Absolutely nothing.
Previously thought of as a quality skill, many studies found multitasking to be a cognitive detriment.
Multitasking was once revered as a quality to hone. Hell, I once listed it on my resume as a skill…now cringing at the thought!
When both my kids were little, I was the queen of multitasking – especially being a single mom! I felt I had no choice but to multitask during many of those years.
Now that my kids are young adults, I am reaping the benefits of no longer multitasking – it feels great!
So…let’s step out of our world and take a look in.
We’ve become a never enough society ( cited in research done by Brene’ Brown). We have, mindlessly, become too busy. Hence, we often multitask to accommodate and “save time.” This is not what happens when we multitask, as research shows.
Entrepreneur.com cites three reasons you should not multitask and resume doing things one at a time:
- Multitasking increases stress
- Multitasking weakens your memory
- Multitasking kills your creativity
3 Reasons Why Multitasking Is More Unproductive Than You Think
Do you currently multitask? Looks like it’s time to reevaluate your mental habits. Invest in your well-being and develop new cognitive habits that will improve your brain’s ability to actually perform well, while reducing unwanted stress. Yes, please!
Research performed at Stanford University found that:
“…multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time. The researchers also found that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time.”
Multitasking Damages Your Brain & Career, New Studies Says
Here is what the American Psychological Association found:
“Doing more than one task at a time, especially more than one complex task, takes a toll on productivity. Although that shouldn’t surprise anyone who has talked on the phone while checking E-mail or talked on a cell phone while driving, the extent of the problem might come as a shock. Psychologists who study what happens to cognition (mental processes) when people try to perform more than one task at a time have found that the mind and brain were not designed for heavy-duty multitasking.“
As I got older, my brain, quite literally, shut out the multitasking habit I had developed, throughout my younger years and being a single mom. It was like my brain just stopped multitasking – as if…it had literally had enough.
After initially rewiring my brain from multitasking, I felt relieved…underlying angst and restlessness disappeared. The sense of enjoyment in experiencing my tasks, hobbies, activities or down time has increased. I choose not to talk on my phone while I shop, for example. I can also flesh out my thoughts and ideas in high detail, instead of my brain only catching a glimpse of it and having to rethink and revisit it several times.
I gladly abandoned the multitasking practice, for the most part, but old habits are hard to break. There are moments I find myself on my phone while doing something else at the same time – I have more work to undo myself, but I’m happy to take the journey.
Key, for me, was taking time to re-prioritize my life. What is most important in your life? You and your well being are most important!
Please share your multitasking stories and thoughts…
- Do you feel you have to multitask?
- If you have already taken strides to reprogram your mind away from multitasking, please share your cognitive improvements – and tips for success!
Kelli P Coats 