Aug 27, 2020
Does Multitasking Kill Productivity?
The myth called Multitasking.
Many people have a lot of misconceptions regarding multitasking. Every day a lot of articles are getting published on how to be a multitasker, how to learn multitasking and its benefits. All of us have tried multitasking and we know it requires a lot of effort to do it.
Why are people multitasking? Does multitasking increase your productivity, or kills it?
Is it worth doing?
Multitasking isn’t good for you. It does not exactly increase your productivity. Studies have shown that you can’t truly multitask, but your brain is capable of switching from one task to another at a fast rate. For example, when you are walking and same time talking, here you are multitasking involuntarily. Universities including Stanford University, MIT studies show that it kills productivity. A study from the University of London shows that multitasking can lower your IQ level.
Do you need to quit multitasking?
Well, you should quit multitasking. When you are multitasking you have to put extra effort into the work. Multitasking increases your stress hormone and as a result, you will feel restlessness, anxiety, anger etc… it also leads to increased heart rate which will result in serious health problems.
More tasks=more mistakes
According to the Stanford research, multitaskers are terrible at filtering out irrelevant information. That means that there is sure to be some mental cross-firing and overlap between tasks. Therefore it is good to limit your multitasking level and always try to keep it low. If you could eliminate it, then it will be good.
How to control?
Always keep your phone in silent or keep it away when you are doing work. Mobile phones are one major contributor to multitask. Keep your workplace always neat and clean. Sometimes you will have a shared workplace with your colleagues. In such cases take advantage of the library. This has helped me a lot. In the library, you will have a clean table and you can do your work there without any distractions. Set time, goals so that you will finish your work in time and can move to another work. Planning is an important thing in our lives. With better plans, you can achieve goals. Setting up a pre-plan or time table and following it is very difficult. Initially, you will feel it difficult, but trust me with the regular implementation you can do it. Practice meditation. Science had already found numerous theories which proved meditation as the best medicine for the mind. Regular meditation will decrease your stress and improves the ability to focus.
It is good to monotask than multitasking. Devoting your attention to too many tasks at once, you will never have working memory left to come up with ideas and concepts that are truly creative. Be aware of the times when you multitask, you might do it and don’t even notice it. Do a single task at a time. It will help you to become more productive and will make your tasks enjoyable. It will also make your work of a much better standard. Meditation and mindfulness will help you to stay focussed. Focus on what really matters.
