MULTI-TASKING – A myth and NOT such a cool thing!

Finding yourself making mistakes, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, less productive & stressed?

One of the reasons may be that you are MULTI-TASKING.

What's wrong with multi-tasking?

Research suggests that the brain CANNOT multi-task!

What does that mean?

It means that your brain can only PAY ATTENTION to one task at a time. It cannot do two distinct tasks at once.

Although it can do two innate activities, such as walking and talking, which don't require attention, it will struggle to engage in two activities requiring active engagement, such as reading and driving or working on your laptop whilst listening to a lecture.

The RESULT of trying to multi-task?

Lower productivity and increasing errors.

If you are multi-tasking regularly, then without knowing it, you are wiring in an unhealthy habit that adversely impacts your productivity.

Here are some tips to boost productivity:

- Slow down just a bit – allow yourself to take short breaks; it promotes creative problem solving (no need to feel guilty – you are not a machine)

- Cultivate the muscle of present moment awareness

- Remove distractions – perhaps that PHONE which constantly DEMANDS your attention!

Lastly, the word 'multi-tasking' was coined to describe the computer's actions, not the human brain's. So leave multi-tasking to the machines; that's why we invented them!