Multitasking is overrated
“Must be good at multitasking” reads a job posting. No problem, I can do it, at least that’s how most people view it. We are so desperate for the job that we apply immediately. Then, during the interview, we eloquently present ourselves as the best multitasker ever created. You underperform a few months or years later. Basically, you burn out. Well, newsflash, you have done yourself a disservice by trying to multitask.
If you want to succeed both personally and professionally, you need to practice single-tasking. Multiple studies have shown that multitasking is the mother of all inefficiencies. For example, according to the Harvard Business Review (HBR), multitaskers' efficiency can drop by as much as 40%.
Let’s play this game.
Please name the colors of the following words as fast as you can. Do not read the words. You should just say the colors of the words. For instance, if red is painted in blue, you should say blue.
There is a delay in your reaction time if you are like most people. This is called the “Stroop Effect” -a psychological phenomenon that refers to the delay in reaction time between automatic and controlled processing of information. It has been modified and used in many different areas of study. Here, it illustrates a disparity in speed between naming colors and reading their names, which demonstrates that this is exactly what happens to our brain when we are attempting to perform two tasks simultaneously. Since it is harder to accomplish what we are trying to do, it takes longer, thus resulting in inefficiency.
Another theory for such delays when we try to multitask is that our attention is selective. Once again, the brain needs to use more attention to name the color in the game above, indicating inefficiency. Further, the color in which the word is written, and its meaning don’t match.
The Stroop effect illustrates that while we have the capability to tell our brain to do multiple things at once, we are unable to do them at the same time. Or at least not as simultaneously as we think we can. What we are actually doing according to the HBR is switching tasks, and our brain decides which information to process based on what we do. Listening to speech, for example, makes your visual cortex less active, so when you talk on the phone to a client and work on your computer simultaneously, you actually hear less of what they are saying.
Then why do we insist on multitasking anyway?
1. Employers ask us to.
Let us return to the job posting that asked for the candidate to be “good at multitasking”. It is counterintuitive for employers to require someone to be able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously if what they really need is productivity. A multitasker may be perceived as a quick responder by employers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Multitasking thwarts creativity and lowers productivity. As an alternative to hiring employees who can perform more than one activity at the same time, employers should look for those who are skilled at creating and managing work in many different area daily. Managers should not expect their employees to multitask. It’s like giving them a basket to carry water in.
2. We are pressured by society to conform to their expectations
We all have the desire to maintain a certain social status — it is part of our nature. After all, we are social creatures. With the influence of social media and the ease of access, it is easier than ever for people to become distracted by this social status. Therefore, no matter what else we are doing, we must respond to a tweet, watch the latest Tiktok or YouTube video, take part in a webinar, and answer an email regardless of what else we are doing. Directly and indirectly, there is pressure to conform.
3. Convenience and accessibility
We desire to know more. Knowing more enhances our sense of self-worth. For this reason, we seek confirmation even when we are fully aware of a topic. Moreover, it’s readily accessible and convenient to access this information which we seek. In the middle of preparing for a deadline, we want to know the performance of our team, what our favorite celebrity tweeted, or whether our boss needs an immediate answer to an email he just sent.
We think it will take only a few seconds, but once we interrupt the flow, it ends up being a costly mistake. As evidenced by an empirical study done by Mark, Gudith, and Klocke, the data suggests that people compensate for interruptions by working faster, but this comes at a price: a higher workload, high levels of frustration, high levels of stress, and a higher level of time pressure. This study quantified the disruption cost of interruptions, such as the time it takes to reorient to a task that has been interrupted after the interruption has been handled. An employee might be working on a paper at work when he or she is interrupted by a completely different topic, such as a question about a budget. In the event of an interruption that has a different context than the current task, there may be a disruption cost as it requires a cognitive transition of context to attend to the interruption, and then reorienting back to the interrupted task. According to other studies, it takes an estimated 23 minutes to get back to work after being distracted.
Practical tips to help you
I would suggest to anyone who wants to accomplish their goals to stop multitasking! Instead of multitasking, you should start practicing single tasking instead. To help you get started on single-tasking, here are some tips you can follow.
Firstly, make sure you make a to-do list every day and focus on one thing at a time. Ensure that it is a realistic goal, and that you are able to accomplish it within a comfortable time period.
Secondly, if you find that the time allocated to you is not sufficient, you need to move on to your next task. Make sure that you keep a record of where you were before moving on to your next task. It would be a good idea to take a five-minute break every now and then, so you can get some fresh air. Once you have completed the new task, you can return to the previous one.
Thirdly, if you have your own office, you can place a time out card on the door as well. Make sure to let your colleagues know that this time slot is critical, and that you would appreciate their help in refraining from interrupting during this period. What if you don’t have a door to close? Activate your digital calendar by blocking out time slots when you would like to be uninterrupted.
Fourth, control your attention and focus. If you wish to improve the quality of your workday, you must accept that not all information is important. In your free time, you can sort through some emails, tweets, and other things. Keep your focus on a single task at a time and actively eliminate any distractions.
Fifth, don’t think about anything else while you are engaged in the task at hand. Thinking about anything else can have a negative impact. Instead, focus on one task at a time and then move on to the next. In addition, you can also write your daily goals for the next day; thus, you do not have to worry that you will forget to do something else while working on another task.
The sixth suggestion is to control your distractions — do not be penny wise and pound foolish. It is inevitable for us to become distracted from time to time. So, try to be disciplined enough to schedule your distractions during your breaks and use them to reward yourself for good work.
Work smarter not harder.
Cheers!
