The Dangers of Multitasking
Wherever you are, be all there. — Ram Dass
Evident in almost every aspect of contemporary life, multitasking is the ability to perform multiple activities at the same time. In this day and age, it’s hard to be a stranger to multitasking, since our daily business necessitates it, and our limited attention spans require it.
Wearing it like a badge of honor, we take pride in multitasking, accrediting our success to its mastery.
We liberally add “keen capacity for multitasking” to our resumes. We freely endorse these skills for our friends in LinkedIn. We boast openly of our ability to cook dinner, watch T.V., and read bedtime stories to our children while exercising on a stationary bicycle. While the bread is rising, we make phone calls to family, read blog posts, comment on social media, and organize digital files. We think: Wow! We’re doing so much! Multitasking helps us be very successful! And, we’re saving time!
However, studies show that when we needlessly divide our attention without clear goals, multitasking becomes rather questionable in terms of a valuable skill.
We probably won’t remember the name of the protagonist of that children’s story, where we placed those files, or if we added salt to our meal. If we take on two unrelated tasks at once, it takes longer to mentally switch between these tasks. Like old-school computers, our minds have to close one program to open another, and this means we have to take more time to do things. Juggling programs also reduces the quality of our work, since we are not applying undivided attention to the task at hand. This causes us to waste time, and results in lowering our efficiency and productivity. Our over-stimulated brains become tired; consequently, we turn into poor decision makers. Our progress, our success, and even our relationships can suffer from trying to be more efficient.
The following are a few recent examples where divided attention produced unnecessary and disastrous consequences. An Indiana man was too focused on taking a photo while exploring Sunset Cliffs in San Diego on Christmas, that he forgot where he was and he walked right off a cliff. This man was so desensitized by years of multitasking that his mind failed to switch between tasks, resulting in a fatal mistake. Last year, two school buses collided, killing several students and a teacher’s aid. When it was revealed that the accident was due to texting, the guilty driver took his own life.
In addition to human casualties, multitasking can lead to a variety of other undesirable results.
As our lives become more inundated with technology, we become increasingly distracted and more prone to mindless behaviors. Careless web-surfing, tweeting, and Facebooking can hinder our progress, cause depression, or destroy relationships. Media multitasking can even occur at the at the dinner table, where families no longer speak to each other. Instead, they silently tap into their devices.
Multitasking promotes social isolation and can minimize productivity.
Regardless of its bad reputation, this suspect skill remains in good favor by many. Studies show that people who multitask might be better at dealing with distractions and coping with chaotic situations. Switching between tasks may prevent boredom, and may allow people to succeed in pursuing multiple projects with multiple deadlines. This all sounds very good; however, just as many studies indicate, multitasking can minimize our productivity when misdirected (as it often is).
Since multitasking is part of our natural sphere of life, we need to understand how to use multitasking to our advantage, instead of our disadvantage.
We need to be aware of when we are multitasking and if it is truly assisting our productivity, or if it is taking away from our quality of life. We need to understand the purpose of each of our activities, and set up targets for their completion. In this way, we form a meaningful connection between our daily engagements and our long-term goals.
Our quality of life is directly linked to the fulfillment of our goals, but we can’t accomplish anything of substance if our focus is fragmented. To truly benefit from our daily activities, our conversations, and our opportunities to connect meaningfully with one another, we need to narrow our focus.
Regardless of what we are doing, to fully reap the benefits, we need to be all there.
