Multitasking (white collar multitasking) is a way of life for many of us. We eat lunch while working, answer phones at the gym, respond to messages while logging into Zoom. We click things on the laptop while walking on the treadmill, or even take selfies with the phone (and some of our readers are probably doing something else at the same time while reading this article).
We continue to equate jumping from one task to another with productivity, but scientists disagree with us. Because we’re not actually skipping, we’re ZAPPING.
Earl K. Miller, professor of neuroscience at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is clear about the multitasking we think we can do: “You can’t.”
Prof. Miller says that our brains are cognitively designed to do one thing at a time, and that when we think we are multitasking, what we are actually doing is task switching, that is, moving quickly from one thing to another:
Our mind stumbles as we switch tasks, trying to remember where we are and what we are doing. Shifting between tasks makes us less creative and more error-prone. Moreover, the quality of our work suffers.
Multitasking myths
As evidenced by the 141,000 hits on the phrase ‘multitask’ in a recent Indeed.com survey, job postings are looking for people with multitasking skills. In their resumes, employees describe themselves as people who can handle it.
Tim Sloan, 61, of Ashland City, Tenn. says that when he entered the construction industry years ago, things moved more slowly.
Now a project manager for a company, Sloan reviews pricing information on one of his five computer screens and scrolls through emails on another, often taking calls from clients. “Everyone has to do this right now because if these things don’t get done quickly, customers will turn to a competitor. What choice do we have?”
One thing at a time
Actually, we do. According to experts, we need to go back to monotasking (doing one task at a time). David Strayer, a professor at the University of Utah who has done pioneering research on how our brains perform tasks, says the first step is to remove distractions.
Dr. Strayer suggests setting up your inbox to receive a batch of messages every 10 or 15 minutes. Turn off all your notifications. And try a version of the Pomodoro technique where you focus on your work in small intervals. Set your watch to work on something in depth for 15 minutes, then take a five-minute break.
Dr. Strayer says it can help to know that a built-in break is always in front of you. As long as it’s not the task you’re focused on, you can do whatever you want during the break – watch cat videos, grab a cup of coffee. You will be refreshed when you get back to work.
Research shows that walking in nature also has a refreshing effect on us, but only as long as we walk. Dr. Strayer and his colleagues compared two groups of people walking through an arboretum. One group chatted on their phones, while the others had their devices taken away.
The researchers report that after the walk, the people who didn’t carry their phones were much calmer and more rested than those who chatted.
You are probably not a ‘supertasker’
Dr. Strayer also tested the participants in driving simulators. He reports that while talking on the phone, their braking reflexes slowed down and they started to crash into other cars. According to the study, people who talk on the phone while driving also have a negative impact on their communication skills.
There are rare people among us whom Dr. Strayer calls ‘supertasker’. These individuals are able to absorb multiple streams of information at the same time and manage them all at once. They are likely to be top chefs, fighter pilots or professional athletes.
Dr. Strayer says that about 2.5 percent of people are supertasker. But Thomas estimates that about 20 times as many people think they are.
The rest of us are left with 12 open browser tabs and five half-written emails, says Maura Thomas, a productivity trainer based in Austin, Texas. One obstacle, she says, is that we see any pause – whether it’s a speaker fumbling with a microphone at a conference or a web page taking time to load – as an opportunity to do something else.
Therefore, he suggests, we should allow random thoughts to flow and new connections to form: “To wander in the mind is to do something.”
People who do too much
You might be thinking, who has time to dream? We all do, if we prioritize better.
Sometimes the urgent things on our to-do list are not the most important ones. Instead of rushing into action, think about how you can make better use of your limited time and focus on that.
For Thais Cooke, a data analyst and mother of two, every morning was chaos as she made omelettes, packed her eldest daughter’s lunch, wiped down the countertop, and tried to unload the dishwasher. And, wait a minute, did someone need their shoes tied?
Cooke liked to cross things off his mental to-do list. But the list kept going on and on and on and on. So he decided to do the minimum that needed to be done each day. Now, after her work is done or she hands it over to her husband, she stops and sits with her children. “The rest of the time is left for me to have fun with them,” she says.
Summarized from a Wall Street Journal article
