Some employees indicate on their resumes as one of the important business qualities“the ability to multitask,” and some employers call it the same when creating a portrait of an ideal candidate. However, in reality, trying to multitask can ruin your health and ruin your career.
Dangerous Misconception
Management guru Peter Drucker wrote in one of his articles: “I have never met a leader who could perform more than two tasks at the same time and remain effective.” However, the myth that you can multitask and remain efficient somehow still persists. And even despite the assurances of scientists who claim that multitasking is unnatural, and under no circumstances human brain unable to simultaneously work on two tasks at the same time, there are still those who are ready to argue with them, proving the opposite. “You think you're doing several things at once, but in reality you're putting tasks in a certain order and deciding which one to do at a particular time,” says Jordan Grafman, director of cognitive neuroscience at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). ).
David Meyer, director of the Brain Research Laboratory, cognitive abilities and Human Activities at the University of Michigan, argues that multitasking slows down work (by a factor of two or more) and increases the chances of error. According to him, switching and interruptions interfere with our ability to process information and significantly reduce productivity. "People may think otherwise, but it's a myth," he says. “It is impossible to overcome the innate limitations of the brain.”
Those who believe that human capabilities are limitless and systematically abuse their brains with multitasking, end up paying with their own health. The habit of jumping from task to task, not only at work, but also outside of it, results in the brain becoming overexcited. A person loses the ability to concentrate, he begins to have problems sleeping, headaches and other ailments. In fact, he is gradually losing his ability to work. What kind of career is this...
Multitasking and multitasking
David Meyer identifies three types of people at risk of falling victim to multitasking. The first are those whom life forces to work at an unnatural rhythm. Such people try to do several things at the same time (for example, talk on the phone and look through papers), believing this is the only way to be competitive. The second are those who multitask without realizing it. Such people, for example, may stop halfway writing a report to check their email one more time. They jump from one task to another without thinking that this reduces efficiency.
The third type of people are those who pride themselves on their “ability to multitask.” "A lot of people have the misconception that they're good at it," Meyer says. “But the problem is that everyone’s brain is built the same way, and it doesn’t work that way.” In reality, no one can effectively perform more than one difficult task at a given point in time."
Even though scientists provide compelling evidence of the harms of multitasking, people are finding it increasingly difficult to avoid it. Paradoxically modern technologies Instead of simplifying our lives, they complicated it even more. The Institute for the Future (IFTF) conducted a study that examined the experiences of employees at Fortune 1000 companies. It was found that each of them received an average of 178 messages per day and was interrupted at least three times in an hour. It is clear that this does not increase productivity. Jonathan Speer, chief analyst at research firm Basex, estimates that employee interruptions cost the U.S. economy $650 billion annually.
Survival technology
If you consider yourself a reasonable person, it is within your power to organize your work process in such a way as to protect yourself from the destructive multitasking. Take advantage of several simple tips to simplify life.
Try to constantly “store” in your head only the most necessary things, and use “external storage media” for the rest. We are not talking about the latest technological innovations. Follow the example of Albert Einstein, who once said that he does not keep in his mind what can be written down on paper. Carry a notepad with you or set reminders in your Outlook calendar - choose what is more convenient for you.
Write lists of tasks and arrange the order of completion. Try to estimate how much time each will take and compare it with the actual time spent. Group tasks, try not to be distracted while you complete them, and take steps to avoid being distracted by others. Check your email not every five minutes, but at certain time intervals. For example, once an hour. If possible, turn on voicemail on your phone. Try to negotiate “office hours” with your colleagues. Most of the questions you are asked about during the day are not that important or urgent. You only have one health, take care of it.
Materials used in preparing the article
Multitasking has been highly praised by many project managers as the secret to achieving success at record speeds. But over the years, this claim has been dispelled.
Published studies aimed at refuting the claimed benefits of multitasking call on the business community to actually turn the multitasking process inside out to determine whether it is an ally or an enemy? How much can this affect personal professional qualities? Multitasking can also harm a business entity, regardless of whether it is a family business or a TOP-list company.
