Experimenting with Our Soft Skill part 2
One of the best examples I have found disproving the utility of multitasking involves reading and listening to music that has words at the same time. The reasoning behind this experiment is based on the fact that multitasking inhibits productivity if the brain requires the same part to do two different functions. In this case, the part of the brain necessary for the two tasks is language.
Listening to Music I knew
I began the experiment by attempting to complete a homework assignment while listening to music I knew well as well as music I was unfamiliar with. I wanted to see if familiarity would either increase or decrease my productivity.
I found that I my productivity was inhibited when I listened to music with words however with varying degrees. I began the experiment listening to one of my favorite albums by The New Pornographers. My productivity was only reduced due to my occasional desire to sing along with the music. Whenever this happened, I lost track of what I was doing for brief moments of time. Still, I was able to jump back into the task at hand because the music I was listening to was almost second-nature to me.
Listening to Music I Didn’t Know
On the other hand, I tried listening to an album of the Kings of Leon I had never heard before and things took a different turn. Since I had never heard the majority of the songs before, reading and listening became a chore and ultimately became a barrier to the material I was trying to access. It only took me a few minutes to realize how encumbered I was by the sudden change.
Therefore, it became apparent almost immediately that music with words did somewhat reduce my productivity. I do prefer studying with music that doesn’t have words but until I had conducted research around multitasking, I couldn’t say why that was. While I was more comfortable listening to music I knew very well, the sheer fact that I could hear the words slowed my progress. Trying to read and write and listen to new music was something I was unable to do entirely.
