Why Multitasking Is Bad (And What To Do Instead)
For years, millions of people with good intentions believed multi-tasking was beneficial, productive even. But today I’m going to tell you (with science to back it) why you should stop multitasking. I’m gonna let you know why it’s not only bad to multi-task but why it’s hindering your success in your personal and professional life. Don’t worry, if you have been an avid multi-tasker, it is quite literally never too late to change a bad habit. It will take some work but I promise it WILL benefit you in moving forward.
This post is all about why multitasking is bad… and what to do instead.
Where did multitasking come from?
Multitasking was first introduced in 1965 in an IBM-published paper that discussed the new and powerful ways that technology could complete multiple tasks at once. And as we have further improved our technology, our robot friends are able to produce more, at faster rates, and you guessed it, all at once. Soon after, we began adopting this in our own lives, as human multitasking. This ability to handle more than one task, or activity, at the same time seemed to be productive.
💡 But what made us think that the multitasking capabilities of our computers meant we had to perform in the same way?
Answering emails while listening to a podcast, taking notes while listening to a lecture, and Face Timing with a friend while you are completing an assignment all sound good, but they all lack one thing that is necessary for productivity, and that is, focus.
The Myth of Multi-Tasking
The reason why multitasking is bad is that we literally cannot focus fully on one thing while completing another thing concurrently. Psychiatrist, Edward M. Hallowell, describes multitasking as the “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously as effectively as one.”
There have been numerous documented studies that have explored this topic. The common conclusion is that our brains are not able to fully focus on multiple things at once. This is because it leads to a higher rate of errors made and a longer time (often double the original time it would take) to complete given tasks. Even though our brains are very complex and can complete intricate things, multi-tasking is not something we excel at.
For example, Psychologist David Meyer of the University of Michigan claims that the brain exhibits an “adaptive executive control” when asked to perform several tasks at once. This means our brains have to decide which task is more important, resulting in us expending more energy to complete that task first.
What You Should Do Instead…
The remedy to multitasking is focus. Focus on one task at a time. If you wanted to become a polyglot (a person who knows multiple languages), you aren’t going to try to learn them all at once, right? I sure hope not. You would more than likely focus on one language at a time. Mastering that first language to the best of your ability until you can speak it fluently.
This then applies to anything else you want to be good at in life. When working, you give all of your attention to that one specific task at hand. Focusing on something else will undoubtedly lessen the quality of your work. Before a lecture, take notes on the slides before class. This will help you stay focused and actually understand what is being taught. No one can listen and write down everything the lecturer is saying anyway. When driving, pay attention to the road and don’t try to text while driving. All different scenarios, but the same principle applies to them all.
Focus focus focus
Remember that you are capable of accomplishing anything and all things you want with focus. You are not a computer, and you’re not a juggler, so stop trying to do it all! Learning this and applying it to your daily life will tremendously help produce only quality things. It will help you ace that test, have a praise-worthy presentation at work, or learn the first of many languages.
Through this article, I hope you were able to see why multitasking is not as beneficial as you may have thought it was. I would love to hear your comments on this! 😁