Do you still think you can get a lot of work done on your project when you're simultaneously answering emails, being at a conference, and helping a colleague understand a report they received? Read on and we'll look at 7 possible downsides to multitasking.
1. Losing focus
Workers and employers who frequently juggle between different tasks and projects end up having trouble separating the most important tasks from the unimportant ones.
They spread their time and attention so thin that they fail to extract important key information and experience from each task they work on. And while many project tasks are repetitive and even somewhat administrative, the long-term effects of multitasking can keep you from staying focused and collected.
Whether you are on the phone with a client or checking your messages on e-mail, divide your time into small blocks of specific tasks and check them off your list one at a time.
2. Memory loss
Multitasking can be one of the most active activities of your brain. This can lead to overstimulation of cognitive function, which can ultimately lead to memory loss.
The rate of decline in memory sensitivity may be complemented by other predisposing factors such as age, environment, and existing health conditions. If you are not project-oriented, distracted by constant communications with intrusive colleagues, talking on the phone about topics unrelated to the project, or surfing social networks, then it will be difficult, or almost impossible, to return to where you left off. With too many external stimuli happening at once, the brain can't clearly differentiate between what's truly important to your project and what's a random cat photo.
3. Reduced performance
Competition in business basically comes down to the fact that the one who performs better wins. The success of a project also depends on the performance and personal qualities of the project manager. To be successful, you need to remove as many inefficiencies, or “bugs,” as possible from your business processes in order to get the most out of your time and team members.
Seamless operations in business processes, however, cannot be achieved with a lazy team. If your employees aren't performing at optimal levels, it's most often a problem with multitasking. They may hide behind the idea that juggling many projects at once will directly increase their productivity. It's time to put an end to this! Switching between tasks can be counterproductive to progress.
4. Disorganization
Team members begin to complete a new task while existing tasks are still on the unfinished to-do list. As a result, their workload increases throughout the week. New tasks arrive that further worsen the backlog of tasks that need to be completed.
An office without documents is not realistic for most people (or even desirable). Tasks bring with them notes, pieces of paper, printouts, and so on. Adding more documents to this situation creates a cluttered workspace, which ultimately translates into lost productivity.
5. Conflicting results
Multitasking may work by showing some gains, but it also has the risk of producing inconsistent results. The danger is that people don't really have the capacity to determine the importance of each task and prioritize accordingly.
At some point, you will be managing project team members by targeting the wrong items or tasks from all major aspects of the project. Ephemeral indicators of the success of the future project are created.
6. Increased stress levels.
While you may not necessarily feel it right away, the habit of task switching can add additional stress to your already busy work week.
As mentioned earlier, the brain receives a lot of input when multitasking, so it gets tired faster and has more high risk burnout. For example, participation in important telephone conversations and trying to make a spreadsheet for an upcoming presentation at the same time can put double the pressure on you.
7. Increased expenses.
The financial consequences of multitasking can wreak havoc on your overall business's chances of survival. In fact, according to a KRONOS report, innovative UK companies are losing around £60 billion a year due to time wasted by workers doing unnecessary tasks.
This is due to a lack of creativity and the pervasive nature of distractions in the workplace. When employees lose focus, their companies fall short of their financial targets. This may affect your ability to achieve project goals, or deliver your projects within budget.
To avoid having to multitask, make sure your project team has a plan that guides everyone every step of the way enough to get the job done efficiently.
Encourage your team to plan their daily workload so they don't have to juggle multiple tasks in one day or week. Not only will this help your project as a whole, but individual project team members will also benefit from increased focus on their development and overall health.
Multitasking is considered an indicator of a worker's productivity, competence and flexibility. Those who are able to quickly switch from one task to another, from a report to a meeting and back again, are considered an asset to the company.
Ability to multitask - one of the requirements for a candidate for many, many employers, which is easily confirmed by job descriptions on headhunter. Unfortunately, the reality of multitasking - not such a useful skill.
Every day we find ourselves trying to do several things at once. However, multitasking mode works very differently: we become less productive, but experience more stress.
How multitasking interferes with your productivity
Let's say you need to deal with three simple tasks: draw 20 circles on paper, connect 20 paper clips into a chain and put 20 coins in a pile.
