Surgeons are not necessarily born with this ability to mono-task. We learn it — through hours and hours of surgery, over years and years of perfecting. And it can be quite pleasant. Many surgeons say that their most loved environment in the hospital is the operating room, despite the stress and risk inherent with the job. You need not be a surgeon to benefit from freeing yourself of the multitasking myth and choosing to mono-task.
Whether driving on a long trip, organizing an event, tending a garden or filling an order, we unequivocally perform best one thing at a time. Try it. Contact us at letters time.
Henrik Sorensen—Getty Images. By Cynthia Kubu and Andre Machado. Kubu is a neuropsychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture.
We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors. Related Stories. So, if we are doing two things simultaneously like reading a book and watching TV, the brain is like a windshield wiper, swiping its focus and attention between the book and the TV. There is a beat of a moment that it takes to acclimatize to the new task.
With the constant switch, instead of efficiency, multi-tasking actually adds to the complexity. The brain uses different types of skills for different tasks. So, if I write my blog posts while listening to music or cook while watching a TV show, I have noticed a visible increase in the time I take to finish a task. A better strategy to adopt is to batch tasks.
Once you sit down to it, write multiple posts in one shot or schedule pins for a month. For me, the bigger challenge is just the inertia of starting a task. With batching tasks, you can be in that one mode and get more done quicker.
Constant multi-tasking is known to increase stress levels. As pointed out earlier, multi-tasking is really task switching where the brain is switching from one task to the other. Now, imagine this sprint that your brain actually keeps conducting all the time that you are multi-tasking. This is one area that I am consciously working on. In this case, checking Whatsapp or social media or email on your phone counts. Have you ever tried noticing for how long can you really focus on one thing that might need all your attention, without your mind wandering?
As per the Pomodoro technique, the recommended span for focused time is 25 minutes. Are you able to devote that to something important?
Apart from the focus span, less focus will show in the quality of the work that you would be on, as well. Personally, I am consciously watching myself and trying for more and more phone-free time.
My phone is my biggest instrument of multi-tasking and ignoring that is one of the biggest challenges to going cold turkey on multi-tasking. There are times when our computer hangs because of the overload on the RAM. Our Working Memory is no different. With multitasking, we are stuffing as many as possible variables into our working memory.
Over time, multi-tasking is known to have wearing down effects on memory. When employees lose their concentration on assignments and on finding solutions that help a company reach its financial goals, profits can suffer. Carol Deeb has been an editor and writer since Her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers and online publications, as well as a book on education. Deeb is a real-estate investor and business owner with professional experience in human resources.
By Carol Deeb. Lack of Focus When working on several tasks as once, such as talking on the phone, checking your email and writing a report, you can lose the focus required to adequately complete one item.
Memory Impairment Multitasking can lead to over-stimulation of your brain function. Increase Stress Levels Attempting to perform too many activities at one time can cause your stress levels to increase. Cost The bad effects of multitasking can take their toll on your life and livlihood.
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