Multitasking: Is It All It’s Cracked Up To Be?

When you’re a young person interviewing for a job – whether it’s a summer job at a fast food restaurant or an entry-level position after college graduation – you are often advised to tell them “I’m good at multitasking” when asked about your strengths. But is this really something you want to highlight? And is anybody actually good at it? It is true that the day-to-day responsibilities of many jobs involve writing emails, contacting people by phone, and handling several projects at the same time, but it is usually to the detriment of the organization. So that begs a few questions: What are the limits of multitasking? Is it possible to go too far? When can multitasking work and when does it open you up to failure? We explore these questions and discuss why, on the whole, multitasking is not as effective as it might seem.

What is Multitasking?

Multitasking involves performing several activities simultaneously, such as editing documents and checking emails while trying to Zoom with colleagues. But according to psychologists, the human brain was not intended to shift gears and accomplish every task at the same time. In fact, it can even be counterproductive since it results in doing every task poorly. Take the above example of editing, reading emails, and engaging with colleagues on Zoom. Because the individual isn’t fully concentrated on a matter at hand, they could potentially miss a few typos, not fully grasp the information in an email, and fail to pay attention to the discussion on Zoom. These failures can pile up and even put the person’s job in jeopardy.

Putting Your Job At Risk

When you multitask, you are wasting both time and energy. We aren’t talking about a few seconds of wasted time either; in the long run, you lose hours upon hours of productivity, and that costs your organization a significant amount of money. Think about it: productivity is important if you want to be a good employee, but the constant distractions and inability to assess what is a priority and what isn’t ultimately means nothing becomes a priority. Rather, parts of a project might get accomplished, but without using your abilities to the maximum, they don’t end up being as thorough or as useful as they otherwise might be if you had put all of your efforts into the job. Psychologist Gerald Weinberg summarized this problem thusly: if you’re fully contracted on a task, you are putting 100% effort into it. But if you’re doing three things at the same time, you are putting 20% effort into each of them and the remaining 40% is wasted due to switching between these activities.

What are the Problems with Multitasking Beyond Work?

The damage caused by multitasking doesn’t end when the workday is over. Indeed, it can cause mental health issues that affect your personal time and even your relationships. For instance, multitaskers are more prone to depression. In addition, it can lead to long-term memory problems. And let’s not forget that if you’re constantly on your smartphone checking your social media and private messages, your loved ones will grow to resent you since that could be time spent bonding with them.

When can Multitasking Be Manageable?

There are certainly times when a person is fully capable of multitasking. However, it is only possible when the additional activities are not serving as a distraction. Think back to when you studied for an important test or write a term paper in college. Perhaps you found it helpful to listen to music while you did this, but if you did you almost certainly chose music without singing. Why? Because having to follow along is highly distracting. But instrumental music with background noise can actually help soothe you and doesn’t provide any sort of distraction. In fact, it enhances your alertness and concentration as you master concepts and formulate sentences in your essays.

How To Succeed At Work By Avoiding Multitasking

Instead of attempting to get several things done at once, you should break down your short-term and long-term objectives. What do you hope to achieve on a daily basis? What are some of the lengthier projects that have weekly and monthly deadlines? Having a clear vision of the road ahead will allow you to decide what to prioritize. Imagine yourself concentrating solely on one activity, completing it in an hour, and then moving on to a second task that you finish in a second hour versus working on both of them at the same time, doing each less effectively, and taking three hours to get them done. It’s obvious which strategy you’d want to use and it will become clear what a difference this change really makes in your life both professionally and personally!