The word «multitasking» has become a must-have on the resumes of today’s professionals. The fast pace of life encourages us to think about everything at once. But only 2% of people are able to work effectively in this mode.
“I don’t have ten hands,” we grumble, but we are secretly proud that we can juggle affairs at ease, like a fakir with burning torches.
“Multitasking is all about being omnipotent,” explains psychologist Reginald Tapas. “This is an image of a human-computer, a human-god, who does not seem to feel the burden of life. And even teasing circumstances that try to «ground» him.»
Many people are already accustomed to reading and writing messages on the go and checking email while talking on the phone. It seems so easy — until the first serious mistake in a document or an accident on the road.
Research shows that those who most often consider themselves successful at multitasking are the worst at multitasking.
“We often find ourselves hostage to superficial impressions,” says psychologist David Strayer of the University of Utah. — If we see a person who confidently takes on many different things, it seems to us that he is good at it. In fact, according to our research, only 25% of people are capable of multitasking — and they are the least likely to use it in everyday life.
When one channel of perception is activated, information on another does not enter consciousness
Most people’s brains are capable of processing a limited number of stimuli in a given amount of time. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision making and behavior planning, works like a multichannel phone.
When one channel is activated, information on another does not enter consciousness (at least directly)1. A student who simultaneously listens to a lecture and chats with a friend about plans for the weekend runs the risk of either failing the exam or missing the party.
However, real «human computers» exist. But their brains work differently. Not only is it capable of processing multiple stimuli simultaneously, it does so with amazing precision.
According to the results of a study by David Strayer and his team, such people in the allotted time cope with several tasks even better than with one. True, to get such a person in your company is a great success. Only one out of two hundred people can boast of such a structure of the brain.
The brain of people prone to “false multitasking” is geared towards quick rewards
But if there are so few true multitaskers, why do so many people believe they have these abilities? “In fact, it is difficult for such people to concentrate on one task,” explains psychologist David Sanbonmatsu, a colleague and co-author of David Strayer. — They are distracted from one thing and switch to another, third …
As a result, they have very little time, but at the same time they are sincerely perplexed: why the work has not moved forward, because they were constantly busy with something.
Sanbonmatsu and Strayer believe that people who are prone to «false multitasking» have certain things in common:
- They cannot keep their attention on one subject for a long time;
- They quickly get bored with routine work;
- They are in constant search of new sensations;
- They often act impulsively and find it difficult to control themselves.
False multitasking brains are geared towards quick rewards, so they are less aware of the delayed risks of working in one fell swoop.
Every idea must be tested by reality. If in the morning you try to cover all the plans for the day, and in the evening with a sigh you transfer half of your tasks to tomorrow — most likely, multitasking is not for you. No matter how tempting an idea may seem, it does not work if it results in chaos.
1 Nature, 2015, vol. 526.