The Myth of Multi-tasking
- Stephanie Edward
- Jan 22
- 6 min read
Multi-tasking costs you more than you think.
Multi-tasking can make us feel like we're being productive but it comes at a cost most of us underestimate.
I know this flies in the face of what you see and hear in the workplace. The ability to multi-task has been glorified for years, even being listed as a desirable skill on performance appraisals and job postings.
What is multi-tasking?
Before I explain why multi-tasking isn’t the edge you might think it is, let’s agree on what multi-tasking actually is, because we are not all using the term in the same way.
Many people use the term to describe juggling multiple priorities or multiple projects. This is not multi-tasking. This is basically just being a professional in today’s workplace: Most of us have to navigate multiple initiatives at any given time.
On the other hand, multi-tasking, by definition, means to do two things at exactly the same time.
Multi-tasking is possible but it depends on which tasks you try to do together.
Multi-tasking works in certain conditions.
Multi-tasking is possible when you pair a “complex” task (something that requires a lot of cognitive resources) with a simple task (something that doesn’t require a lot of brain power). Think of things like:
Listening in on a conference call while folding laundry.
Having an update meeting with your boss while walking around the block.
Editing a report while listening to instrumental music.
Listening in on a conference call, having an update meeting with your boss, and editing a report all require a significant amount of cognitive resources in order to pay attention, understand, write or speak clearly, and minimize errors. However, folding laundry, walking around the block, and listening to instrumental music don’t require a lot of brain power. These are things that you barely have to think about as you do them. So, the above pairings are suitable because the two tasks do not compete with each other for brain power.
Multi-tasking can help you focus... sometimes.
Doing this kind of multi-tasking (which I’ve heard some people aptly call “healthy-tasking”) can be beneficial because the simple tasks can actually help you focus on the complex ones.
Consider this example: If you think of attending a conference call while sitting at your desk, you might be tempted to click through various emails or send a colleague an instant message about a project. As soon as you do that, your attention is split and you miss out on some of the information in the conference call. However, if you are standing in your bedroom folding laundry while listening in on that same call, you aren’t tempted by those other work-related distractions. You are kept in place by folding the laundry (which doesn’t take a lot of mental resources) and can therefore fully focus on what is being shared on the call.
The way most of us multi-task is a problem.
This is in stark contrast to the types of multi-tasking most professionals are accustomed to trying to do. Things like:
Writing an email while participating in a meeting.
Updating a report while listening to a podcast.
Reading an instant message while a colleague updates you on their work.
Editing a spreadsheet while streaming the latest episode of your favourite show.
The problem with these pairings is that both activities require significant mental resources. They are both complex. Yes, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but even listening to a podcast or watching an episode of a show deplete your mental resources: you need to pay attention, process information, follow a plot, fill in blanks. They are enjoyable but are nonetheless taxing on the brain.
The brain has a limit.
It is impossible for the brain to complete two complex tasks at the same time.
You might be thinking, “No it’s not! I do it all the time!”
You’re not, though. What’s actually happening is that your brain is very quickly switching between the two (or more) tasks you are trying to do at once.
You might now be thinking, “Okay. So big deal. What’s the issue? It still works for me!”
Don’t be so sure.
Multi-tasking costs us.
Consider these research-based facts. Trying to do two complex tasks at the same time:
Reduces your overall productivity by up to 40%. (American Psychological Association)
Increases mistakes compared with doing one task at a time. (PubMed Central – U.S. National Institutes of Health)
Consumes more glucose and energy when compared to focusing and doing one task at a time, which contributes to mental fatigue. (XpandHealth)
Why multi-tasking feels necessary.
If you are an avid multi-tasker, you may feel disheartened by all this news. Maybe you don’t believe it.
But be honest with yourself:
Do you make a lot of little mistakes?
Do you miss things in your calls, podcast, show?
Are you often tired?
There is a cost to multi-tasking and all signs point to it far outweighing the perceived benefits.
In busy environments, especially corporate environments, there is a prevailing sentiment that multi-tasking is inevitable, that it’s the only way to keep up.
I have felt that way many times myself.
But when was the last time you tried not to multi-tasking to see how you did with your to do list? We tell ourselves that multi-tasking is the only way but do we know that for sure? Have you tried mono-tasking (doing one thing at a time) instead just to see how it goes?
What happens when we do one thing at a time.
When I stopped succumbing to my urge to multi-task, I saw my own efficiency increase dramatically.
Certainly, the science supports this sentiment, too.
If you’re still reading this, I hope I’ve convinced you to give mono-tasking a try. If that’s the case, here are a few tips for the road:
Try time-blocking. Select one task to do, set a timer for 20 or 25 minutes, and try to get that task done in that time. Then take a mini-break of 5 minutes or so before moving on to the next task.
Keep distractions at bay. Put your to do list out of sight, turn off notifications, put your phone out of sight, etc.
Prioritize your work in a way that makes sense for you and what you have to do. For instance, it will be hard for you to focus on doing one task if a different is more urgent or more important. Prioritize in a way that will allow you to focus.
Multi-tasking can be hard to stop at first.
Please know that focusing on one task at a time will require some effort on your part… because multi-tasking is also addictive. Some say it’s as addictive as doing hard drugs. Put simply, every time our brain switches between two complex tasks while multi-tasking, it gets a little hit of dopamine (a feel-good hormone) that we easily become addicted to.
So, when you first decide to try doing one thing at a time, it won’t feel great. It will seem boring. You may feel antsy. That’s okay. It gets easier the more you try it. Eventually you will learn to anticipate how good it feels to get a task done (which, incidentally, also releases dopamine), which will help motivate you to stay on your mono-tasking path.
Choose focus with Compassionate Confidence.
Please know you have agency with regards to multi-tasking. You don’t have to do it just because everyone around you does it or just because it’s what you normally do. There is choice involved in doing one task at a time or two tasks at a time. Just because it might feel more appealing to multi-task in the beginning does not mean it’s the right choice. Sometimes we have to do hard things to grow and learn a different way. This is what it means to have compassionate confidence in ourselves: we are kind to ourselves through the difficulty of the change but we believe in our ability to adapt.
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