Multitasking: The Efficiency Trap
Learning how to Monotask in a busy world
The literality of ‘killing two birds with one stone’ is a big problem among many people today and because of our eagerness and pursuit for accomplishment/success, it has made it a much bigger problem. I was under this umbrella and as undaunting, as it may seem, it was killing me mentally.
Multitasking is now the shortcut to simultaneously achieving all at the snap of a finger and for some reason, we think we are Carl Kent. With the advent of technology and social media, multitasking has taken its toe from grass to grace. The 21st-century kids are now greedily tapping from the multitasking hotspot.
I was sometimes leaving 7 tabs on my laptop open, hopping from one tab to another, forcing my innocent brain to process all the information at once. I also nearly burnt down my house while I was attending my online classes and still trying to write a convincing email to a publishing company.
Why am I bring this efficiency trap to your attention? Simple, because I have been trapped by it.
I sometimes love to form, in my local dialect “Jagaban” especially when given a task. “Don’t worry I will get it done in four days” when I know that job requires a month to accomplish. Therefore, I juggle and struggle just to meet up, coupling all the in-couplable all in the bid to achieve a task. I 90% always did get the job done, but the repercussion of it on my mental health was grievous.
I overlooked the effect this was having on me, calling it after stress. I know many people reading this will think of this the same way. Well, it’s not; it is the efficiency trap. Luckily, I’m here to share my personal routine on how I overcame it.
This trap isn’t physical, it is mental and hence it affects physical efficiency.
A Few Things You Should Know About Yourself Before Opening Two More Tabs
You’re not an operating system, neither are you a robot; you’re a human. You can’t do all things.
You’re more likely to make mistakes while multitasking than sticking to a task.
Thinking you can finish a project fast while you multitask is a fallacy. Why? Because the brain cannot multitask. Rather than getting the job done faster, you’re unconsciously losing track of time.
Paolo Cardini suggested we try Monotasking. He illustrated a world where we can enjoy the little things when we monotask.
What your Brain is Telling you about Multitasking
The brain’s frontal lobe is significant for achieving long-goal and when you combine different tasks you’re forcing the brain to shift its activity to its anterior, making you perform less. More precisely, when you’re switching in between tasks blood flows to a region of your frontal cortex.
As you’re switching in-between task, the brain takes it’s time to process the new data, hence hibernating or shutting down the former.
Despite how many things you try to multitask you still don’t use more than 10% of your brain. Nevertheless, there is still this question hanging among psychologists and scientists, as to why the frontal lobe is bigger (the next time you see a person with a big forehead, believe that individual is a multitasker) I’m just kidding.
Your brain consumes 20% of your energy. Now imagine how much glucose you’re burning while cooking, chatting on social media, and attending your online class all at the same time. That’s physical stress. Now for the bigger picture, imagine the mental stress. Twice as much, right?
What you don’t know is that a proportion of 1%-16% of cells is meant to be kept active so has not to drain our human energy. Therefore, multitasking is termed dangerous.
Multitasking affects how we learn. When multitasking we use different parts of our brain for learning and storing information. This results in lower concentration, reduced capacity to recall.
My General Point
Stop treating your brain and body as a machine.
Learn how to prioritize. Instead of frying your synapses. In economics, we call it an arrangement of tasks on a scale of preference. As regards your tasks, rank them according to the most urgent to the least urgent and if there is anything that doesn’t fit into the category, discard it. Don’t attempt to perform two or more urgent tasks at once. It can be hard learning to prioritize tasks but is crucial. One step at a time. This will help you mentally.
The only way you can overcome this efficiency trap is by normalizing what I call ‘one task per time’ system. This helped me a lot. When you gradually inculcate this system into your daily life, it becomes a habit, a very good one.
Time frame your task and stick to it. To consciously turn ‘one task per time’ system into a habit, you will have to gauge it. How? For every task you must do in a day, especially if you have many urgent ones, you will have to give it a duration i.e. a given duration per task. This has proven to be very effective for me. It’s important to know, if you cannot achieve a given task at a time, don’t be tempted to bring in the next task into the present one. This will cause your brain to over-ride and at the end of the day might not get either of the jobs done.
If for any reason you cannot meet the deadline for a task, suspend for another duration, and begin the next task. This is much better because by adding another task, your brain will get distracted and confused. You will also look confused.
By knowing the extent by which multitasking can hinder you from enjoying your life and having a stress-free mental state, only then can you avoid falling into its efficiency trap. This is something everyone should tap into, both young and old.
Parting words
When next you find yourself getting a migraine or confused between two activities, focus on the most urgent and slate the other at another time.
Have well-drafted and concise goals for your work, so as not to get lost in translation. Create more leisure and engage in fun activities. This is distracting and very effective for the brain.
Give yourself a break, occasionally. Nothing else matters than your mental health and sanity.
