by Professor Anand S

Why does modern society set great store by this ability called 'Multi-tasking'? Whether at work or home, in our adulthood, we face the pressure of multiple tasks vying for our attention. We accept this situation. We strive to keep up with this pace of life as our responsibilities grow. Any help, whether it is from family or technology is welcome as we look to free up some time to unwind

However, this ability to handle multiple tasks at the same time is prized because we take it to be a measure of productivity. Companies expect their employees to take on more in a limited time and expect the best output. We tend to believe that the human brain can handle this cognitive load without a sweat. True, the human brain is capable of much more than we have exerted it. But a process of using it is not the same as wanting more out of it. Multi-tasking is about shifting attention deliberately among multiple thought streams. With trivial tasks that don't call for reflection and concentration, one can effortlessly process one and move to the other in an automated routine.

But when we take up tasks that are not routine or trivial, we require the power to concentrate exclusively on a problem, evaluate our choices, and keep distraction at bay. We have to summon our resources to bear on the task at hand. When we allow our tendency to switch between functions to interfere with sustained thought, we break the possibility of great results that we are capable of producing. As we flit from one task to another, our thought process becomes superficial, thus robbing us of our potential to do great work.

Research has shown that efficiency drops when we switch, and we take more time to complete a task than with unbroken attention. With frequent notifications on a smartphone, our attention span is low, depriving us of deeper involvement and creative solutions that are possible only with a focus on a task. The experience is stressful as we struggle to pick up a task after we have left it to attend to another in short bursts of activity. We become less mindful of patterns and lateral thinking and scratch the surface. We lose our train of thought.

Stay with one task until you can take it to completion or at least till you reach a logical point in the process. Admittedly, we delude ourselves that we have accomplished more by taking on more than is truly necessary. We can and should assign priorities to tasks that pile up. We designed computers and endowed them with the power to multi-task. We are wired differently and can do better than getting pulled in different directions. Do yourself a favour and give your undivided attention to work and people in your life.