A multitasker’s guide to regaining focus
Multitasking is simply the way many of us live. How often do you text while stuck in traffic, lose track of a podcast while doing chores, or flit between the news and your inbox?
“We get stuck in this multitasking trap without even realizing we’re doing it,” says Nicole Byers, a neuropsychologist in Calgary, Alberta, who specializes in treating people with burnout.
There are a few reasons for our collective habit, she added. Most of us avoid boredom if we can, explained Dr. Byers explains, and multitasking is a reliable way to combat boredom.
There’s also a lot of pressure to do it. “How many times have we seen a job posting that says, ‘You must be an excellent multitasker’?” she asked. “Our modern world – where so many of us spend most of our day on screens – really forces our brains to multitask.”
The fact remains that we are not good at it, and it is not good for us. But there are ways we can be smarter in our approach.
Your brain when multitasking
First, “multitasking” itself is usually a misnomer. According to experts, it’s not possible to do two things at the same time unless we can do one without thinking much (like taking a walk while catching up with a friend).
“When people think they are multitasking, they usually shift their attention back and forth between two separate tasks,” says Gloria Mark, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Irvine, and author of “Attention Span: A Breakthrough Way to restore balance, happiness and productivity.”
Let’s see what happens when you focus on a single task, such as cooking dinner. From the moment you decide what to make, several parts of your brain, collectively called the cognitive control network, work together to make it happen, says Anthony Wagner, professor of psychology at Stanford and deputy director of the university’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences . Institute.
This network includes parts of your brain involved in executive function, or the ability to plan and carry out goal-directed behavior. Together they create a mental model of the task at hand and what you need to accomplish it. Your brain can do this, said Dr. Wagner, by using both external and internal information, such as the ingredients in your refrigerator or your memory of the recipe.
Dr. Mark compared this process to drawing on a mental whiteboard. But when your friend calls you to rant about her day, that whiteboard is wiped clean. “Every time you focus your attention on a new task, your brain has to refocus,” she said.
If you know the dish like the back of your hand or your conversation is light-hearted, then switching may be easy. But the more effort each task takes, the more your brain has to sort through competing information and separate goals.
The disadvantages of multitasking
As you would probably expect, the potential damage varies depending on the activity and how skilled you are at it. But generally speaking, when we switch between tasks, we pay what we call ‘switch costs,'” said Dr. Wagner. “We will be slower and less accurate than we would have been if we had stuck to one task.”
Speed and precision are not the only risks either. Multitasking is more cognitively demanding, even when we do things we enjoy or find easy. When we multitask, we can tax our working memory our ability to hold and process information in our minds, explained Dr. Byers out. “The more we overload that system and the more we try to hold in our brain at the same time, the more mental fatigue it can cause,” she said. And others studies to have found that multitasking can make our hearts race, increase our blood pressure, cause anxiety, dampen our mood and negatively impact our perception of the work we have to do.
How to focus on one thing at a time
Dr. Mark suggested starting by observing yourself throughout the day, and noticing when and how you change tasks without realizing it. From there, the advice is simple but challenging: You’ll need to practice monotasking, or doing one thing at a time, to gradually refocus and build your tolerance.
Monotasking may be easiest during times when you’re performing best mentally, Dr. Mark said. It varies from person to person, but in… one workplace studyshe and her colleagues found that most people’s ability to tackle challenging work peaked in mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
If you’re struggling, start small. Can you monotask for five minutes? What about 10? “When it comes to our brains, slow and steady is always a good strategy,” said Dr. Byers.
When should you keep multitasking?
Your life will likely involve some degree of task switching, but there are ways to be more intentional about it.
Stick to your strengths. Certain activities “tax our systems and drain our brain power more or less than others,” said Dr. Byers. So if a task is stressful or requires a lot of mental effort if you perform it alone, you’re probably not better off multitasking. For example, you may be good at crocheting while watching TV, but a beginner may need full concentration to avoid skipping stitches.
Weigh the risks. Some tasks may feel like second nature, but there are still times when you want to use your wits about you. “Even if we feel like we can do something without paying much attention to it, we can’t predict the unpredictable nature of the world,” said Dr. Wagner. “Highly trained drivers cannot anticipate when a car swerves into your lane.”
The stakes aren’t life or death for multitasking to be worth it: It can open the door to serious mistakes at work or keep you from being as present at home as you’d like.
Find breakpoints. When and how we switch tasks also matters. Instead of turning when there is a distraction, Dr. Mark suggested switching to what she called “breakpoints,” places in your workflow where it’s “easy to get back on track without doing unnecessary work.” As you read this article, try reaching the end before checking your notifications. If that’s not possible, you can at least aim for the end of this paragraph.
Use multitasking if it really helps. Stacking habits, especially activities you like and activities you don’t like, can strengthen your brain more positively than monotasking alone. For example, if you often do the dishes with the TV on, it’s probably worth sacrificing some attention. “Our brains may not like change,” said Dr. Byers. “But they really like rewards.”
Anna Borges is a freelance journalist and author of ‘The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care’.