking your brain to split its attention and it can't do that. Our brains are not capable of focusing on multiple tasks at once. They simply aren't. We think they are, but what's happening is your brain is jumping back and forth between the tasks, focusing briefly one at a time. And not only can our brains not make it happen, but they get damaged when we try to force them. Constant interruption (which is what multitasking is) brings on higher levels of stress. It's cognitive overload, and it dulls our brain and our reaction times.  According to a study at the University of Sussex, constant multitasking actually damages your brain. They found out that people who regularly multitasking have lower brain density in the region of their brain responsible for empathy, cognitive control and emotional control. The good news is that you can  fix that damage, the study found, if you take up activities that require concentration or make changes to the things distracting you. Work on one thing at a time, in a place where you can concentrate. So no. Don't multitask. Don't damage your brain. Because that's going to have an effect on your writing, obviously, as well as how you cope with the rest of the workload that content marketing requires. 2. Multitasking  makes you less productive. According to Dr. Susan Weinschenk, multitasking isn't even the right word. What really happens is task-switching, and it takes more time to switch tasks than stick with them until you finish. We think because we're good at switching from one task to another that that makes us good at multitasking. But having a great ability to lose focus isn't admirable. Studies have found that multitasking reduces your productivity by 40%. 40%! If you're convinced that multitasking makes you super-productive, you're super wrong. It just means you backtrack a lot, because every time you switch tasks, you have to repeat a bit to find out where you last left off. How many times have you had to re-read your blog post drafts because you can't remember what you wrote since your last attempt? Singular focus is how you get things done. Illustration by professional comic artist Brian Shearer. 3. Multitasking makes you dumb. That sounds pretty harsh, but repeated exposure to multitasking hurts your ability to continue learning, and can even cause you to lose ground. A University of London study found that multitasking, when attempting to do cognitive tasks (of which writing is definitely one), lowered IQ scores as much as if study participants had used marijuana or stayed up all night. All of that multitasking is reducing your intelligence. It  makes  you lose the ability to know what is important and what isn't. And it's blinding you to the fact that you're not good at all of your attempts to juggle multiple tasks. 4. Multitasking  makes you prone to cheat. Cheating (intentional or not) happens when you make sloppy mistakes you otherwise would not make. According to Weinschenk, you  "make more errors when you switch than if you do one task at a time.  If the tasks are complex then these time and error penalties increase." Multitasking itself won't make you dishonest and turn you into a content crook, but being pressed for time (which is what multitasking ultimately leads to) makes you cut corners. And that's when sloppy things happen that can get you into trouble. Sloppy things like using images you don't have permission to use, or plagiarizing or lifting content a little too heavily. 5. Multitasking hides tools that are working against you. Because we think multitasking is good or, at best, necessary, we use tools to help us be "productive" and get as much done as possible. Unfortunately, our tools aren't helping us. They are working against us. How? We don't realize how bad our tools are. The Faustian bargain we make innocently is one of exchanging work for busy-ness. Multitasking makes us feel very busy, and it often leaves us feeling like we've been productive and good workers, though strangely panicked at the sight of our to-do list with its scant completion rate. All of this fake work success hides the fact that our tools aren't very good. We pick them up and use them a bit and then pick up the next tool, and repeatbecause this is what multitasking is. We swear the tools we have work for us, that they do the job. That we couldn't do it without them. But if we stopped multitasking and stuck with one thing from start to finish, we'd realize how our tools hampered us. We choose tools not meant for the job. One of the joys of working with is that it is specifically meant for the task of creating great content for your WordPress blog and social media. It's meant for content marketing. It isn't a generic task management platform that you can wrangle into being about content marketing. Tools with a specific purpose can help keep you from multitasking and distractions. Specific tools mean you aren't jumping between browser tabs to use tools, and accidentally checking Facebook between opening new tabs. They are built to flow in the direction your work would flow. None of this hopping stuff. Ad hoc tools tend to lead to multitasking because they force you to start and stop and jump around. Illustration by professional comic artist Brian Shearer. 