The Myth of Multitasking

Most of us have grown up believing that multitasking is a great skill to have.  We highlight it when a job interviewer asks us what our strengths are.  We admire friends and colleagues who seem to be good at it.  We associate it with qualities like being, “productive,” “intelligent,” or, “successful.” 

But guess what? Multitasking is a myth.  It’s literally impossible for you to multitask.  Here’s why:

What is multitasking?

The term, “multitasking,” first appeared in the mid-1960’s and was coined by IBM to describe a computer that seemed like it was able to do multiple processing tasks at once.   Over the years the term has also been applied to humans who seem like they are good at attending to multiple tasks at once.  But in reality, that computer wasn’t doing multiple things at one time…it was doing a lot of separate tasks extremely close together so that it seemed like those things happened simultaneously.    And like that computer, the human brain isn’t really attending to multiple things simultaneously either.   What may look like multitasking is actually the brain switching rapidly back and forth between tasks.  Your brain can only really work on one thing at at time. The more we try to multitask the harder our brains work at switching from one task to another.  It’s called, “context switching,”  and while it may look to the world around us like we’re supernovas of multitasking energy, the reality is we are making our brains work harder...and often for reduced results.

What is the cost of trying to multitask?

Every time your brain switches from one task to another it has to use energy.  So trying to multitask actually drains the brain of energy, which ultimately makes it more tired, less efficient, and more prone to error. That's part of the reason why after a day of, "multitasking," you're probably feeling very tired and maybe a little stressed. Your brain is exhausted.

What are better options?

Seeing the ability to, “multitask,” as a powerful asset has become so popular in recent decades that the first step in finding better options may be to disentangle ourselves from the myth that multitasking is possible.  After we do that, there are a variety of options for increasing the efficiency of our brains.

As much as you can, try to focus on one task at a time.  Brown University Health calls trying to do two or more tasks that require your competing attention, “bad multitasking.”  Try to resist the belief that you’re saving time and being more productive by doing multiple things at once, and choose one at a time instead.

Choose your priorities in advance. Sure, urgent issues can interrupt your day (ask any parent!), but choose in advance what one main task of each day will be. Do this at the beginning of your day or the beginning of your week. While urgent issues or emergencies may show up that need your immediate attention, this practice will help keep you from getting distracted by the non-urgent issues.

Put the phone away when you have to work on something important and silence the text ping.

Set reasonable time frames for accomplishing the tasks you have instead of trying to do them all at the same time.

Resist overload. Get to know your limits and, as best as you can, set boundaries to live within them.  You don’t need to say yes to everything that comes your way.

Prioritize down time for your brain...it needs to rest too.  Sleep is the most obvious way to give your brain down time, but other good options are: 

Prayer/mindfulness practices

Spending time in nature and the outdoors

Turning off technology

Exercise

Reading for pleasure

Playing with your dog (or cat, or hamster...)

Playing with your kids

When you do have to accomplish a lot, just remember…

Not all switching is the same.  If you’re doing tasks that are automatic or come naturally (like eating, walking or talking), you spend less energy switching between them, so the cost to your brain will be lower.  In cases like this you can walk and chew gum at the same time without any serious implications for your brain!

You can’t completely eliminate times when rapid task switching is required.  Busy jobs, being a student, being a parent...they all require your brain to be active and nimble. But recognizing the situations that require multitasking and rapid switching can help you be more intentional about how you approach tasks and about giving yourself and your brain some regular down time. 

It’s time to let go of the myth of multitasking and embrace a pace of life that’s actually good for your brain!