The Myth of Multitasking

Of all the beliefs people hold about millennials, the one that is touted as a great strength is their ability to multitask. Employers seem to covet this ability. After all, doing two things at once must be better than doing one thing at a time, right? It seems so intuitively simple and logical.

One of the most enduring myths around personal efficiency and time management is that multitasking saves time. Evidence of the widespread belief in this myth comes from the more than six million web pages offering strategies about how to multitask.

But the research on the subject of multitasking does not support this myth. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Multitasking actually slows people down and leads to errors and increased stress.

In his book The One Thing, Gary Keller sites a 2009 study conducted by Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford University, designed to determine what made for a great multitasker. There were 262 test subjects in his study, divided into two groups. One group was made up of high multitaskers. The other was low multitaskers. The assumption was that the multitaskers would outperform the other group.

Nass was wrong. It turned out that the high multitaskers were outperformed on every measure. While they were all convinced that they were great at doing two things at once, the research clearly showed they were lousy at it.

When you try to do two things at once, you either can't do it or you won't do either task as well. It is a recipe for losing efficiency and effectiveness.

Why?

Your brain is hardwired to focus. Focus on one thing at a time.

If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.
ancient proverb

Does trying to read the news updates crawling across the bottom of the television screen while attending to the main program frustrate you? Do you get engaged in the interview and then catch a glimpse of the end of a news update "...dead at twenty-one"? Do you spend the next twenty minutes trying to figure out who died?

Can't you walk and chew gum at the same time? Yes, but that's because there's no channel interference going on in your brain. Two different parts of the brain are used for those two activities. Walking and carrying on a conversation is a breeze on familiar terrain. If you were walking over treacherous terrain, the casual conversation would stop so you could concentrate on walking. Similarly, you can drive your car while listening to music or audio books. Until you find yourself driving in a blinding storm, and then the noise is a distraction because the unconscious activity of driving has necessarily become conscious because of the danger. You must focus.

Can we do two things at once? On the condition that one of the two things is habitual and unconsciously done (not requiring creative or cognitive thought).

Many of the things we try to do at the same time use the same part of the brain. For example, the activities of e-mailing and talking on the phone both use the communication center. When we try to do both activities at the same time, we miss something. When we try to read the scrolling updates at the bottom of the television screen while also listening to the media interview, our attempts at multitasking fail and we miss something. When we're working on an expense report and a colleague drops by to talk about a business problem, the relative complexity of those two tasks makes it difficult to jump back and forth. This takes a toll on productivity.

What do multitasking and interruptions cost? It depends on the complexity of the tasks. Researcher Dr. David Meyer reports that the time lost can range from 25 percent on simple tasks to more than 100 percent on complex tasks.

Multitasking also takes a toll on relationships. When we attempt to listen to a loved one at home while also checking our device for messages, the other party realizes that he or he doesn't have our full attention, and the cost goes beyond lost efficiency-relationships also suffer.

All of us can quickly enjoy improvements in productivity, decreases in errors, and reductions in stress by applying this insight to our lives.

Your Invisible Toolbox

When two activities demand your complete attention, choose one. The next time you find yourself reading an e-mail while talking on the phone, texting while driving, checking your device in a meeting, completing a puzzle while interacting with your kids, reading PowerPoint slides while listening to a speaker, pause and remind yourself to focus on one task at a time.

Focus

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This content comes from Rowena Crosbie and Deborah Rinner's new book, Your Invisible Toolbox: The Technological Ups and Interpersonal Downs of the Millennial Generation. Written with the largest cohort in the workplace, the millennial generation in mind, it is a must-read for anyone wanting to enhance their interpersonal interactions at work. You can grab a copy on Amazon or by visiting the offical book website at yourinvisibletoolbox.com.

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