Wellness: Why we shouldn't multitask

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Wellness: Why we shouldnt multitask

It's lauded as the secret to efficiency, but doing too many things at the same time means none of them is getting done properly

By Dr Samineh I. Shaheem

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Published: Thu 29 Sep 2016, 10:00 PM

Last updated: Fri 30 Sep 2016, 12:45 AM

Talking on the phone, reading an email, sending a text, munching on chips, sharpening a pencil and mentally trying to create the dinner menu.  Wow, just typing those words sent my heart racing. Imagine actually engaging in all these activities simultaneously!
Well, most of us don't have to use too many of our creative cognitive devices to think about this senseless scenario since it's all too familiar, no matter how non-threatening our juggling may seem. Health care professionals are now questioning the previously celebrated notion of the multitasking master quite rigorously as study after study concludes that multitasking is virtually impossible, resulting only in reduced brainpower, lack of mental absorption, frustration, anxiety and stress.
Contrary to common belief, multitasking isn't the secret to increased productivity or the pinnacle of efficiency. Rather, it is self-created obstacle that inhibits clear thinking, concentration, and accurate analysis.
The journal NeuroImage revealed that when we attempt tasks simultaneously, we end up doing none as well as we could because our brains have limits, from processing channels to limiting data volume, velocity and working memory, especially in relation to switching between undertaking. We may think we're doing two things at once, but our brains are actually swapping between them. This means that neither task really receives the attention it should in order for us to complete it.
David Meyer, a cognitive scientist at the University of Michigan, and one of the world's leading experts on multitasking, says, "when you perform multiple tasks that each require some of the same channels of processing, conflicts will arise between the tasks, and you're going to have to pick and choose which task you're going to focus on and devote a channel of processing to it."
According to management specialist Dave Crenshaw, there's a term for this rapid shifting between one task to another, called switchtasking, which can be detrimental both physically and mentally. "You have deeply engrained habits that cause stress, anxiety, dropped responsibilities and a myriad of productivity and focus problems," says Crenshaw. "It's little wonder so many people complain of increasingly short attention spans!"
"Multitasking slows down and even injures the mind, and those of us who practise Chinese medicine believe it can also injure the body," explains Amanda McGowan, a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner specialising in stress-related disorders. She goes on to say that many of her patients who complain of fatigue are suffering the effects of mental distraction and overexertion.
The importance of this issue doesn't simply touch upon productivity or efficiency principles. The growing number of car accidents around the world, as a result of people sending texts or answering emails, reminds us that doing two things at the same time is either going to cost you your safety or your accuracy.
Once you acknowledge that multitasking isn't so positive or beneficial, you can create a strategy in order to avoid it. This could include practical commitments such as scheduling three or four slots throughout the day when you might check your emails, rather than all day long and in between other tasks.
Dave Crenshaw advises using what he calls 'switch busters' to limit the temptation to multitask. These include turning off your phone at appropriate times such as when in meetings, turning off your monitor when you're on the phone, and scheduling appointments with the people who consistently interrupt you so they can ask their questions during the allocated time.
It's not always easy to suddenly stop behaviours that have become habituated in our daily activities. However, start by stopping yourself every time you feel drawn to doing too many things simultaneously. Take a deep breath, step back a few moments and give your attention to only one of them. The added benefits both mentally and physically will positively reinforce this behaviour so that you can eventually put an end to the multi-madness.
Dr Samineh I. Shaheem is an assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Hult International Business School, and a learning & development consultant. Please forward your thoughts/ suggestions for future articles to OutOfMindContact@gmail.com & follow her on Twitter: @saminehshaheem, Instagram: @psychology.wellbeing.life
 


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