Why Multitasking Can Actually Slow You Down?

If you are working on your laptop, while watching your favorite show, sitting on the dining table, then you aren’t the only one. This generation is obsessed with the concept of multitasking. Even switching between the many apps on your mobile is multitasking. But do you know that experts are advising against it? Yes, studies revealed that multitasking is slowing you down. It is making you less efficient and increasing your chances of errs!

Humans are wired to be mono taskers just like any other animal on this planet. Have you ever seen any animal multitask? Human brains are also designed in a way that they can focus on one task at a time. When you watched your mother multitasking efficiently, she wasn’t actually multitasking, she was task-switching and task-switching is stressful. It also results in an irked mood!

Researchers say that when the brain is engaged in multitasking complex tasks, its efficiency drops by as much as 40%. Adolescent children who are exposed to this habit of chronic multi-tasking are at a greater risk of losing their memory, brainpower, and creativity.

Handling simple tasks like walking while listening to music don’t slow down your brain. But it is the complex tasks that negatively impact your mind.

Here are 10 Reasons that explains why multitasking doesn’t work

1. Multitasking hinders your performance

If you have used a computer or a laptop then you might know that opening up multiple tabs at once can make your system slow and it may even hang. Your brain is no different. 

Studies say that when you constantly switch gears between complex tasks then your brain becomes less effective and it is more likely to make a mistake. Most people multitask to attain more in less time, but on the contrary, multitasking slows them down and impacts your quality of work.

2. Multitasking divides your attention

Focus and concentration are the keys to achieving anything. Your brain performs at its maximum capacity when you concentrate all your energies on one task. Multitasking divides your attention and it deters your ability to process information and dulls your learning capacity.

A study revealed that multitasking on a regular basis can result in a drop in IQ levels. Another study found that multitasking is associated with that area of the brain which is responsible for empathy and emotions. People who multitask regularly are often in an irked mood because of the stress and they also show less empathy towards others!

3. It gradually reduces your attention span

Our attention span is reducing considerably. Once we could watch a movie with multiple breaks for advertisement and now when the apps have made it all adless streaming, we find it difficult to sit through! This habit of multitasking slows down your attention span. Your brain also becomes more prone to distractions. 

4. Multitasking can be dangerous

The youngsters think that multitasking looks super cool. But if it becomes a habit then it can lead to grave consequences. Driving and texting have resulted in many accidents, several of which were fatal. Even walking while browsing the mobile can lead to injury.

5. Multitasking actually slows you down

The main motive behind multitasking is to save time. But contrary to this objective, multi-tasking doesn’t help you save time, if anything, you end up wasting your time!

Did you ever go for a walk while talking on the phone? Then you probably know that you took longer to cover the same track. One study revealed that drivers took longer to reach their destinations when they chatted on their phones while driving. 

6. Multitasking stresses you out

Research says that multitasking is bad for your mental health. It increases your heart rate and exhausts your brain. Multitasking not only puts your mood on the edge but is also detrimental to your long-term health. Stress is the primary risk factor for a number of health concerns ranging from obesity to diabetes to cancer to hypertension. 

If you have been juggling multiple tasks all through the day and you come back home to an adamant kid, there is a good chance that you would end up yelling at the kid. This is also very damaging to your relationships and can lead to depression!

Also Read: Essential Oils for stress and Anxiety

7. Multitasking blurs your memory 

Multitasking is bad for your memory. If you were ever doing two things at once, then you might remember forgetting the important parts from both tasks. Kids often sit in front of the T.V or keep tabbing into their gadgets while trying to study, and they don’t retain a bit of the information in their books.

Even a simpler example of this is walking while talking to the phone and you are most likely to miss all the things that you crossed paths with. When you multitask you miss most of the details and that makes it difficult for you to remember things.

Also Read: 15 genius tips to protect your memory after 50?

Stop this multitasking temptation!

• Set a priority list. Whenever you feel like you are in a tight spot, make a list of all the tasks, arrange them on a priority basis and then finish one task at a time. Your productivity would be at the maximum.
• If you absolutely have to multitask, then club your complex tasks with something automatic that requires zero focus. Like talking and folding laundry, watching a series, and dipping your leg for a pedicure!
• Follow the 20-minute rule. This rule says that stick to a job for at least 20 minutes before switching to another. While you are at one job, devote your full attention to that job.
• Limit your distractions. Keeping your phone on the desk in a ringing mode at work will keep interrupting your attention. Keep all the distractions away, sit in a quieter place and focus on your work!
• Practice mindfulness and meditation every day to increase your attention span. It also improves your focus and improves your performance!

Final Takeaway!

Most people feel like they are good at multitasking, but the truth is they aren’t. Doing simple tasks that don’t require your brainpower is no big deal like doing the dishes while cooking. But if you are looking at complex functions that require your brain then, multitasking doesn’t just work!