The Multitasking Circle
Multitasking circle is a group activity to explore the ability to multitask, promote collaboration and continuous improvement.
Form a large circle with everyone facing into the centre. Invite 2 or 3 volunteers to stand in the centre of the circle with their backs to each other.
The circle size is not particularly important, but if each person can stand about 3 to 4 big steps away from the volunteers in the centre, this will work well.
Distribute at least one soft tossable item to every person standing in the circle (fleece balls, beanie toys, koosh balls, etc). Announce that the volunteers will soon be challenged to catch as many of the items being tossed into the air as they can.
On an agreed signal, instruct everyone in the circle to toss their items into the air, aiming to have them land in the circle’s centre. Count and tally all items caught by the volunteers.
Repeat for two or more rounds before inviting a new set of volunteers to swap with those in the centre. Challenge your group to continuously improve the number of items caught by the volunteer catchers in a single round.
That is to say, success is as much in the hands of the throwers as it is the catchers. It may take some time, but gradually the group learns how to improve its performance by tweaking various attributes of the game such as throwing proficiency, focus and structure.
Moment of Reflection
In conclusion, invite your group to reflect on their experience and results.
- What did you notice? Did these results change with different sets of volunteers in the centre of the circle?
- Were the results largely a function of the effectiveness of the catchers, throwers or both?
- Does multi-tasking work? Why or why not?
- Does multitasking make our lives more efficient?
- What steps did the group take to improve its performance? Give an example.
- How might we apply this lesson of focus in other areas of our lives?
The topics of this publication: interactions, strategy, collaboration, teamwork, cooperation, integration, adaptability skills
