Multitasking: Is it worth it?

While the world is experiencing its biggest pandemic of this century with economic slowdown and millions of job losses worldwide and organisations are busy reengineering their internal processes and multitasking the existing workforce, we, still, would like to make an attempt to evaluate the effects of multitasking at the workplace. 

Before we do that, we need to understand when exactly this expression came into being and how multitasking is taken by the organisations in our age.

The word “multitasking” first arose in 1965, in reference to using a single computer to simultaneously carry out two or more jobs. As computers became more ubiquitous, the idea of multitasking drifted into the realm of human affairs: we answer emails in meetings, we scan Twitter while streaming a movie, we operate multiple apps while chatting with friends. Being a multitasker is a point of pride for many, implying mental agility and exemplary productivity. To sum it up, Multitasking is to:

1. Perform two or more tasks simultaneously
2. Switch back and forth from one thing to another
3. Perform a number of tasks in rapid succession

The real issue is that multitasking, at least for humans, doesn’t really work well. “We know from the psychology literature that multitasking is bad for you,” says Gal Zauberman, a professor of marketing at Yale SOM. Research shows that we can’t really do two things at once. We’re actually switching our attention back and forth between the two tasks—and we perform worse at both. Multitasking is inefficient—but we feel like we’re getting so much done. In a new study, the above professor harnessed this mistaken impression, showing that when subjects believed that they were multitasking, they performed better on simple tasks. On the other hand, people enjoy multitasking; they like to think of themselves as multitaskers because of what it connotes. 

So, what multitasking actually does to us? Let’s review a few key issues:

1. Productivity Killer

Multitasking seems like a great way to get a lot done at once. But research has shown that our brains are not nearly as good at handling multiple tasks as we like to think they are. In fact, researchers suggest that multitasking can actually reduce productivity by as much as 40%.

What is it that makes multitasking such a productivity killer? It might seem like you are accomplishing multiple things at the same time, but what you are really doing is quickly shifting your attention and focus from one thing to the next. Switching from one task to another makes it difficult to tune out distractions and can cause mental blocks that can slow you down.

2. A Distractor

Take a moment and think about all of the things you are doing right now. I assume that  you are reading this article, but chances are good that you are also doing several other things at same time. Perhaps you're also listening to music, texting a friend, checking your email in another browser tab, or playing a computer game.

If you are doing several different things at the same time, then you may be what researchers refer to as a "heavy multitasker." And you probably think that you are fairly good at this balancing act. According to a number of different studies, however, you are probably not as effective as you think you are.

Research has demonstrated that that switching from one task to the next takes a serious toll on productivity. Multitaskers have more trouble tuning out distractions than people who focus on one task at a time. Also, doing so many different things at once can actually impair cognitive ability.

In order to determine the impact of multitasking, psychologists asked study participants to switch tasks and then measured how much time was lost by switching. In one study, participants were slower when they had to switch tasks than when they repeated the same task. Another study, found that participants lost significant amounts of time as they switched between multiple tasks and lost even more time as the tasks became increasingly complex.

3. Brain Drainer 

In the brain, multitasking is managed by executive functions. These control and manage cognitive processes and determine how, when, and in what order certain tasks are performed. At any given moment you might be texting a friend, switching between multiple windows on your computer, listening to the blare of the television, and talking on the phone all at once! When you do get a quiet moment where nothing is demanding your attention, you might find yourself unable to avoid the distraction of your favorite apps or social media sites.

Multitasking certainly isn't anything new, but the constant streams of information from numerous different sources do represent a relatively new dimension to the multitasking puzzle. While we know that all this is not good for productivity, is it possible that it might actually be bad for brain health?

Even people who are considered heavy multitaskers are not actually very good at multitasking. In one study, Stanford University researcher Clifford Nass found that people who were considered heavy multitaskers were actually worse at sorting out relevant information from irrelevant details.

This is particularly surprising because it was assumed that this is something that heavy multitaskers would actually be better at. But that wasn't the only problem these high multitaskers faced. They also showed greater difficulty when it came to switching from one task to another and were much less mentally organized.

What was the most frightening about the results, Nass later suggested, was that these results happened even when these heavy multitaskers were not multitasking. The study revealed that even when chronic multitaskers were focusing on a single task, their brains were less effective and efficient.

"We studied people who were chronic multitaskers, and even when we did not ask them to do anything close to the level of multitasking they were doing, their cognitive processes were impaired. So basically, they are worse at most of the kinds of thinking not only required for multitasking but what we generally think of as involving deep thought," Nass told NPR in a 2009 interview.

Now, let’s see how can we help ourselves and people working with us to overcome this mess.

1. Work more efficiently

The first step to being more productive is creating a list of things you need to get done, scheduling time to complete tasks, and devoting yourself fully to a task without the distractions of a smartphone or even email. 

Another important step is limiting distractions. It is definitely important to prioritise and schedule your work, but also make sure you're focused on that work when you do it. Avoid having to make so many mental shifts to unnecessary things. Put notifications on mute, eliminate outside distractions. When you do have to make mental shifts, don't switch back and forth.

If you need to switch tasks, write down what's important about the current task before switching to a new one. This can help you let go of the important information from the prior task so you can fully focus on your next job. Because you have a summary of the important info, you'll be less likely to lose track of your thoughts throughout the day.

2. Help your team 

One of the best things you can do to help prevent your employees from multitasking is encourage breaks. If a worker is overwhelmed by tasks without a lull in their work, they'll feel more pressured to multitask. To avoid this, encourage your workers to unwind throughout the day.

You can also build a culture of slower but more purposeful thinking. Multitasking is often a result of outside distractions and stressors. It's bound to happen and shouldn't be punished. However, encourage other methods, like slower and more careful thinking.

Conclusion

During my work assignments, especially outside Pakistan, I did notice that if you assign more than one task to your employee at the same time, he/she would ask which one is more important and urgent? This is probably the way forward on this subject. We expect 100% from our employees, then let’s be fair with them too and allow them to produce quality in return. To sum it up, To avoid the possible deleterious impact of multitasking:

• Limit the number of things you juggle at any given time to just two tasks. 
• Use the "20-minute rule." Instead of constantly switching between tasks, try to fully devote your attention to one task for 20 minutes before switching to the other.

let’s beware of the times when you're multi-tasking. There's a good chance you might do it so much that you don't even notice when you're doing it. Doing one task at a time may help you become more productive and it may make each task more enjoyable.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and on our official website. Also follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Medium, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder, Managing Director and Principal Consultant at Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, At Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.