A few weeks ago I had a bad fall and injured my left ankle. I’m a klutz by nature, so losing my balance is a somewhat common occurence for me, but this was an inexcusable accident. My misstep occurred because I was walking to the office from my car while reading an email on my Blackberry and stepped into a hole in the asphalt.
Talk about insult to injury! I felt so stupid for walking distracted that the reprimanding voice in my head was almost as bad as my swollen and bruised foot.
Unfortunately, these types of situations are a growing problem in this era of multitasking. While there are many advantages to getting more than one task done at the same time, damage to people and property can occur when your attention is divided.
Distracted driving is turning out to be a huge problem on the roadways. Public service announcements on the dangers of texting and driving have increased and stories about tragic accidents that are attributed to a driver not focusing fully on driving gives all of us pause.
Technology has enabled us to be available at all times and in all locations and the compulsion to answer that call or respond to that email as quickly as possible leads some of us into dangerous situations.
So what is the solution? As with many challenges, it should be a judgment call. Any activity that takes your focus off driving, biking, walking or any kind of movement is a precarious situation, but multitasking in an office environment is a safe and helpful practice in the right circumstances. In some cases, that customer or meeting needs your full attention, but there are ways to multitask that can enhance your productivity safely and effectively.
For those of you who want to practice “safe multitasking” there are a number of products we can recommend to save you time and money. One of them is the wired/wireless headset. This is something I don’t know how I ever lived without. It allows you to use your telephone hands-free while taking notes, emailing, filing, giving yourself a manicure, whatever.
Another feature that can help you accomplish more is fax to email. If you don’t have time to run to the fax machine to send and receive faxes, a FaxFinder allows you to send and receive faxes from your desk. A conference phone or conference bridge can save you time and travel costs by having that important meeting over the phone instead of gathering all of those far-flung people in one place.
Paging systems allow you to reach customers and co-workers in large spaces such as airports, hospitals and warehouses whithout the need to call them or get up from your desk. Music/Advertising On Hold is a device that allows your customers to multitask by providing important information on your company’s products, services and upcoming deals and events while they are waiting for their call to be answered.
For more information on these products and features, call Teltek today!
Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, and Microsoft Partner with two locations in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania.