Different Drum Humor: Disputing the myth that multitasking works
Gather ‘round, everyone. I want to share a story you might have difficulty believing – one that that begins with “Once upon a time,” but lacks a satisfying, happily-ever-after kind of ending. Are you up for that, or should I just shut up, close the book I was pretending to read from and let you figure out these things on your own?
OK, this issue has been bugging me for a long time, which greatly reduces my chances of keeping my mouth shut, so I’m just gonna wade in: Once upon a time in a not-so-distant land known as “Right Here,” people did only one thing at a time, shocking as that might be.
Now, you may be thinking, “No way” and/or silently wondering how they could possibly have managed to fit everything they needed to achieve into a 24-hour period without ever doubling up on tasks in a single time frame. Based on your own experience, that likely seems impossible.
Granted, it was a more primitive time, when people were more interested in achieving a sense of personal satisfaction than being concerned over what their neighbors thought or were up to, especially those pesky Joneses everyone now wants to keep up with, who live in the condo next door.
Unfortunately, over time the need for constant comparison forced out contentment and left us feeling contentious and buying into the notion we were worthless unless we were constantly in motion. That type of self-loathing, possibly paired with watching professional jugglers, conspired to make us believe we should be able to consistently keep at least two balls up in the air or two irons in the fire at all times. Preferably both.
The fact constant over-engagement accomplishes nothing but stress was not factored into the equation. Texting while running with the big dogs – no matter which direction they were headed – became the expectation and normalized multitasking.
According to fastcompany.com, the term “multitasking” was first used in the 1960s, when it entered the cultural lexicon via IBM discussing computer functionalities. From there it snaked its way into ordinary households and workplaces where people seeking to “have it all” embraced it as a heavy-lifting strategy and consistently beat themselves up after failing to measure up to multitasking’s unrealistic promises.
Except in the case of Michigan drivers, whom I’ve previously described as having the ability to move their eyes independently of one another to simultaneously scan the roadway ahead for potholes and whitetails, multitasking is a myth of Trojan horse consequential scale: what we think we are getting is not just a facade, but delivers hidden consequences.
Stanford University brain activity researchers Kevin P. Madore, Ph.D. and Anthony D. Wagner, Ph.D. reported in the National Center for Biotechnology Information online journal, Cerebrum article “Multicosts of Multitasking” (Mar-Apr 2019), the human brain lacks the architecture for what we describe as multitasking – performing two or more activities at the same time.
What our brains are actually doing is switching back and forth between multiple tasks so rapidly that it seems like we are doing multiple things simultaneously. Madore and Wagner discuss the “switch costs” of supposed multitasking, which are reductions in performance accuracy or speed in addition to fatigue and generalized frustration.
Their analysis of this phenomenon is why I have always described multitasking as “doing several things poorly at once,” which frequently leaves me feeling like I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off (please note: no real chickens were hurt during the mention of that metaphor).
Despite the recent research revealing multi-tasking to be a self-defeating proposition, the attractive concept continues to enjoy robust health in the business world. That had me reading with interest Alison Doyle’s antidotal online article “How to Answer Job Interview Questions About Multitasking.”
Attempting to educate the interviewer that multitasking is a myth could easily become a career-limiting move, so Doyle advises caution. Emphasize how you prioritize and project-manage work so the most important items get handled first without neglecting secondary items. It’s a delicate conversation, but essential until everyone gets on the same page about multitasking, which (hopefully) won’t require us to do something else at the same time we are trying to turn to it.
Kristy Smith’s Different Drum humor columns are archived at her blog: diffdrum.wordpress.com
This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Different Drum Humor: Disputing the myth that multitasking works
