The Cost of MultiTasking

  The True Cost of Multitasking Isn't Productivity—It's Mental Health                                                          When I set out to write a piece about multitasking, my goal was to review and present some scientific studies showing exactly how multitasking impacts productivity. Because it definitely impacts productivity, right? I hear that all of the time. As it turns out, I couldn't find much to support that claim. In fact, I found one study that showed multitasking actually makes people  more  productive. What I did find, though, was that even if multitasking were to impact your productivity, it would be the least detrimental of its side effects. The true costs of multitasking are to your mental health, happiness, focus, and ability to learn new things. So the real reason you shouldn't multitask isn't that you want...

Multitasking seems like a great way to get a lot done at once. But research has shown that our brains are not nearly as good at handling multiple tasks as we like to think they are. In fact, some researchers suggest that multitasking can actually reduce productivity by as much as 40%.                                               What is it that makes multitasking such a productivity killer? It might seem like you are accomplishing multiple things at the same time, but what you are really doing is quickly shifting your  attention  and focus from one thing to the next. Switching from one task to another makes it difficult to tune out distractions and can cause mental blocks that can slow you down. What Is Multitasking? Performing two or more tasks simultaneously Switching back and forth from one thing to another Performing a number of tas...