On Waffles, Multitasking — and Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Music While You Work
My wife and I have long laughed that I operate in a waffle.
What does that mean? Well, I tend to operate very compartmentalized. If I am paying bills, then I am in the “paying bills box.” If I am doing yard work, I am in the “doing yard workbox.”
This means, when I am in the “paying bills box,” don’t ask me about anything that is not related to paying bills. And vice versa. I simply cannot focus on two boxes at once. I will be more than happy to get to the yard work…after I finish paying the bills.
I used to feel bad about my inability to multitask. I have always wondered why I couldn’t talk on the phone in a room with the television on. Or why I had to turn the radio down in my car if I was driving through a severe thunderstorm.
I thought my inability to concentrate on two tasks at once was a weakness.
It turns out…it’s science.
This article from Inc. outlines that music can indeed improve certain aspects of performance. Listening to music while you run can increase your pace and stamina and listening to music as you work on a task in which you already possess the needed skills can help you relax and focus.
But the gist of the article is this: when you need to develop a new skill or perform a task that requires deep work, the music in your ears can cause your performance to dwindle.
It is a fairly simple concept: if we are working on a task that requires our concentration, we apply a certain amount of brainpower. If we then add another activity, even one we claim to be “mindless” (such as singing along with music), we increase our mental workload and the amount of brainpower is now divided between two tasks.
Try reading a book with the television on in the background. Chances are you won’t be able to remember what you are reading and you probably won’t recall some of the details of the television program. Our brains can really only deeply focus on one thing at a time. Try as we may multitask, our performance suffers when our attention is divided.
So, what does this look like in the day today?
If you find yourself in a waffle box that requires your attention, immerse yourself entirely into the task. Turn off the background noise. Shut down your email. Put your phone in your bag. Turn the TV off. Close the computer. Silence your app notifications.
Hell, turn off the music.
Don’t straddle waffle boxes. Give 100% of your brainpower to the task before you and watch your best work emerge and your productivity sail.
