Multitasking Blog
The old skill that people brag about being able to do is multitask. The joke’s on them because they can't actually multitask, no one can. The brain can't actually process more than one thing at a time. People can say that they can switch from task to task quickly, but not do them at the same time. The classic example is using your right hand to tap your head and your left hand to rub your belly. Initially you can’t do it and then you just focus on tapping your head. Once you get that down your start to rub your belly, but by then you can't tap your head anymore. The brain can only focus on one task at a time. So one can switch from one task to another quickly, but it is not possible to do multiple tasks at the same time. People think that they can multitask because they can switch from tasks very quickly. Like writing an email, talking to someone and eating a sandwich. They can finish typing an email, then answer a question and after that take a bite. This gives people the illusion that they are actually doing all three of those tasks at the same time. This situation occurs to every person in the world, with the only exception being Buddhist monks. People multitask because they want to be more “productive”. They feel if they can do multiple tasks at once then they are more efficient and using the most of their time. This makes complete sense, if you get more work done then you are a better worker. The only problem is that trying to multitask has an adverse affect on productivity. The reality is that it is just more convenient and easy to multitask rather than do one thing at a time. Having a set schedule with different tasks and not thinking about other things that you need to get done is very hard. It easier to have a conversation and start writing an email at the same time rather than wait for the whole conversation to be over and then sit down and only focus on what you're typing.