Have a competition with your colleague or friend. One of you will solve each problem in sequence: first the circles, then the paper clips and finally the coins. The second one must switch between these tasks: draw 3-4 circles, connect 3-4 paper clips, fold 3-4 coins - and return to the circles.
The result can be predicted in advance. A person who does not switch between tasks, but completes each one before moving on to the next, will get the job done faster.
Connect paper clips and draw circles - not the most common workload (unless you are a teacher in kindergarten). Let's consider a situation that we might encounter in everyday life.
Suppose we are making a presentation while simultaneously looking at our VKontakte account or talking on the phone. Most likely, after half an hour we will notice that time has flown somewhere, and only a couple of slides are ready from the entire presentation.
The more devices and social media accounts we have, including professional ones, the more difficult it is for us to focus on working with one of them. All gadgets and applications are designed to require your attention and action by default. « Answer the call » , « click on the link » , « open the application » , « turn me on » . And do it all at the same time.
If you listen to music while working, your attention will wander.
What will happen over time if we don’t get distracted by messengers and social networks, but silently make a presentation while listening to music? Scientists have bad news for us again.
If we are faced with several independent stimuli of different modalities (for example, a presentation that involves our actions and occupies the visual channel, and music, which occupies the auditory channel), our performance drops.
Trying to make a presentation with music, we are slower to perceive the information that should be displayed on the slide, we make mistakes with the design and more often confuse the numbers. Moreover, the older a person gets, the worse he copes with two things at the same time. With age, reaction speed decreases and the likelihood of error increases.
Why is that? Our brain doesn't care whether we do multiple things or take in information from multiple sources. In both cases, the brain needs time to process the signal.
Researchers Ophir, Nass, and Wagner showed that multitasking people who regularly engage with multiple media sources and people who do not multitask excessively process information differently.
It is more difficult for the former to cut off unimportant stimuli and not react to them. They are less likely to ignore irrelevant information. “Multi-tasking” people are easier to get involved in side tasks that are not important for achieving the main goal than “single-tasking” people.
How the brain works when multitasking
The mechanisms of short-term memory are simple and not « sharpened » for multitasking. Trying to arrange tasks in a certain order (I call, while I'm calling, I finish writing a letter, and then I talk), we disconnect from the environment. We have to split our focus into several parts. But that’s the problem: the focus of attention is not divided.
It doesn't matter what metaphors proponents of multitasking use. The human brain works differently than a computer.
The computer is specially designed for multitasking. For example, operating system Windows can run multiple processes and programs simultaneously without losing any quality or performance.
Microsoft Excel will not start making errors because the browser is open, and in it - clip from youtube. But the human brain begins to switch between these two tasks, wasting time both switching and immersing itself in a new question.
Our brain can only concentrate on one thing at a time. If we're talking about about short tasks, routine, well-known actions - multitasking works because we don’t have to split our attention.
If you have enough experience, you can peel potatoes while watching a well-known TV series. Problems begin when at least one of the tasks turns out to be important. For example, if you communicate with a client or analyze data, while simultaneously communicating with colleagues in a corporate messenger.
Multitasking distracts attention and interferes with concentration.
Pros and cons of multitasking
Multitasking - a very stressful way to live your life and build a career. People who multitask actually switch from one task to another faster, but they also get less done.
There is evidence for this statement. Article in « magazine about experimental psychology» reported that students solved a math problem 40% slower when they were asked to switch to other problems during the process.
American researchers found that people who constantly switched from one task to another made 1.5 times more errors than experimental participants who were able to focus on one task for a long time.
Consequences of Multitasking
Cognitive overload
When we multitask, we have to put in more mental effort to process all the incoming information. When there is a lot of incoming information, it takes longer to process.
Incorrect performance appraisal
People who consider themselves multitaskers often consciously create such conditions for themselves to work. But they are unable to objectively assess their effectiveness.
Teens and children cope less well with cognitive overload, so they should avoid multitasking. Even if we believe that by nature they are better suited for this.
