Learning Not to Multitask

Here’s a course all organizations should add to their curriculum: How Not to Multitask. Work distrations such as checking incoming e-mails while doing something else result in the equivalent of a 10-point drop in IQ. When multitasking, productivity decreases up to 40% and stress rises. Clearly, everyone would be happier, healthier, and more productive if they just focused on doing one thing at a time.

Harvard Business Review’s Peter Bregman spent a week consciously not multitasking. The results?

First, it was delightful

Second, I made significant progress on challenging projects

Third, my stress dropped dramatically

Fourth, I lost all patience for things I felt were not a good use of my time

Fifth, I had tremendous patience for things I felt were useful and enjoyable

Sixth, there was no downside

I’ve made an effort to reduce multitasking but often fall back into the same pattern working of something for a few minutes, then checking e-mail, working on something, checking e-mail, etc. This article suggests the reason multitasking is so difficult to resist is that our brains work faster than the world around us. Consequently, we view ourselves as having capacity to do more than we’re doing at any moment. (RN)

How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking | Harvard Business Review | Peter Bregman | 20 May 2010

Tagged as: multitasking, Neuroscience