6. Multitasking lowers the quality of your work. When you multitask, your work suffers. Terribly. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that multitasking reduces worker performance, makes projects last longer (remember, it took me three days to write this post!), and creates that panic-inducing backlog because your to-do list isn't getting done. Peter Bregman wrote about his experience with multitasking in the Harvard Business Review. While sitting in on a conference call, Bregman decided to not waste any time at all and use that time to email a client. He sent the email. He realized he had forgotten the attachment. He sent another email, with an apology and the proper attachment. And then he had to send a third email explaining why that attachment was the wrong one and apologized while offering the correct attachment. It was at this point he realized that the conference call attendees (specifically, the Chair of the Board) were waiting for him to answer a question. Think you're awesome at your work because you're doing two things at once? Nope. You just make yourself look bad in front of others. 7. Multitasking reduces the ability to make connections. Multitasking reduces your ability to remember things, and that's dangerous for content marketers. A great content marketer needs to be able to recall and connect the blogs, books, and articles they've read in ordered to create valuable and on-point content for their audience. Study after study has shown that when you multitask, you lose the ability to remember what you were doing, you are unable to learn as much, and you have difficulty putting what you're learning into new contexts. Imagine putting in a few hours of research for a blog post only to have been so distracted that when it comes time to write another post, you are unable to remember or recontextualize that same information. Multitasking while reading and researching doesn't work. It leaves you without the ability to recycle previous content and research, i.e. takes more work and time. 8. Multitasking audiences require more work from you. There are some who say that this multitasking infection that has spread across the land is actually a good thing for content marketers. It means that the audience is multitasking, too, particularly with their mobile phones. People are digging and researching and consuming amounts of content that they might not have had they been more single-minded and focused with the task at hand. According to a 2012 Nielsen survey, 47% of tablet users over the age of 13 visit social networking sites while watching television. 27% look up information related to the advertising they see. 61% check their email while watching a program. Audiences are multitaskers, consuming multiple pieces of content at once.In other words, when it comes to media and content, audiences are usually  consuming at least two types of content at once. That is all wonderful, but only if you are meeting these readers where they are in all of the forms possible, and are able to grab their already split focus. That means being on email. Social. The usual suspects. And it also means content that a distracted reader can comprehend quickly, using: Headlines, headings, and subheadings that relay information at a glance. Clear graphics that aren't filler, but relay content. White space. Design that doesn't confuse with clutter. Choosing colors that help your message along and attract your audience. An audience that is multitasking means you have more opportunities, but it also means you are fighting to be noticed. People can only truly focus on one thing, and you want that to be your content. Don't grab them with the headline, with the first paragraph, with the graphics? They're clicking away  to another distraction.  It's a strange Catch-22, fighting against multitasking distraction by trying to be a distraction. What Should You Do About It? Much of the exhortation to blog and create content more regularly comes down to time management. That's why understanding the fallacy of multitasking is important to getting back on track. There are a few things you can do to combat the problem of multitasking: 1. Mix your activities  correctly.  Ã‚  If you must do two things at once, then go about it with the right mix of complexity and simplicity. They key is to match high cognitive activities (like writing or anything that involves complex thinking and judgment), with physical tasks your brain's autopilot (the cerebellum) can handle. Go for a walk and get your blog post outline organized in your head. Talk with a client while making a cup of tea. You get the idea.  Look at your list and match the auto-pilot tasks with the cognitive ones. Read while listening to music without lyrics (lyrics ignite the language center of your brain used for reading...not good.) Never pair multiple cognitive tasks together.

