That strange (and unhealthy) myth of multitasking.
- Chiara Marturano
- Mar 25, 2023
- 6 min read
There are those days when everything falls out of my hands. It starts at breakfast: I drop the utensils while carrying them to the table, spill coffee on the tablecloth, and fruit flies onto the kitchen floor. Then I continue with water, books, phone, bike, etc. At some point, I stop and wonder what's happening. Most of the time, my head is full: lists upon lists of things to do in the near future, the present demanding my attention, and my reflections on what someone said to me and what I should have done or written. In addition to this tangled mess of thoughts (these are the moments when I dream of having Dumbledore's pensieve and I wonder, "Why hasn't anyone made it yet?!?!"), there are things to do and focus on in order to complete them (without them ending up squished on the ground). This is where the myth of multitasking fails miserably with me, turning from a series of tasks to be accomplished into a "pile of books collapsing heavily on me" , making me feel overwhelmed or burned out.
How many of us have written on our resume that we are multitasking people? Or maybe mentioned it during a job interview? Or is it one of those "skills" that we take for granted, like "proactivity," patience, or empathy?
Is it possible to be multitasking?
Is it such an enviable and necessary skill?
Let's try to answer these perennial questions.
What does multitasking mean?
The ability to do multiple things at the same time. We all like to think we're pretty good at it, and then, both at work and at home, it seems like a necessity. In the era of hustle culture, that is the availability 24/7 at the cry of "first duty and then everything else", multitasking is an essential skill; the more you can do at once, the more efficient and valuable you are to the company. But do you want to know the truth?
Only 2% of the population is actually able to efficiently perform multiple tasks.
Research tells us that for the remaining 98% of us, doing multiple things at once reduces our efficiency and productivity, and furthermore, that multitasking is taking a toll on our mental and physical health.
What are the costs of multitasking?
Gloria Mark, from the Department of Informatics at the University of California, has conducted extensive research on this topic. In one of her papers, she writes: 'When people are constantly interrupted, they develop a faster work mode (and write less) to compensate for the time they know they are losing due to the interruption
However, working faster with interruptions comes at a cost: people under interruption conditions have experienced a higher workload, greater stress, more frustration, increased time pressure, and greater effort.
So interrupted work can be done more quickly, but at a cost. According to Kevin Paul Madore, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, when we do multiple things at the same time, we create interference between different brain circuits that handle attention and cognitive control, and that overlap with each other. It's a bit like when we go to the Saturday market and there are announcements on the loudspeaker, stand owners shouting "2 euros per kilo," people running and yelling, etc. All these stimuli can lead to delays and errors in trying to complete a task. Rather than multitasking, researchers tell us that we do things in rapid sequence, one after the other, so it's called task switching.
In addition, other research tells us that fast and accurate don't necessarily go hand in hand. In the long run, these distractions lead to more errors, because we are distracted, and this can cost up to 40% of a person's productive time! In conclusion: over the long term, efficiency decreases, errors increase, and the risk of stress or burnout raise.
An antidote to multitasking
Let's see together some remedies and methods to convince ourselves and others that this work model, this way of thinking, is not good, at least not for most of us..
Ichi-go Ichi-e
The authors of Maam suggest that "the concept of multitasking doesn't work, it's outdated. It rather gives the idea of roundness [..] practicing presence, having the resources and creativity within oneself to face the many aspects of life in the best possible way."
This is a sentence that struck me for its simplicity: everywhere we turn, we hear about staying in the present moment for our relationships, personal growth, and well-being. However, in most contexts, effectiveness and efficiency are still the key words, and we end up adapting to this mindset. As a result, we spend our days chasing time that passes us by, preventing us from achieving all of our goals, or at least those of our company. We are constantly distracted by inputs from within and outside of ourselves, which affects our productivity or relationships, but we do not have the time to remedy it.
Time is that thing without value, because it has too much of it!
While talking with my friend Alisa, who is passionate about Japan, I found myself reflecting on the concept of Ichi-go Ichi-e (期一会). Do the Japanese really live by it? Apparently so. What does it mean? Ichi-go Ichi-e affirms that we cannot recreate or repeat any moment in life. This concept is linked to the Japanese tea ceremony, sadou (茶道). When tea is prepared, there is a dedication, a thought for the other, a care and a sharing with the guest that is unique and unrepeatable. The tea will never be as hot as it is in this moment, nor will it have the same taste.
So, every moment is an opportunity that we have "once in a lifetime".
The first remedy is to live in the moment.
The generative power.
The second antidote is the importance of generative power. In all this haste, multitasking is an enemy of the creative process. When we are in the flow, we can continue to work tirelessly for hours, focused on the work we are doing, forgetting even basic physical functions. Dan McAdams, a narrative psychologist (who I find very interesting in his own right), identifies three characteristics related to generativity. It is defined as behavior directed towards generating and nurturing children; a value, as it seeks to offer and transmit what is best produced; an attitude towards life, as one tends to see oneself as a link in the generational sequence.
Generative force, which has its roots in Erik Erikson's studies, can also be applied in the workplace: when someone generates a business or a project. But to generate, one needs time, space, thought, a deep connection with oneself, and then a time of care, a dedication to what we have generated.
il deep work
The third antidote is to work in a dedicated (physical and/or mental) space.
Cal Newport, professor and author of the Wall Street bestseller "Deep Work," describes this dedicated space as deep work and is based on four principles:
1. Creating an isolated space and a time interval in which to work free from any distraction;
2. disconnect from all social media (someone might wrinkle their nose or squirm in their chair at the mere idea of disconnecting);
3. Work on micro-tasks by planning the allocation of time dedicated to each task;
4. Reduce the amount of time spent on less important activities.
Time
The fourth antidote is time organization.
As Newport also tells us, time should be used to its fullest potential. I find it very useful to set a timer for each work session. 15 minutes for each session, in which I can focus and stay concentrated on what I am doing. Then I take a short break and start again, always setting the timer. This is also called the Pomodoro technique. I won't look at the clock (another distraction) and will rely on it to give me an input, even visual and auditory, to my concentration.
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen monk, wrote:
"Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life".
Maam. La maternità è un master che rende più forti uomini e donne, Andrea Vitullo e Riccarda Zezza, BUR Biblioteca Univ. Rizzoli (10 settembre 2014).
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