Surprise! There’s a Right Way to Multitask

Here’s how to get more out of your day without overtaxing your brain.

Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

Everyone knows that multitasking destroys productivity, right? Haven’t we all seen studies and read articles telling us that it’s impossible to do two things at once?

In some ways, that’s true. The evidence is pretty clear that humans are awful at performing two complex tasks simultaneously.

Generally speaking, we commit more errors when juggling many tasks at the same time, and we also take longer — sometimes double the time — to complete the tasks. Scientists believe this wasted and decreased proficiency occurs because the brain has to work hard to refocus attention.

However, bundling certain tasks is a great way to squeeze more from your day with little effort. You just need to figure out which ones to bundle.

Lucky for you, I developed a method that helps you do just that.

I call it “multichannel multitasking.”

Understand Your Brain’s Multitasking Limits

Before we can dive into what tasks can be done simultaneously, there are a few key things to know about the human brain.

1. The brain has a limit on its processing horsepower — the more concentration a task requires, the less room it has for anything else. That’s why we can’t solve two math problems at the same time.
2. The brain has a limited number of attention channels, and it can only make sense of one sensory signal at a time. You can’t listen to two different podcasts, one in each ear, without mentally tuning out one of them. We can only receive information from one visual or auditory source at a time.
3. That said, we are perfectly capable of processing multichannel inputs — something scientists call “cross-modal attention.” It allows our brains to place certain mental processes on autopilot while we think about other things.

In fact, studies have found that people can do some things better when they engage multiple sensory inputs. Some types of learning are enhanced when people also engage their auditory, visual, and tactile senses at the same time.