Reduced work efficiency
Most of the tasks that come to us in a short period of time - distraction. In essence, multitasking is a trained distraction, not an aid.
As psychologists Finley, Benjamin and McCarley showed in their study, people are unable to adequately assess how much productivity will drop when multitasking.
Problems with concentration and attention
In an effort to meet job requirements, people try to develop multitasking, even if they were not naturally inclined to it. Unfortunately, multitasking develops to the detriment of other work skills.
Col Newport, author of a book on how to focus at work in a distracting environment, says that multitasking reduces our ability to concentrate. At the same time, the ability to concentrate is one of the most important skills for performing complex work.
Loss of joy from work
Neuroscientists Loch and Kanai found that people who multitask with media have lower gray matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex.
The anterior cingulate cortex is involved in motivation and reward mechanisms, and is active when we need to exert mental effort or focus. The lower the density of gray matter in the anterior cingulate cortex - the less joy there is in work that requires concentration and mental effort.
Risk to life
If you're in a remote meeting and driving, you won't be able to focus on the road. This increases the likelihood of an accident.
Several studies have shown that if a driver uses a phone while on the road, the risk of car accidents increases several times.
Why do we keep multitasking?
People who multitask take almost one and a half times longer to complete a task. Why, then « multitaskers » continue to practice it?
Multitasking looks impressive
If you observe a person practicing multitasking, it will seem that he has everything under control at the same time. In addition, multitasking helps create the image of a busy and sought-after person.
Society is convinced that multitasking - norm
Messages from television, radio, magazines, friends, books, articles sound like this: « You can handle it » . In fact, more than 90% of people are not physiologically equipped to concentrate on more than one task for long periods of time.
Doing one thing for several hours is boring
Multitasking mode - a way to give yourself a shake-up, in which there is certainly no time for boredom.
Irrational belief that multitasking helps you get more things done
When a person tackles several things at once, it seems that he gets more done. It's easy to fall into the mental trap: « I have a lot to do. I should double or triple my efforts » . But this conviction does not help, but exhausts.
How to stop multitasking
If you've recognized the problem and want to solve it, here are five steps you can take to help you stop multitasking without losing productivity.
Realize that multitasking -
it's a choice we can change.
Set your priorities
In multitasking mode, primary issues can fade into the background, since employees are constantly busy - they react to any incoming signal, constantly being distracted from more important and valuable matters.
Determine which tasks can't be postponed or delegated, and don't waste time and energy multitasking. Set a notification « do not disturb » to your messengers and get down to business without being distracted by notifications and questions.
Plan your day and week
Planning helps:
- Motivate yourself to achieve goals;
- Reduce stress levels (due to predictability);
- Eliminate the need to store all tasks in short-term memory.
Take 5-10 minutes at the beginning and end of the day to plan for the next day and determine what you need to do.
Use planning assistants. Trello boards or the Todoist app help you schedule tasks for the day or week.
Analyze your actions
Ask yourself questions regularly:
- Is what I do useful for my career and company?
- Am I distributing my workload correctly throughout the day?
- What changes or tools will help me be more productive while also freeing me up?
Learn to concentrate
Practice meditation and use apps. The ability to focus is a skill that keeps us from multitasking and saves us from stress.
What if I can't stop multitasking?
How to deal with big amount tasks without the stress of not being able to complete any of them? Correct answer - The fewer tasks you do at once, the better.
But what if we are constantly distracted? You are trying to write a letter to a client, but they call you. And you can no longer fully concentrate, because the phone is ringing very annoyingly, and you have to answer. A way to cope with such a situation is called « Mental completion » .
How the technique works « Mental completion »
You are working - writing an article or a work letter. The phone rings and you need to answer. Mentally tell yourself: « I understand that now my work is at such and such a stage and is completed at such and such a stage » . Save the file or email and pick up your phone.
While you are talking with your interlocutor, do not return to your previous work. Concentrate completely on the conversation. Try to successfully conduct this conversation: take notes, ask your interlocutor clarifying questions.
As soon as you finish the call, hang up and realize that the call is over. You have completed this task. Return to the previous task as quickly as possible without switching to something completely different.
