It’s true. You. Me. We’re all guilty of it. We are constantly under the influence. But of what, you ask? The incredible myth of multitasking.
Think about it – you sing along to your favorite song on the radio. You think about the coming week’s meal plan and begin crafting a grocery list. Someone calls in on Bluetooth. And the next thing you know, you’re in your driveway. And you have no idea how you got there. And while we usually don’t think twice about this – deeming it as normal – we miss a big red flag. Behavioral studies indicate that these seemingly small distractions to the brain’s focus deteriorate its overall functionality. That our brain is unable to work properly when required to focus on multiple things. The more things we have going on, the more at risk we are to be confused, make mistakes and fall short with the task at hand.
But this doesn’t just pertain to driving. We live our lives each day with this myth that we can thrive as multitaskers. Lots of people think they’re masters at it. It’s one of the more common strengths mentioned during job interviews. We pride ourselves in thinking we can do many different things at once at optimal performance. But the truth is… we can’t.
In this digital world, we have information coming at us from all angles. TVs, i-Pads, laptops, smartphones… technology is everywhere! We are encouraged to take advantage of it all… the more stimuli, the better. Playing Candy Crush on our phones while watching the news. Listening to a podcast while driving to work. Playing music while studying for an exam. When are we not using more than one outlet? This now normal phenomenon is called media-multitasking. And it is potentially doing us more harm than good.
Recent findings have indicated that heavy media-multitaskers show decreased volume in parts of the brain associated with cognitive control and emotional wellbeing. In a series of experiments, “heavy multitaskers (relative to lighter multitaskers) were slower in detecting changes in visual patterns, more susceptible to false recollections … and were slower in task switching.” These impairments to the brain have also been connected with disorders such as obsessive-compulsive, post-traumatic stress, depression and addiction. So while we think we’re keeping our minds active and sharp by perfecting this juggling act, we’re actually doing the opposite. When we multitask, we suffer.
For most of us, we are oblivious to how often we take in media. Here a few ways you can disconnect and be more mindfulness throughout your day:
- Download an automatic responder app such as DriveSafe.ly or Textecution that notifies others when you’re driving and prohibits you from texting
- Limit your social media intake with websites like Rescue Time or Minutes Please which block access to sites like Facebook, Twitter and Netflix for a length of time
- Simply give yourself a curfew with TV watching, gaming and web surfing and go to bed early!
Less is really more in terms of keeping our minds healthy. And the best thing we can do is to slow down and focus on one thing at a time. Our ability to process information, maintain emotional health and complete tasks will be the proof. So drop the myth of multitasking – your brain depends on it.
Think about how often you media-multitask during the day and share your experiences below!
Vijay Panchal says
October 19, 2016 at 6:18 pmJust awesome. I can relate to most things you mentioned above.
Hetal Mistry says
October 20, 2016 at 8:58 amWow so true. Great information. Proud to be your partner.
Diane Boland says
October 20, 2016 at 10:09 amGuilty. This was eye opening. I will be passing this on to my family
Lalita says
October 20, 2016 at 2:24 pmThe title was so alluring. Reading the content I am blown away at your astute analysis of modern life in the age of the internet Yes I am guilty of getting to a certain place without cognitive memory of how I got there. So we slow down and savor each phase of our actions. Beautifully put!
Prasanna says
October 20, 2016 at 9:16 pmWoah!! This calls for a drastic change to my lifestyle. I multitask way too much. Need to slow down – quite considerably at that. This is a very well written blog. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Where do we draw a line though? Listening to music while cooking/taking a shower, streaming sports while working/cleaning the room. Would you consider them as media-multitasking? Gosh, the more I think about it, I think I mostly ONLY multitask 🙂 Wait, while I was in the car reading your blog and commenting on it, I reached home and I didn’t even realize it. Thanks to the Uber driver of course 🙂
Dr. Kevin Mistry says
October 23, 2016 at 10:51 amIt is important to separate ambiance from multitasking. Listening to music while working out is perfectly fine. The issue is when we are parallel processing two or more intensive tasks. When this becomes habitual then we erode our ability to excel at what the literature calls single “task focus attention”. Best!
Sunita says
October 21, 2016 at 11:59 amInteresting! Sometimes it feels like you are on auto-pilot, the routine driving bit specially . I tried an audio book 6 months back and would hear it on my morning walks. The mind would wander off so I was constantly rewinding. Not only that I didn’t enjoy the book which I still haven’t finished but I couldn’t keep track of my rounds around the walking track too 🙂
Kavan says
October 21, 2016 at 8:01 pmLove this post. I’ve started to make a conscious decision to only do one thing at a time (e.g. No TV or phone while eating) and it’s a game changer! I get more done, and more quality work done while having present mind awareness than I would have while multi-tasking!
Vasanthi Srinivasan says
October 23, 2016 at 10:04 amI realized this few years ago while cooking and listening to CD – music or speech- and invariably stopped cooking to listen! The day would pass and I would have accomplished very little,causing frustration. Then I started to practice mindful awareness- after reading some books- and try to focus at the task on hand. Whenever my mind wanders, I try to bring it back- now quicker than before! Takes practice- meditation helps a great deal.
Shelly Fisher says
October 24, 2016 at 12:48 pmI have been practicing mindfulness and the difference in focus, sleep and calm have dramatically increased. I used to pride myself on being a ‘multi-tasker’, and I know I was also wearing myself out! Staying focused on the present takes constant daily “practice” but I feel the difference when I don’t do it. Love this article.
Toni says
October 24, 2016 at 8:08 pmHaving had the pleasure of working with Dr. Mistry for many years, I want to share that he really walks the walk, being an example to all of how to keep serene under pressure. Dr. Mistry is, in this regard, a teacher in the true sense of passing wisdom along to others.
Jayashree Kanchi says
February 7, 2017 at 10:13 pmMultitasking is not actually possible, I honestly can’t be doing several things at one given time. I think it’s today’s need to have to switch contexts in such rapid concession, literally like a trapeze artist that drains me the most.