Hewlett Packard completed a study of their employees a few years ago and discovered the average worker’s functioning IQ drops ten points when multitasking. That’s more than double the four point drop that occurs when someone smokes marijuana. A ten point drop in IQ is the equivalent to missing one night of sleep.
BUT
It never feels like you have enough time to get your stuff done.
You feel overwhelmed…more and more to do every time you turn around.
Sometimes you just want to scream.
And if you don’t multitask…how will you get it all done?
Stop multitasking today and get things done faster than you believe possible.Multitasking actually slows you down.
I am the queen of multitasking. One of my proudest moments, when I worked in Corporate America, was having my boss tell me how amazing I was at doing so much at once. I could be entering something on the computer, talking to someone on the phone, and still respond to something he said across the room. BUT
Multitasking actually decreases productivity. Tony Schwartz, author of “Be Excellent at Anything,” took a look at multitasking for the Harvard Business Review blog. He determined that our need to multitask is causing us to get less done. Because you are only partially engaging in each activity, they each take, on average, an addition 25% to complete. It also decreases your available energy so you have less and less available as the day goes by.
Still, we multitask because it makes us feel good. We FEEL like we are getting all kinds of stuff done, right?!?!
Researcher Zhen Wang said if we do several things at once, we often get a greater feeling of satisfaction….we feel efficient. They also found that because multitaskers “look” really efficient, others have a strong desire to also appear efficient.
Multitasking also…
- Takes away the enjoyment we may experience from being completely present with the task at hand.
- Decreases the quality of what you are working on.
- Increases stress levels.
- Greater risk for burn out.
- More difficult to relax, even when you are not working.
When multitasking, your brain…
- Doesn’t focus on all activities you are doing at the same time.
- Splits the brain so it’s just frantically switching between the activities you are trying to do at once, but not effectively.
- Can’t effectively filter out irrelevant information.
- Decreases our overall memory skills.
“Multitasking makes you stupid.” – Michele Bergh Click Here to Tweet
I definitely notice, when I tackle one task at a time, I actually feel better. I feel calmer. I get a sense of accomplishment when I complete a task. When exploring this concept in Marcus Buckingham’s book, Find Your Strongest Life, others in our group reported feeling the same things when they practiced doing one thing at a time instead of multitasking. Here are some tips that I’ve found to be helpful {although breaking this long-standing habit is a challenge}:
- Reduce the number of browser tabs open/visible. I will often minimize my browser and open a new one that only has the task I’m working on visible.
- A good to-do list, handy at all times to cross tasks off when complete and add tasks when I think of a new one.
- I really like to go through my to-do list each night and select the 3 or 4 tasks I know I need to complete so I have a specific place to start the next day.
- Getting up and moving around for a bit to get a new perspective and regain focus.
- Listening to music while you work. There is a different area of our brain that listens to music so it isn’t really multitasking and can be quite helpful.
Multitasking takes away from your ability to live your best life…to live your strongest life. To find out more on how to live your strongest life today, click here.
Sue says
February 11, 2013 at 7:26 pmMichele, although in theory I agree with you on multitasking, it seems almost impractical especially in a corporate work environment. This “habit” or lifestyle starts so early in our lives and even more so for younger kids nowdays. We hardly go anywhere without our phones attached, checking our email, texts or tweets. It would be great to only do one thing at a time but I just don’t see it happening, at least not in the near future!
Michele says
February 12, 2013 at 12:50 pmSue, you are right and it is a very difficult habit to break. I wonder what it would be like if we didn’t do it…if we broke the habit and developed an entirely different one that allowed us to be more present…more mindful…that is truly the space I’d like to live in.
Denise Gabbard says
November 10, 2012 at 4:37 amI think sometimes as women we push ourselves to prove we are better, faster, more efficient than men, and deserve our place in the work world. What we forget is that we ARE, even if we are doing one job at a time! Not man-bashing, just stating what I believe is true– most men are nowhere near as efficient as the least efficient woman I have worked with- in an office/computer setting. I do realize when it comes to manual labor, they likely have most of us beat.
Michele says
November 10, 2012 at 3:24 pmI agree. We do think and act differently than men and that’s okay 🙂
Shenna Margareth says
October 24, 2012 at 8:57 pmIn my personal experience multitasking indeed slow and decrease productivity. There are also times that I can’t even get a single task done. One thing that helps me stays focus on tasks, get more things done and improve productivity is with a time tracking tool called Time Doctor. Using this tool I list my entire tasks and organize it depends on priority level. Then, set an estimated amount of time when working on each task. I also set a regular break on it that helps me regain sanity and relax a bit.
Cindy Mihalko says
October 9, 2012 at 7:19 amI love how this reinforces my thoughts that multitasking was slowing me down. I have been telling myself to stop it as it was causing me to spin in circles. I started to break everything into smaller pieces and just focus in each task for X amount of time then move on to something else.
Thank for this great article, Michele! Have a great day!!!
Michele says
October 9, 2012 at 11:46 amYes, I can feel it and yet, sometimes it’s so hard to stop! Your solutions sound like great ones!
Harmony Major says
October 8, 2012 at 6:05 pmWHOA. Startling, the comparison b/w multitasking, smoking mari-j, and insomnia. The IQ point “loss” differences and similarities were very telling.
Guess I really *should* get more rest… oh, and stop doing 94 things at once. (Sounds good on paper! lol 😉
Thanks for the article.
Michele says
October 9, 2012 at 11:45 amIt is quite startling! I’m the same space as you, my friend:)
Terry League says
October 8, 2012 at 5:19 amGreat post Michele! I’ve come to learn how I get much less done (right) when multitasking. Love the tips you share to help us overcome the habit – my favorites: getting up and moving around and listening to music! I also set a timer for focusing on tasks when I have a lot to do…20-25 minutes each, then I move on. This helps me on very busy days.
Thanks for the helpful info!
Terry
Michele says
October 9, 2012 at 11:42 amSo true…glad I could help!
Stephanie LH Calahan ( says
October 7, 2012 at 8:37 pmHi Michele – I’ve been a recovering multitasker for a number of years now. Like you, during my corporate life I used to pride myself on the number of things I could get done at the same time. But it was an illusion! There is study after study that reports that multitasking does not give us the results we think it does. Great summary here.
Michele Bergh says
October 7, 2012 at 9:14 pmIt is quite interesting what a pull it has and how good we feel about all we are doing and yet it’s so bad for us! Thanks for stopping by!
Suzanne McRae says
October 6, 2012 at 11:21 pmI’m a multi-tasker a lot of the time. I have many of the above symptoms. lol I guess that would make my husband the brilliant one here at home. 🙂
Great blog post. Love all your great tips. Thank you for writing this.
Michele says
October 7, 2012 at 12:53 amLOL:) I can totally relate. I do love the feeling of being really present in whatever I am doing and I still find it a daily challenge. Hopefully, with continued practice, I will get better at this. I sure can’t afford to lose any more of my memory or “smarts.”