It is important to give yourself time to mentally complete all tasks and even thoughts. This will increase your energy, concentration levels and structure.
And yet, true professionals learn not to take on several tasks at the same time. Follow their advice: slow down, engage in work, start and finish it. In the long run, you will appreciate how useful this skill is. You will be able to complete your tasks faster and better.
Be healthy and efficient!
Multitasking is everyone's constant companion HR specialists. Even if the HR manager’s functionality involves only recruiting personnel, multitasking will be present in any case. If a person is unable to work in the mode multitasking, he will try to act one by one, setting priorities and trying to complete all the necessary functionality within a certain time. But the thing is that at work HR specialist there is a constant human factor and it will most likely not be possible to work according to a pre-planned scenario. In order to fit what is planned into the framework of the working day, it is important to be able to work in a multitasking. Let's look at the basic rules that will help you successfully deal with this problem.
Planning your working day
I will give an example of prioritization for HR specialist, who works at the production site as a single person.
- Filling of “warehouse manager” and “shift supervisor” vacancies.
- Mass recruitment of personnel (production workers).
- Personnel records management (hiring, dismissal, transfer of employees).
- Development of local regulations, regulations and job descriptions.
- Preparation of reports for management.
- Development of an assessment program for line personnel.
- Development of training materials for line personnel.
- Development of a motivation system for production employees.
- Notification of the Federal Migration Service on the admission of foreign workers.
- Carrying out adaptation activities for newcomers.
In order to set priorities correctly, it is necessary to set goals to achieve which the employee’s tasks are aimed. The more strongly goals influence business results, the more priority this or that task becomes. In addition to setting goals, it is important to assess the risks that the organization faces if a particular task is not completed. It is these two factors that are decisive when setting priorities.
Prioritizing tasks based on goals and risks
|
Task |
Target |
Risks |
Priority |
Task status |
|
Closing of vacancies “Warehouse manager” and “Shift supervisor” |
Uninterrupted operation of the business system |
Malfunction business development, financial losses |
High |
Urgent |
|
Mass recruitment (production workers) |
Efficient production process |
Malfunction business development, financial losses |
High |
Urgent |
|
Personnel records management (hiring, dismissal, transfer of employees) |
Personnel accounting, compliance with labor laws |
Unsystematized personnel records, fines in case of inspections for non-compliance with labor laws |
Average |
Current |
|
Development of local regulations, regulations and job descriptions |
Regulation of processes, compliance with labor laws |
Unregulated processes, fines in case of inspections for non-compliance with labor laws |
Average |
Current |
|
Reporting for management |
Providing measurable performance indicators |
There are no significant risks |
Low |
Current |
|
Development of an assessment program for line personnel |
Identification of incompetent employees, formation of an internal personnel reserve |
Poor quality of work by incompetent personnel |
High |
Urgent |
|
Development of training materials for line personnel |
Increasing the competence and, as a result, the quality of work of employees |
Poor quality of work of untrained personnel |
High |
Current |
|
Development of a motivation system for production employees |
Increasing the interest and, as a result, the quality of work of employees |
Low quality of work of unmotivated personnel |
High |
Urgent |
|
Notification of the Federal Migration Service on the admission of foreign workers |
Legal Compliance |
Fines for non-compliance with migration laws |
High |
Urgent |
|
Carrying out adaptation activities for newcomers |
Improving internal corporate communications and the quality of employee work |
There may be an increase in turnover and a deterioration in the quality of work of the new employee. There are no significant risks |
Average |
Current |
As we can see, there are no urgent tasks in the table; urgent and current tasks are distributed equally. When planning your day, it is important to devote the maximum amount of time to solving urgent problems, while leaving a small margin of time to solve current problems.
Any task must be divided into processes. Even if the task is global and requires a significant amount of time, it will be much easier to implement it.
Learning to switch
The ability to switch is necessary to maintain concentration, that is, focus on the task and interest in the work being performed. It is monotonous actions that reduce the stability of attention. When switching from one task to another, you need to consider the following points:
- Contrast of process dynamics.
- Time factor.
