Following news that long words make us look stupid (see Short words are best) comes a report that multitasking makes us stupid.
It comes from The Atlantic (who have now opened up their entire archive free of charge) in an article called The Autumn of the Multitaskers. (Hat tip: Slashdot.)
Here’s the gist:
Multitasking messes with the brain in several ways. At the most basic level, the mental balancing acts that it requires — the constant switching and pivoting — energize regions of the brain that specialize in visual processing and physical coordination and simultaneously appear to shortchange some of the higher areas related to memory and learning. We concentrate on the act of concentration at the expense of whatever it is that we’re supposed to be concentrating on… studies find that multitasking boosts the level of stress-related hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline and wears down our systems through biochemical friction, prematurely aging us. In the short term, the confusion, fatigue, and chaos merely hamper our ability to focus and analyze, but in the long term, they may cause it to atrophy."
The author suggests that difficulties with multitasking explain why the USA is simultaneously losing two wars, one in Iraq and one in Afganistan. "It also explains, perhaps, why sexual threesomes are often disappointing."
On a more mundane note, multitasking is why I get less done in a day than I’d like. I flit between answering emails, answering the phone, tinkering with my computers, writing blog posts, watching old episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs, looking at The Onion, making tea, reading a book and generally pottering around.
I still wrote about 1,000 words but I can’t help feeling that if I concentrated harder on my work and got it done first, I’d enjoy guilt-free pottering more.
Anyhow, here are a couple of previous posts that may help with concentration: How to concentrate on writing and Distraction-free text editors.
Multi-tasking is what happens when I think of all the things I have to do all at once. I end up never thinking I would accomplish as much as if I’d just prioritized the tasks and then done them one by one.
I never thought about that with the two wars, but it makes sense. I also believe this is very true with people and cell phones. How can you be giving your utmost attention to the road when a good part of it is devoted to you cell phone. And, finally, the perfect example of this is our execs who have email on their phones. Many of our meetings run way longer than they should and frustration runs high because we have to keep repeating what was just said. The execs were busy reading an replying to email so didn’t here something. Now we get to go through it again…
I agree with this completely and would add… oh, wait a second, the phone’s ring……..
Multitasking and long words: we love them both. But you’re right, both complicate our lives. Careful planning and prioritization can help with the multitasking. Long words? Simplify, simplify, and simplify. This also applies to the myriad tasks that impose on our work. They do make life interesting, however.
Thanks for highlighting and reinforcing the Atlantic info!
It’s a great article and the descriptions of the brain functions and the resultant effects are right on.
We also know that the brain’s electrochemical operations can provide pleasure stimulus that can be self-reinforcing (with potentially addicting dynamics in the mix) and this may be at work in the brains of certain people who derive stimulus and pleasure from the variety and excitation of multitasking …. they get a rush off of it! Alas, the pleasure is generally short-lived.
Perhaps you might benefit from not so much trying to enjoy your guilt-free pottering MORE, rather try to do MORE guilt-free pottering … which you clearly enjoy!
Cheers!