Rethinking Multi-Tasking
Are you a proud believer in multi-tasking? You may want to re-think that.
In a world saturated with incoming stimulation, it is easy to assume that we can handle multiple things at once. Ever watch TV while scrolling through social media? Drive your car while checking a text message? FaceTime with a family member while preparing dinner? This multi-tasking is commonplace. And yet, the science reveals that it may not help with productivity or brain health.
Multi-Tasking Has “Switching Costs”
Defining multi-tasking as “doing two or more things at once” is actually misleading. In reality, our brains are quickly shifting focus between tasks. So, if you’re reading this while also listening to the radio, your brain is making fast and frequent decisions on where to put your attention, from reading to listening and back again. Your eyes need to find the exact spot where you left off on the page, and your memory systems try to retrieve the information you already consumed.
These actions are known to researchers as “switching costs.” Though they may take just tenths of a second, speed and performance can deteriorate as a result.
What Research Tells Us About Multi-Tasking
As we age, the complex attention skills necessary to manage more than one task at a time start to decline. Researchers at the UCSF Neuroscience Imaging Center have identified that older brains had more difficulty in managing unexpected distractions, including forgetting 
information that had been presented only moments before.
Another study conducted by scientists at German Sport University in Cologne, Germany found that aging adults, participating in a driving simulation featuring simultaneous thinking or motor tasks, made more mistakes. Their findings suggested that older drivers are at higher risk of getting into an accident when they perform tasks that take their gaze and attention away from the road.
Multitasking has also been found to negatively impact other cognitive skills. For example, key “executive functions” of decision making, time management, and risk assessment. Multitaskers tend to over-estimate their capacity to accomplish certain tasks, make impulsive choices, and be prone to distractions.
So, while we may think we’re being productive, multitasking divides our attention, causing us to poorly filter out irrelevant information and miss critically important details. In a nutshell, multitasking undermines our very ability to do the best we can with what’s in front of us.
Try Single Tasking & “Brain Breaks”
Single tasking, where distractions are removed and dedicated time is spent to focus on one activity at a time, is a better option, especially for important tasks such as managing finances, writing, or even having an important conversation. Single tasking, paired with the occasional 5 minute “brain break” (defined as a chance to pause thinking demands while taking time to stand up, go for a short walk, or even just close your eyes and take some deep breaths) can boost productivity and efficiency.
By creating the opportunity to focus without distraction, you are making good use of one of our brain’s most precious and foundational resources: attention.
Contributor: Lauren Schwabish, M.S., CCC-SLP
Lauren Schwabish is the owner of Neuro Speech Services, a private practice based in Northern Virginia, specializing in person-centered assessment and treatment of cognitive-communicative disorders related to stroke, brain injury, concussion, and other neurologic conditions. Lauren received her Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a master’s degree in communication sciences from Hunter College of the City University of New York.
She is licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is a certified member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association. She has over 21 years of experience working in hospitals and acute rehabilitation centers and is passionate about providing meaningful and accessible health education about the brain to patients, families, and health care professionals. Lauren is an engaging public speaker on the topics of memory and thinking skills, committed to empowering communities with evidence-based information and best practices in brain health behaviors.
Friends Life Care would like to express our gratitude for this useful post contributed to the eMeetinghouse blog.