The Problem with Multitasking

It is always tempting to do a little of everything rather than focus on one single task. Needless to say, this is purely because it makes you ‘feel’ more productive as there is more to show for how you spent your time and how many tasks you have gotten out of the way. However, we also understand that sometimes, working on a single project can be saturating at times and on other days, the sheer number of things on your plate force you to give in and crumble into the cruel talons of – MULTITASKING!
Well, we do not even fear the consequences of multitasking anymore because most of us do it daily or have done it at some point. Multitasking merely creates an illusion of productivity. The worst part about the side effects of multitasking is that you do not see them pan out immediately to change your course of action and fix it before it is too late. The after-effects seep into your performance slowly and you won’t even know when you started being so unproductive, or your concentration span weakened to this level. Here are five problems with multitasking:

1) Poor memory
Researches say that people who are chronic multitaskers have poor working memory and poor long-term memory. Working memory is the ability to store and retain relevant information when you are working on a task and long-term memory is the ability to retain and remember information over some time. Multitaskers shift from task to task within short intervals which in turn makes them incapable of having any kind of relevant information that lasts long enough. Our brains need to be used to studying or reading regularly to be able to deliver when asked. The problem with multitasking is that eventually, you will not be able to retain any large section of information in times of need.

2) Lower concentration span
As the name itself says, multitasking is when you work on multiple tasks at the same time. Naturally, this means that at any given point of time you aren’t seen as giving long hours to one single task to polish it to perfection. Over time, you will be used to devoting short durations to any task even if you have nothing else on your plate. You will be saturated faster, get exhausted, and need more and more breaks. All of this affects your productivity in the long run.

3) Affects your counterparts
Studies prove that the performance of a person reflects on his counterparts too. If a student is texting someone during a lecture, his friend is going to waste some time watching him do so, and eventually start doing the same thing or show signs of it. Eventually, the grades of both the students will drop. So you can see how the multitasking of one student affected the other as well. You could say it is nearly contagious.

4) Increases stress
The constant inflow of information to which the person is trying to respond with the same energy levels is taxing to the brain. Switching between even two tasks is heavy as it is. Can you even imagine what addition of tasks on the list can do? This elevates the person’s stress responses to a chronic level. Being under stress for long hours lowers your immunity and takes a toll on your health. Some end up becoming insomniacs, some fall sick frequently.

5) Lesser output
Multitasking induces delusional productivity. There is no real output here as everything is just ongoing. When you are multitasking, you are only satisfying yourself under an illusion. What about the person you are supposed to deliver to? He/she is not receiving any real results of what you have been working on except an update that everything is ongoing. Therefore, multitasking delays tasks and results in giving less or more time than required for a task which is a sheer waste of resources.

So, we can see how multitasking affects us in the long run. Nothing good can ever come out of distributed focus. Go ahead and practice single-tasking!

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