Multitasking may give you the illusion that you’re getting more done. But it’s actually a poor tool for efficiency.
Despite that — and after decades of ever-increasing expectations for productivity — many take pride in the attempt to juggle multiple projects
In one survey of U.S. adults, 79% said they were either “somewhat good” or “very good” at multitasking.
That contradiction — “I know this feels bad, but I think I’m good at it” — captures the strange psychology of multitasking. You may think of it as empowering, but neuroscientists say it’s really a constant cycle of mental interruption.
And your brain may be worse off for it.
What Does Multitasking Actually Mean?
Theoretically, multitasking means you’re doing several things at once — accomplishing more in less time. In reality, it doesn’t work that way.
The term itself has roots in computer science, but over time, many people have come to expect it of themselves. Unlike computers, which are built for multitasking, your brain doesn’t have the necessary architecture — the cognitive and neural building blocks — to perform two tasks at once. Plus, even computers don’t really multitask; they allocate resources to one thing at a time by the nanosecond.
While you think you’re multitasking, your brain has to stop the task you’re currently doing before it can switch to another. That’s why neuroscientists call it task switching, not multitasking.
How Does Your Brain Multitask?
Two areas of your brain are heavily taxed when you’re multitasking: the parietal lobe, which is the control center for attention allocation, and the prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive functions like decision-making, impulse control, and working memory.
“Multitasking is asking the brain to fire in multiple directions at once. It’s scattershot,” says Stacy Vernon, a licensed professional counselor at the Center for Brain Health, part of the University of Texas at Dallas. “If you look at images of the electrical currents as they’re going through the neurons when you’re multitasking, you see an overall diminished view. There’s less electrical activity because it’s more diffuse.”
In fractions of a second, your brain goes through stages when you bounce from one task to another. The first, goal shifting, is deciding to stop one activity in favor of another. For example, if you pause making dinner to answer the phone, it disrupts your working memory. Once you put down the knife, your brain shuts off the cognitive rules of recipe-following to activate new rules for talking to your mother. But the previous task’s rules don’t just disappear — they linger, competing with the new ones.
Ways You May Be Multitasking
You may get so used to juggling screens, family, work, and the demands of daily life, you might not realize how much you’re multitasking. It comes in many forms.
Task switching
When you’re trying to do two tasks that both require concentration, your brain can’t actually do them at the same time. Instead, you’re task switching. As a result, you perform the new task more slowly and less accurately than you would if you’d stuck to one task.
The stop-and-start action can claim up to 40% of your productive time — an effect known as “switch cost.”
Emotional multitasking
This involves managing multiple emotions at once. Say you’re grieving the loss of a loved one, but on the job you must remain cheerful. It’s not an academically studied phenomenon, but psychologists describe it as exhausting and distancing from your true emotions.
Digital multitasking
Digital multitasking or media multitasking is so widespread, a survey found that 90% of Americans use two devices at once on a weekly basis — and 42% do it for more than an hour every day. Heavy media multitaskers are more at risk of problems with memory and executive function.
“Texting while watching Netflix? Are you also checking email? Do you find it hard to do one thing at a time, especially when it’s media?” says Therese Huston, PhD, a cognitive scientist and author. “If that feels boring and that you’re understimulated, chances are, you’re a heavy media multitasker.”
Passive multitasking
The lopsided approach is the closest your brain gets to true multitasking. It pairs tasks that need concentration with physical activities that are so automatic, you don’t have to think about them. So, you can fold laundry while talking on the phone, or listen to a podcast on the bus — your brain only has to focus on one of the two activities.
What problems can multitasking cause?
Most studies have found that you’re more likely to be harmed than helped by multitasking. But some people do seem to thrive with it.
For one, it takes mental energy to switch from one topic to another.
“If we do that one time, it’s not so bad,” Vernon says. “But if we repeatedly do that, we can train the brain to get used to interrupting focused thought. It can begin to feel not comfortable to focus for 15-20 minutes.”
Research has repeatedly shown that trying to force your brain to do two things at once can lead to trouble, including issues with decision-making, planning, and prioritizing. You’re more likely to make mistakes, and you may get cranky.
“Multitasking is definitely harming me,” says Holly Leber Simmons, a writer from Silver Spring, Maryland. “But how else are you going to get everything done?”
Credit: webmd
