I know that most of us multitask some of the time. I’m guilty of that although I have been proven many times that I am not good at it and can’t remember what people are actually saying to me. Debbie Rosemont, CPO, in her session on multitasking at NAPO Chicago, demonstrated how multitasking makes us stupid with a simple 2nd grade math test and asking us to retain the information she was reading to us. Needless to say I failed with flying colors! Only 2.5% of people are supertaskers and obviously I am not one of them.
What is multitasking? It is trying to do 2 things or more at once or in quick succession, like talking on the phone and checking emails, reading a book while watching TV. Things you need to concentrate on or think about. So if you think that multitasking is a skill that helps you, think again.
Studies have shown that to multitask our brain has to rapid fire switch with going from one thread of thought to another and it slows us down. Our speed decreases and we have higher chances of making mistakes. We decrease our accuracy and it actually also increases our stress. It also decreases our ability to remember new things or learning new things. Multitasking reduces our efficiency and performance because our brain can only focus on one thing at a time.
The research conducted at Stanford University showed that multitaskers actually took 40% more time than if focussed on one task at a time! 40%. The research also showed that those who multitask a lot and feel that it boost their performance performed worse because they had trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering irrelevant information and they were slower at switching from one task to another. Ouch. Another research at the University of London also shows that on top of slowing you down, multitasking also lowers your IQ by about 10pt same as when losing a night's sleep or smoking marijuana. IQ drops of 15pts for multitasking men lowered their scores to the average range of an 8 year old child.
Still want to multitask? Well as a mom of 2, I know that there’s no way not to ever do several things at once, but we’re kidding ourselves if we think we can do so without cost. As Albert Einstein said “ A man who drives while kissing a pretty girl does not give the kiss the attention it deserves” ;-)
What is multitasking? It is trying to do 2 things or more at once or in quick succession, like talking on the phone and checking emails, reading a book while watching TV. Things you need to concentrate on or think about. So if you think that multitasking is a skill that helps you, think again.
Studies have shown that to multitask our brain has to rapid fire switch with going from one thread of thought to another and it slows us down. Our speed decreases and we have higher chances of making mistakes. We decrease our accuracy and it actually also increases our stress. It also decreases our ability to remember new things or learning new things. Multitasking reduces our efficiency and performance because our brain can only focus on one thing at a time.
The research conducted at Stanford University showed that multitaskers actually took 40% more time than if focussed on one task at a time! 40%. The research also showed that those who multitask a lot and feel that it boost their performance performed worse because they had trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering irrelevant information and they were slower at switching from one task to another. Ouch. Another research at the University of London also shows that on top of slowing you down, multitasking also lowers your IQ by about 10pt same as when losing a night's sleep or smoking marijuana. IQ drops of 15pts for multitasking men lowered their scores to the average range of an 8 year old child.
Still want to multitask? Well as a mom of 2, I know that there’s no way not to ever do several things at once, but we’re kidding ourselves if we think we can do so without cost. As Albert Einstein said “ A man who drives while kissing a pretty girl does not give the kiss the attention it deserves” ;-)
Author
Sophie Bent is a Professional Organizer & Productivity Consultant @Bent On Organizing, LLC. She is a NAPO Specialist in Residential Organizing in South Florida and has been organizing businesses and homes since 2008. Contact her at 561-404-7181 or www.bentonorganizing.com
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