Translocation Essays

Translocation Essays Translocation Paper Translocation Paper Translocation A. The Munch pressure flow model The Principal of Pressure-Flow Model of Phloem Transport The Munch pressure-flow model is an explanation for the movement of organic materials in phloem . By the Munch pressure-flow experiment, two dialysis tubings are connected by a glass tube. The dialysis tubings only permeable to water or particles which have smaller size than the pores of the tubing,but impermeable to the larger solutes. As larger molecules such as proteins and polysaccharides(starch) that have dimensions significantly greater than the pore diameter of the dialysis tubing can pass through the tubings and they are retained inside the tubings. Smaller molecules such as water molecules and iodide ions are small enough to pass through the pores. The left-handed dialysis tubing contains 20%sucrose and iodine solution . The right-handed dialysis tubing contained 5% starch solution . The two entire dialysis tubings are submerged in distilled water of two separated beakers. Distilled water flows into the left-handed dialysis tubing because it has the higher solute concentration than that of the right-handed one. The entrance of water creates a positive pressure,thus a higher hydrostatic pressure is developed in left-handed tubing . The higher hydrostatic pressure in left-handed dialysis tubing induces water to flow from left to right through the glass tube. Therefore,water flows toward the right-handed dialysis tubing. This flow not only drives water toward the right tubing, but it also provides enough force for water to move out from the membrane of the right-handed dialysis tubing- even though the right-handed tubing contains a higher concentration of solute than the distilled water. Eventually the system will come to equilibrium. The left-handed dialysis tubing represents the sucrose regions, i. e. the photosynthetic tissues where sugars and other organic solutes are continuously synthesized. This results in a low water potential at the source so that large amount of water in xylem enters the cells here. The hydrostatic pressure of the sucrose increase. The right-handed dialysis tubing represents the sinks regions, sites of assimilation such as the actively growing parts or the sites for storage . Here solutes are being used up constantly , or converted to insoluble forms for storage . In other word , they are being unloaded from the sieve tubes . This leads to higher water potential at the sink and subsequently less water enters the cells by osmosis. The hydrostatic pressure of these cells is thus lower than those at the sucrose. A hydrostatic pressure gradient is therefore built up between the sucrose(left-handed tubing) and the sink(right-handed tubing) . This leads to the mass flow of liquid through the phloem (glass tube) from the sucrose to the sink, and water is forced back to the xylem by hydrostatic pressure. The pressure gradient is maintained due to the continuous production and consumption of solutes. In plants, sieve tubes are analogous to the glass tube that connects the two dialysis tubings. Sieve tubes are composed of sieve-tube members, each of which has a companion cell. It is possible that the companion cells assist the sieve-tube members in some way. The sieve-tube members align end to end, and strands of plasmodesmata (cytoplasm) extend through sieve plates from one sieve-tube member to the other. Sieve tubes, therefore, form a continuous pathway for organic nutrient transport throughout a plant. An area where the sucrose is made is called a source. At the Source (e. g. , leaves). During the growing season, photosynthesizing leaves are producing sugar. Therefore, they are a source of sugar. This sugar is actively transported into phloem. Again, transport is dependent on an electrochemical gradient established by a proton pump, a form of active transport. Sugar is carried across the membrane in conjunction with hydrogen ions , which are moving down their concentration gradient . After sugar enters sieve tubes, this increases the solute concentration of the sieve tubes,so water passes into them passively by osmosis. In the Stem. The buildup of water within sieve tubes creates the positive pressure that accounts for the flow of phloem contents. An area where sucrose is delivered from the sieve tube is called a sink. Sinks include the roots and other regions of the plant that are not photosynthetic , such as young leaves and fruits. Water flowing into the phloem forces the sugary substance in the phloem to flow down the plant. The addition of water from he xylem causes pressure to build up inside the phloem and pushes the sugar down. At the Sink . The roots (and other growth areas) are a sink for sugar, meaning that they are removing sugar and using it for cellular respiration. After sugar is actively transported out of sieve tubes, water exits phloem passively by osmosis and is taken up by xylem, which transports water to leaves, where it is used for