There is no such thing as multi-tasking.

I fully endorse this.

Neuroscience has informed us that we can only focus on bits of two or more tasks, and thus, we can only ‘Swiss-task’ (like Swiss cheese; that being, we can punch little ‘focus’ holes in the tasks we are attempting, but our attention is never wholly devoted to any of the tasks we are undertaking).

Focus is key for any task that you undertake, and this is related to how our hippocampus operates.

Dr. Britt Andreatta, director of training and development at lynda.com coined the term “second hand distractions,”, or things that draw your focus away from your main task-at-hand. These can prove ultimately damaging.

I’ve taken this on board in my work life and more importantly in my creative output.

If you would like to learn more about how this affects your learning and how your brain interacts, I would definitely recommend the Lynda course, The Neuroscience of Learning (the source for the information provided in this post).