Want To Be More Productive?

Science says to stop doing this

Are you doing something else while reading this article?

Maybe you’re checking email, watching a video, listening to a lecture. Maybe you’re doing all of it simultaneously.

Multi-tasking is a fact of life and work.

Let’s face it, there’s lots of boring stuff we have to do. And we have more to do than we have time to do it. The only way to stay even, forget getting ahead, is to multi-task. Right?

Maybe not.

Once bragging about your ability to multi-task was a mark of success and accomplishment. According to a growing volume of research, plain-old multi-tasking isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

Multi-tasking Is Not Productive

What is multi-tasking?

Multitasking involves engaging in two tasks simultaneously. But here’s the catch. It’s only possible if two conditions are met: 1) at least one of the tasks is so well learned as to be automatic, meaning no focus or thought is necessary to engage in the task (e.g., walking or eating) and 2) they involve different types of brain processing. For example, you can read effectively while listening to classical music because reading comprehension and processing instrumental music engage different parts of the brain. However, your ability to retain information while reading and listening to music with lyrics declines significantly because both tasks activate the language center of the brain.¹

While researchers have identified a small percentage of people — about 2 percent —who are accomplished multi-taskers, they are considered outliers. These “supertaskers” are few and far between.²

The majority of people who think they are multi-tasking aren’t doing simultaneous tasks even though it might seem that way. They are serial-tasking. Their attention is switching back and forth from one activity to another so quickly that they don’t notice it.

According to David E. Meyer, PhD, director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Lab at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, “You wind up needing to use the same sorts of mental and physical resources for performing each of the tasks,” he explains. “You’re having to switch back and forth between the two tasks as opposed to really doing them simultaneously.” Plus switching itself takes a toll: As you’re switching, says Meyer, you’re not concentrating on either task. And you need a mental warm-up to resume the suspended task.³

It’s like turning a light switch on and off quickly. You don’t have enough steady light to do work with whereas by turning it on and leaving it on, you can get a lot done.

But that’s not the only downside of multi-tasking.

It might be bad for your brain.

Multi-tasking Changes Your Brain — and Not in a Good Way

A study at the University of Sussex’s Sackler Centre for Consciousness found a link between simultaneously using mobile phones, laptops, and other media devices and the structure of your brain.

They found that, independent of individual personality traits, people who used a higher number of media devices concurrently also had smaller grey matter density in the part of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the region notably responsible for cognitive and emotional control functions.⁴

Research by Stanford University supports the Sussex findings.

People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time.⁵

The Antidote to Multi-tasking that Improves Productivity

The Buddhists claim that we suffer from “monkey mind.” It is here, there, everywhere, like a monkey jumping from tree to tree. No wonder you can’t be productive. Your own mind is working against you.

The antidote to multi-tasking is mindfulness.

“Everyone knows what attention is. It is taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seems several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration of consciousness are of its essence. It implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” William James

Mindfulness is focusing for a period of time on a single activity. It supercharges your productivity because the more attention you devote to a single task, the more effective you are. Mindfulness produces momentum that lets you accomplish more, faster, easier and better.

Research from INSEAD Business School found that doing just 15 minutes of mindfulness-based meditation can lead to more rational thinking when making business decisions.⁶

While meditation is the most powerful way of becoming more mindful, not everyone follows this practice. Here are some non-meditation tips to help you become more mindful in everyday life.

Daily Mindfulness Practices

Focus your attention on the task at hand and ignore everything else you need to do. A valuable tool to help with this is the Pomodoro technique. Set a timer for 25 minutes and devote your attention to a single task during this time. The technique suggests taking a 5-minute break when the timer goes off; however, if you’ve entered flow, keep going for another 25-minute session. One caveat: You will need a break after 60–90 minutes of focused activity since your ability to concentrate will have tapered off.
Mindfulness teacher and author Ed Halliwell suggests performing daily, routine tasks, such as brushing your teeth, showering, eating, cooking, dusting, and so on, with more attention. Use your senses to fully immerse yourself in the activity. “You might find the routine activity is more interesting than you thought.”⁶
Take 5-minute mindfulness breaks. Move away from your work and focus on one thing in your environment for just 5 minutes. For example, study the room around you, look closely at the flowers outside, listen intently to what you hear, pay attention to your breathing. The object is to become aware of your surroundings. If you find yourself day-dreaming, just return to the object of your focus.