Multitasking is a response to the reality of the modern world. We feel like we have to be constantly available, our phones as extensions of our limbs. We work to manage overlapping responsibilities and keep up with the latest news alerts—all while also navigating real-life roles and relationships. That can look like: watching TV and answering late-night emails, talking on the cellphone while driving, or making dinner and listening to a podcast and helping our kid with their homework.
Yet, what if we told you that multitasking—trying to perform two or more tasks concurrently—doesn’t actually help you accomplish more? Multitasking typically leads to repeatedly switching between tasks (i.e., task switching), which impedes accuracy and speed, called a switch cost.
Although switch costs can be just a few tenths of a second per switch, they can add up to large amounts when you repeatedly switch back and forth. So while many think multitasking is more efficient, study after study reveals the opposite: multitasking takes more time in the end and involves more error than just sticking to one task at a time.¹
Just like our arms can only carry so many groceries at once, our minds have limitations. To work with our brain, not against it, we need to understand how multitasking manifests in the brain.
Just like our arms can only carry so many groceries at once, our minds have limitations.
What Happens When We’re Pulled in Every Direction
Technology has outpaced our brain’s ability to keep up. How do we stay present with the siren call of push notifications in our pocket? Media multitasking has become the norm, basking in the blue light of multiple devices at once as we attempt to read the latest news, not ghost the group text, and also feel entertained.² Did you know that American kids spend an average of 7.5 hours a day with various media and at least 29 percent of that time involves media multitasking?³ In doing so, they’re more likely to miss details on our TV program or send a message out with an error.
The human brain has neural processing limitations; because of the ways our cognitive and neural systems work, the brain has difficulties processing and completing two or more tasks at once, called dual task interference.⁴ Unless your brain is highly cognitively flexible—meaning you have high readiness to shift—you end up just switching between one task and another. (Remember when you would try patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time, only to be successful at one movement at a time? Same idea here.) There’s simultaneous cross-talk between all of the networks of neurons, causing computation difficulties and impacting performance.
Tips to Take Your Time Back
We’re told that technology makes it easier for us to do more, but that’s not necessarily true. Technology can be a source of distraction and unproductivity. (And even when we think we’re using it to our advantage, studies show that we inflate our perceived ability to multitask.⁵)
Here’s our tips for taking back your time:
Block off dedicated time for deep work. Use calendar holds for more than just external meetings. Set aside several hours for dedicated work and silence notifications so you’re not pulled another direction.
Give yourself a mental refresh before starting a new task. Regular breaks, like a short stroll around the block or some gentle stretching, throughout the day can act as a mental reset, helping to preserve your cognitive resources and prevent burnout.
Acknowledge when multi-tasking actually doesn’t benefit you and your goals—and when it does. It’s critical to be able to flexibly shift tasks, known as cognitive flexibility, and sometimes (like when folding clothes or getting dinner on the table) we don’t need perfection, just progress. What more, recent data suggest that there are certain domains––like creative problem solving––that may benefit from task switching by reducing fixation on a problem.⁶
Trust the process. Over time, we adapt to our environment and refine our strategies for managing attention. The brain learns to balance the costs and benefits of task switching to optimize cognitive flexibility and performance.
Sources
¹Poljac, E., Kiesel, A., Koch, I. et al. New perspectives on human multitasking. Psychological Research 82, 1–3 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-018-0970-2
²Uncapher, M. R., & Wagner, A. D. (2018). Minds and brains of media multitaskers: Current findings and future directions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(40), 9889–9896. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1611612115
³Uncapher, M. R., Lin, L., Rosen, L. D., Kirkorian, H. L., Baron, N. S., Bailey, K., Cantor, J., Strayer, D. L., Parsons, T. D., & Wagner, A. D. (2017). Media multitasking and cognitive, psychological, neural, and learning differences. Pediatrics, 140(Supplement 2), S62–S66. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1758D
⁴Corbetta, M., Patel, G., & Shulman, G. L. (2008). The reorienting system of the human brain: From environment to theory of mind. Neuron, 58(3), 306–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2008.04.017
⁵Sanbonmatsu, D. M., Strayer, D. L., Medeiros-Ward, N., & Watson, J. M. (2013). Who multi-tasks and why? Multi-tasking ability, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. PLOS ONE, 8(1), e54402. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054402
⁶Lu, J. G., Akinola, M., & Mason, M. F. (2017). “Switching on” creativity: Task switching can increase creativity by reducing cognitive fixation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 139, 63–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.01.005