The process you switch to must differ in dynamics from the main process: this is the key rule of constructive work. For example, like HR director you are busy developing regulations for which you have allocated a certain amount of time, say two hours. Halfway through the process, you can switch to another, more lively task, such as conducting telephone interviews with candidates. It is also advisable to switch to an activity that is easier and more interesting for you: it is psychologically easier, and switching, in addition to having a constructive effect on your attention, will be perceived as rest and relief for the brain.
Regarding the time factor, it should be noted that the switch should be limited in time, that is, the main activity from which you switched to a secondary one should remain so. Let’s say your main task today is to monitor the labor market by level wages. You have set a time limit for yourself to complete this functionality: three hours. Every hour, switch to another, secondary task, allocating 15-20 minutes to complete it. Thus, it will take you four hours to complete the main task and several secondary tasks, instead of the three that you budgeted for the main task. But your productivity will increase significantly and, in addition to a large block of analytical work, you will be able to perform a number of functional responsibilities without losing the quality of your work.
Performing different actions at the same time
Of course, in reality, doing several things at the same time is unrealistic: in any case, you do one thing, instantly switching to another. But to perform tasks that are insignificant in terms of labor costs, it is still possible to perform several actions simultaneously. For example, while talking on the phone, you can parse and sign documents, or, while communicating with a colleague, view email.
The main thing is that the processes that you carry out in parallel are more mechanical than tactical, and do not require significant mental effort from you. By daily developing your ability to do several things in parallel, you can significantly increase your productivity and optimize time spent during the working day.
Neutralizing time wasters
Time eaters, or chronophages, are a powerful negative factor that distracts a specialist and takes away his time resources. Let's look at typical time wasters and possible ways to deal with them.
- Social networks, entertainment content. The Internet in the work process should be used only for work. This is a non-negotiable rule. If we think more globally, social networks are, first of all, the exchange of information. Excess information leads to stress and nervous overload. At work you already get a large number of information. And if you add to it the stream of endless online garbage that we consume, you can simply forget about productivity. Make it a rule not to go on social media at work. Do this on the way home, in the evening, if without social networks not enough.
- Personal calls. It is better to keep communication with friends and family by phone during the workday to a minimum. First of all, you are wasting precious money on them. work time. Secondly, personal conversations are a powerful distraction, after which it is difficult for you to get ready for work: you continue to think about your personal affairs and problems that need to be solved. Thirdly, I’ll tell you a secret, such conversations very irritate management. Know how to work while at work: personal calls and SMS are best left for the lunch break, when you can calmly discuss everything that concerns your personal life.
- Chronophagous people. There are people who do not work themselves and do not give to others. They will come, look into your eyes and begin to spread their thoughts throughout the tree, discussing trivial things for hours. Don't encourage their talkativeness. Know how to say no and end the conversation tactfully. Otherwise, such communication may become regular. If you see that a colleague is abusing your hospitality, end this dialogue, or rather, monologue, by any means available. Start writing an email. Say a phrase to end the conversation: “I heard you,” “I understood you,” “Thank you, everything is clear.” Refer to urgent matters.
Give yourself timely rest
Unfortunately, today regular rest breaks have become very rare. We eat, drink, listen to music without looking up from the computer monitor. Rest without interruption from work is not rest, but the satisfaction of physiological needs. I once read in a scientific journal that if a person suffers from insomnia, there is no need to worry: the main thing is to lie in bed, the body will perceive this as sleep. It’s the same at work: if we sit in front of a computer, even a delicious lunch will not be perceived as rest: our poor body will think that work continues.
Working without breaks is a powerful stress factor. You need to go outside at least every two hours, drink tea, and turn off the monitor screen. Even ten minutes of rest can have a beneficial effect on an employee, especially if he is working under time pressure.
Disconnecting from work after the end of the working day
Just like you turn off your computer at the end of the working day, it is important to be able to disconnect your own brain from the work process. Without switching off, you don’t rest, constantly scrolling through work issues in your head that need to be resolved.
