Why Multitasking is Hurting You More Than It Is Helping You

Multitasking is often done by someone who is torn between two or more working loads, simultaneously. This might give a lot of satisfaction once done but researchers have stated that our brains are not really capable of grasping multiple tasks, consecutively. In view of that, researchers also advocated that multitasking will obstruct your productivity by decreasing your understanding, attention span, and overall performance. One that multitasks is prone to distractions and an inability to recall something that could slow you down from work.  

Here are some facts about the negatives of multitasking:

• Impairment of Brain 

We may think that our brains are highly capable of multitasking but the truth is our brains can’t handle it well since we only have a brief time to focus on the details of every task. In addition to that, our brains can easily get impaired when we are forcing them to function and focus on multiple tasks. If we continue to skip around from task to task, this may lead to a higher level of stress. 

• Unproductive Work

Multitasking makes us think that we can do everything in the world at once but doing more than a single task at the same time would most likely make us switch back and forth between one task to another – making our work time longer. According to research, task-switching brings down productivity by 40%.

• Poor Quality of Work

According to Marty-Dugas, multitasking lets our minds wander far from the work that we are doing in that second and this leads to more frequent errors at work. In addition, the National Bureau of Economic Research disclosed that multitasking can lessen the quality of performance and can cause a panic-inducing backlog because the work is not done properly.

• A Burst of Negative Emotions

As we know, multitasking doesn’t allow us to pay attention to details due to constant interruptions, which can affect our daily moods and can invoke negative emotions and anxieties. 

• Loss of Memory

Retaining more information at work requires our full attention. When you multitask, you cannot give your full concentration – thus, excessive multitasking can impede working memory. According to research, media multitasking can lead to failure of sustained attention and forgetfulness (Madore, et al., 2020).

Success does not come in a rush and progress typically exists one step at a time. Multitasking cannot only bring horrific effects on our mental and physical well-being but can also affect the state of quality work we have. We need to be mindful of each task and have it well-planned.