photosynthesis. Now, phloem contents continue to flow from the leaves (source) to the roots (sink). The pressure-flow model of phloem transport can account for any direction of flow in sieve tubes if we consider that the direction of flow is always from source to sink. Translocation is a passive process that does not require the expenditure of energy by the plant. The mass flow of materials transported in the phloem occurs because of water pressure, which develops as a result of osmosis. Discussion 20% sucrose solution has a lower water potential than that of 5% starch solution, more water molecules move into the sucrose dialysis tubing than that of the starch dialysis tubing. The rise in solution level in sucrose dialysis tubing will be much more significant when compare to that of starch dialysis tubing. In the experiment , the water in the left hand beaker turn from colorless to yellowish brown, this indicated that there is a movement of iodide ions and water molecules across the selectively permeable dialysis tubing. As the experiment proceeds , there is a rise of brown solution in the glass tubing at the right hand tubing. The solution flows through the glass tube slowly. This suggests that there is a net movement of water molecules into the dialysis tubing since the water potential of the sucrose solution is higher than that of pure water. The water level in the right hand dialysis tubing decrease over the time as the experiment is carried on. This is due to the hydrostatic pressure applied by the left-hand flowing solution on the right-hand dialysis tubing. The flow rate of the solution is not constant throughout the experiment, the flow rate increases at first then it slows down and eventually reaches a static static flow rate. This is because an equilibrium status has reached. At first , the water potential of sucrose solution is higher than that of water, therefore water molecules move into the tubing. The continuos influx of water molecules into the left -hand tubing lead to the sucrose-iodine solution move along the glass tube, and the flow rate However,this has generated the hydrostatic pressure towards the right-hand tubing, pushing water molecules in the rich-hand dialysis tubing out of the tube. The net movement of water molecules from the right-hand tubing to the beaker made the starch solution more and more concentrated. Therefore the water potential of the starch solution is lower , water molecules may start to move back to the tubbing. This explains why the flow rate slow down and eventually maintain at a static rate. Due to the hydrostatic pressure, the sucrose solution will be transferred to the right hand tubing which the starch remain in the same tubing. mrothery. co. uk/plants/planttransportnotes. htm http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pressure_Flow_Hypothesis http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Dialysis_tubing http://vinzchamakh. wordpress. com/category/biology/chapter-8-transport/

Csr plan for the face shop brand Research Paper

Csr plan for the face shop brand - Research Paper Example The Faceshop is one of the corporate that needs to share some of its dominant values that will support it in creating economic and social values. This is achieved by focusing on the social issues in the society that they are capable of addressing (Mallin, 2009). This document will outline the proposed corporate social responsibility strategy, the organization’s mission and what the company stands for in order to uphold the standards for the customers. The Faceshop was established in the year 2003. It originates from Korea, and it is managed by Jeong Un-ho who is the chief executive officer. The organization deals with the global retail of various lavish products that are ranging from skin care, cosmetics, hair and body care and other accessories that are mainly natural (Pride &Â  Ferrell, 2010). It started with one store in Myeongdong in 2003, and by 2004, it had already set up its 100th store. It expanded oversees in the years to come in Asia, Europe and United States of America. Later on, LG household and Health care decided to buy the cosmetic manufacturer. Rumors had initially circulated over the change of ownership, and this had caused the prices of the shares to rise (Pride &Â  Ferrell, 2010). Latest financial performance indicates an annual sale of approximately worth 250 billion South Korean Won and the operating profit margin is about nineteen percent with up to 700 operating stores (Pride &Â  Ferrell, 2010). In the year 2007, The Faceshop decided to open its avenues in United States of America in San Francisco. They hosted a natural beauty contest which the grand prize was $20,000 in cash and also a contract to be The Faceshop USA spokes model (Pride &Â  Ferrell, 2010). There have been some global issues that have come up. They have drastically affected the industry in terms of its market and finances. Some of the customers have been having issues with their products. For example, a lady in San Francisco, California