How to forget about work issues until the start of the next working day? First, don't train your colleagues and managers to disturb you on weekends and in the evenings. Secondly, leave unresolved matters at work. Write down all your tasks and leave them on your desk. This way, you don't have to keep everything you have to do in your head. One last thing: don't take your work home. If there is an urgent need to complete some tasks, it is better to come to the office on a day off than to let work into your personal space. Know how to separate work from your personal life; harmony is an important component of any personality, even if that person is an incorrigible workaholic and an ambitious careerist.
Are you still convinced that the key to success is the ability to multitask? It's time to dispel this illusion. Oxford scientists studied brain reactions and proved that multitasking only causes harm. Trying to do several things at once exhausts us. The ability to concentrate suffers, fatigue increases and, most unpleasantly, the brain is destroyed. The editors of the site have collected interesting information about the dangers of multitasking and the features of monotasking (single-tasking).
Dispelling myths about multitasking
If you look around, it seems that we live in a world of supermen. People simultaneously watch movies, talk on the phone, check email, and glance at social media feeds out of the corner of their eyes. Several tasks are performed per unit of time. But this is an illusion. Doing several things at the same time, we lose concentration, so we don’t do anything really well.
Trying to embrace the immensity, we acquire bad habits that negatively affect work productivity. We ourselves provoke increased anxiety, stress and neuroses. The problem is that the human brain is not inherently designed for multitasking. Scientists have proven this experimentally.
Until recently, it was believed that young people who grow up in multitasking conditions perceive information better. This is due to the fact that children study, communicate and do things without taking out their headphones and at the same time hanging out on social networks. It is not that simple. Scientists examined the abilities of two age groups - 18-21 years old and 35-39 years old.
It turned out that if there is only one task, then young people really cope with it 10% faster than mature people. But this advantage is lost as soon as subjects multitask. Moreover, the decrease in the speed of completing tasks falls regardless of the complexity of the tasks. It turns out that there is only one way to do work quickly and efficiently - without being distracted by anything else.
4 reasons not to multitask
Multitasking is a myth. In fact, the brain has to constantly switch from one thing to another. As long as a person is alert and active, this comes quite easily. But each time you have to make more and more efforts to not lose concentration. The fee for this is too high.
1. Significant drop in speed of work completion
Switching attention has a catastrophic effect on task completion. Research has shown that office workers spend up to 28% of their time restoring concentration. This means that one phone call, message, or even pressing an extra button is enough to increase the duration of a task by a third.
It turns out that work will go much faster if you plan your time wisely and do things one by one. At the same time, the quality will remain high.
2. Decreased brain activity is a blow to creativity
If we are talking about analysts and people of creative professions, then they absolutely cannot work in multitasking mode. This reduces brain activity in general. In addition, emerging thoughts and ideas are instantly forgotten as soon as a person switches attention. Creativity drops, a creative crisis arises, and it all ends with a powerful blow to self-esteem.
3. The quality of work and simple joys are at risk
The reduction in speed of different work performed simultaneously is obvious. But is this really so important when it comes to simple everyday activities? It turns out that it is also important. If you read, chew a sandwich and drink tea at the same time, you will not enjoy the book, food or drink. All that will remain is a feeling of dissatisfaction. By doing several things at the same time, you don’t really do anything and deprive yourself of simple everyday joys.
4. Chronic fatigue, stress and neurotic disorders
When you worry about multitasking, your general level anxiety. This is how you accustom yourself to excessive nervousness. Tasks started but not completed are a powerful stress factor. The body reacts with a decline in activity. More backlogs accumulate, anxiety increases, and productivity drops. It's a vicious cycle of multitasking.
Tips for monotasking - simple and effective single-tasking
Write it down. Plan in writing. Once a task is recorded on paper, you don’t have to think about it.
Set your priorities. Do things in order of urgency and importance.
Consider the time. Allocate to each point of the plan exactly as much time as is necessary for its implementation.
Rest. Plan not only your tasks, but also your breaks between them.
Check your email on a schedule. This also applies to social network feeds and telephone messages.
If you can, turn off your phone and all audio alerts while you work. Remember, each call increases the duration of the task by a third. It will take you at least 15 minutes to regain your concentration. It’s better to complete the task, and then check your phone, email and respond to important messages.
