Multitasking Is a Lie

“To do two things at once is to do neither.” ~ Publilius Syrus

A couple of weeks ago, when I shared my tips for organizing your day for maximum efficiency, I made a statement that has caused a little bit of a stir over the years:

Multitasking doesn't work.

Now, before those of you who consider yourselves master multitaskers start debating with me, hear me out. You may actually be very good at juggling multiple things at once. I used to think I was too! But being good at something doesn't necessarily mean it's the most effective way to work.

What most of us call multitasking is actually task switching. When two activities require our conscious attention, our brains aren't truly focusing on both at the same time. Instead, we're rapidly shifting our attention back and forth between them.

And every one of those little switches has a cost.

The Hidden Cost of Switching Your Attention

Think about how often this happens during a normal day. You're working on an important project when an email pops up. You stop to read it and decide you should answer it quickly. Then a text comes in, so you check that. While you're there, you remember something else you need to do, and before you know it, ten or fifteen minutes have passed.

Eventually, you return to your original project and have to figure out where you left off and get your brain back into the work.

Sound familiar?

Research on attention and task switching has consistently shown that switching between tasks creates what researchers call a switch cost. Our performance tends to slow and errors can increase as our brains disengage from one task and reorient to another.

There's also something called attention residue. When we move from one unfinished task to another, part of our attention can remain stuck on what we were just doing. In other words, you may physically move on to the next thing while part of your brain is still back there thinking about the last thing.

No wonder we can spend an entire day feeling incredibly busy and still wonder what we actually accomplished.

Sometimes Multitasking Isn't Really a Problem

Now, I want to add a little common sense here because not all multitasking is created equal.

I can walk while listening to a podcast. I can fold laundry while talking to my husband. And yes, I can cook dinner while watching TV, although I can also attest that if the show gets interesting, dinner usually takes me longer!

The distinction is important.

When one activity is fairly automatic and doesn't require much conscious thought, combining it with something else may work just fine. But when you're trying to combine two things that both require your focus, that's when your effectiveness starts to suffer.

Try writing an important email while actively listening to someone tell you about their day.

One of those things isn't getting your full attention.

And that brings us back to an important idea we've been talking about throughout this entire series.

Your Attention Is Part of Your Time

We've spent the last several weeks talking about being more intentional with where our time goes. But there's another piece of this that's just as important:

Where is your attention or focus going?

Because you can technically give someone an hour of your time without ever really giving them your attention.

You can sit at dinner with your family while checking your phone. You can attend a meeting while answering emails. You can work on an important project while responding to every notification that appears on your screen.

Your body may be in one place, but your attention or focus is everywhere.

And if for every yes there's a corresponding no, then every time you say yes to a distraction, you're saying no to giving your full attention to whatever or whoever is right in front of you.

That's not just a productivity issue.

It's a presence issue.

Focus Helps You Get More Done with Less Stress

I completely understand why multitasking became so appealing. Most of us have more coming at us than ever before. Emails, texts, notifications, meetings, work responsibilities, family responsibilities, social media, and a never-ending list of things we need or want to accomplish.

When you already feel behind, doing two things at once seems like the obvious solution.

But what if the better answer isn't trying to do more things at the same time?

What if it's becoming more intentional about doing one important thing at a time?

When you have something that truly matters, give yourself permission to focus on it. Block out the time. Silence the notifications. Close the extra tabs. Put your phone somewhere you can't mindlessly reach for it. And whenever possible, finish what you're doing before moving on to something else.

You can also batch similar tasks together. Instead of checking email every few minutes throughout the day, choose specific times to do it. Make several follow-up calls in one block. Handle administrative tasks together rather than sprinkling them throughout your most focused working hours.

Remember, you're not trying to become perfectly focused every minute of every day. You're simply becoming more aware of where task switching and distractions are costing you time, energy, and attention.

Try a Little Single-Tasking

So, here's my challenge for you this week: Choose one important thing each day and practice single-tasking.

Pick one of your WINs (What's Important Now) and give it your full attention for a designated amount of time. Eliminate as many distractions as you can and notice what happens.

Do you finish more quickly? Is the quality of your work better? Do you feel calmer? Less scattered? More satisfied when you're finished?

Then take that same awareness outside of work.

When you're having dinner, have dinner. When you're exercising, allow yourself to focus on exercise. When you're talking with someone you love, put down the phone and really listen.

Because becoming more intentional with your attention isn't only about getting more done.

It's about being more present for the life you're already living.

And when you stop trying to be everywhere at once, you may discover you have more time - and more of yourself - to give to what matters most.

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