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 tasks in rapid succession.

According to neuroscientists, our brains aren’t built to do more than one thing at a time. And when we try to multitask, we damage our brains in ways that negatively affect our well-being, mental performance and productivity.

Here are 6 ways multitasking is killing your brain and productivity.

 

1. Multitasking can lead to permanent brain damage

A study from the University of Sussex (UK) compared the brain structure of participants with the amount of time they spent on media devices i.e. texting or watching TV. 

The MRI scans of the participants, showed that the high multitaskers had less brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex. This is the brain region responsible for empathy and emotional control.

The lead researcher and neuroscientist, Kep Kee Loh, said “I feel that it is important to create an awareness that the way we are interacting with the devices might be changing the way we think and these changes might be occurring at the level of brain.

 

The implication of their findings, is that multitasking, especially involving the use of media devices, could permanently alter brain structure after a long period of usage.

2. Multitasking reduces efficiency and mental performance

According to Earl Miller, a neuroscientist at MIT and one of the world’s leading experts on human cognition, attention and learning, “when we toggle between tasks, the process often feels seamless, but in reality, it requires a series of small shifts.” 

Each small shift leads to a cognitive cost. For example, each time you switch between responding to emails and writing an important paper, you’re draining precious brain resources and energy.

Miller’s advice is to avoid multitasking, because “It ruins productivity, causes mistakes, and impedes creative thought. … As humans, we have a very limited capacity for simultaneous thought, we can only hold a little bit of information in the mind at any single moment.”

To reinforce Miller’s point, another study conducted in the University of California, discovered that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to refocus on a task after an interruption. 

And that’s just one interruption! Imagine the amount of time that could go to waste from repetitive interruptions throughout a day.Next time you’re about to switch between tasks, do the maths and keep this in mind.

3. Multitasking reduces focus and concentration

According to neuroscientist and New York bestselling author, Daniel Levitin, “Multitasking creates a dopamine-addiction feedback loop, effectively rewarding the brain for losing focus and for constantly searching for external stimulation.”

Levitin suggests that the same regions of the brain that we need to stay focused on a task, are also easily distracted.

Each time we multitask — by browsing the internet, scrolling on social media feeds, checking emails and so on — we train our brains to lose focus and get distracted.

Here’s the bad news. Just like the effects of a drug, our brains can get addicted to the dopamine rush from switching tasks and losing focus. Once this happens, it becomes very difficult to break the cycle.

4. Multitasking could make you dumber

A study conducted by the University of London, found that participants who multitasked, experienced drops in IQ points, down to the average level of an 8-year old child. 

Next time you’re about to multitask, whilst writing an important email or paper, think about the possibility that there wouldn’t be much difference between the quality of your work and that of an 8-year-old child.

Studies have also shown that multitasking also hinders learning. In 2011, researchers, Reynol Junco and Shelia R. Cotton, published a study on the effects of multitasking on academic performance.

The researchers noted that, “Human information processing is insufficient for attending to multiple input streams and for performing simultaneous tasks.”Since quality focus and attention is required for learning, multitasking hinders our ability to learn and interpret information effectively.

5. Multitasking creates stress and anxiety

Various studies have shown that multitasking increases our brain’s production of cortisol, a hormone that creates stress.

Once we’re stressed and mentally fatigued, anxiety builds up. And this leads to stress builds up. It’s a vicious cycle of constant stress and anxiety.

6. Multitasking kills creativity

Neuroscientist, Earl Miller, suggests that multitasking could hinder creativity and innovation,“Innovative thinking, after all, comes from extended concentration…When you try to multitask, you typically don’t get far enough down any road to stumble upon something original because you’re constantly switching and backtracking.”