Multitasking isn’t helping you get more done. It’s breaking your brain instead.

Blue and White Spheres with text Multitasking Isn't Working - Here's Why and What to Do Instead by Rikki Goldenberg, Executive Leadership Coach, Career Coach

Have you ever multitasked?

Just kidding.

Of course you have.

You’re multitasking right now.

I know you are. You’re jumping from screen to screen. You just stepped away from a book, a conversation, and it’s still rattling around in that beautiful brain of yours. You’re constantly thinking about something else. Eating a meal? You’re thinking about the next meal, the email you have to write, the list goes on.

You’re not alone. We all love to multitask. It makes us feel like we’re on fire! But, it’s also making it harder to get things done.

What do we mean when we say multitasking?

The definition of multitasking is “the performance of more than one task at the same time.” But spoiler alert, it originally came about as a computer term, “the execution by a computer of more than one program or task simultaneously.”

The term multitasking itself is derived from the computer processing system.

We are not computers.

Your brain doesn’t function the way - thank goodness - so why would you try to make it take action the same way?

Most of us think we’re multitasking effectively. And I have bad news for you.

What are we actually doing when we’re attempting to multitask?

From Stolen Focus;

Your brain can only produce one or two thoughts in your conscious mind at once… In fact, when people thing they’re doing several things at once, they’re actually - as [Professor Earl Miller] explained - juggling. They’re switching back and forth. They don’t notice the switching because their brain sort of papers it over, to give a seamless experience of consciousness, but what they’re actually doing is switching and reconfiguring their brain moment to moment, task to task - [and] that comes with a cost.

So you’re not multi-tasking, holding multiple thoughts at once. You’re actually in constant motion trying to toss and catch each ball as you’re thinking.

And consistently doing this degrades your ability to focus.

How bad is it to attempt to multitask?

Well, it’s not good! Carnegie Mellon University partnered with the Human Compute Interaction Lab to give 136 students a test. Some had their phones turned off, others received intermittent text messages. The ones who received text messages performed, on average, 20% worse. And the University of Utah found that driving while simply receiving (not reading or sending!) text messages, makes your driving appear almost the same as if you were drunk.

So it’s not great.

Why is multitasking reducing our capacity for focus?

Stolen Focus outlines three main pitfalls that occur when we’re multitasking, I’ll share them here!

The Switch Cost Effect - your performance drops as you switch between tasks because your brain needs to reconfigure to the task at hand. Getting emails and calls can drop your IQ by an average of ten points - which is about the same knock to IQ that smoking cannabis delivers.

The Screw-Up Effect - your brain is more error-prone in task switching. That’s because it has to backtrack and figure out where you left things off - which, is when glitches occur.

The Creativity Drain - you’ll be significantly less creative. Innovation, ideas, visions - they come from your brain creating new pathways from what you’ve learned over time - it’s harder for your brain to do that if it’s constantly bouncing from task to task,

I’m convinced multitasking is bad. But what do I do now?

Buckle your seatbelts.

It’s really hard to train your brain out of juggling. We like to juggle all the tasks. It makes us feel like we’re accomplishing twice as much in half as much time.

But, that math doesn’t work out.

Have you ever been on the phone with someone who’s trying to talk and do something at the same time?

They trail off mid-sentence. They ask you what you just said. They forget what you talked about last time.

Or is that you? Are you that friend?!

Don’t worry, I like you still.

So here are some actions you can take on to help your brain reduce its multitasking ways!

  1. Set timers - give yourself a specific amount of time to complete a task, and, don’t sway away from it.

  2. Set specific goals - often we multitask because we’re losing focus on the task at hand, and we haven’t assessed what completion looks like

  3. Reduce distractions - turn off phone notifications, better yet- leave it in another room. Turn off your wi-fi so you can’t access other webpages. My go-to move on a deep flow is to leave a big comment flag on areas that I need to look something up - once I’m done writing.

  4. Practice focus on fun things - do you double-up screens? I.e. you’re watching a video or movie while scrolling on your phone? Checking your messages while out to coffee with friends? One of the best ways to reduce these types of multitask activities is start in areas that you want to be fully engaged.

  5. Keep your hands busy - I took up knitting during the pandemic and it did wonders for avoiding the itch for my phone, taking notes, or other activities. I was that weirdo knitting while on zoom hangs and watching tv - but, it really helped me stay in that moment.

  6. Connect to your breath - get a little four-count box step navy seal breathing technique to bring yourself back into your body and moment in time.

  7. Remind yourself - it’s okay to slow down. You’re ensuring that you’re being effective, rather than “efficient.”

What works for you to stop multitasking? I want to know!

And if you’re struggling to focus in on your deep work, set goals, and all that good stuff… you know what to do

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