So many times I´ve been amazed at how long a few minutes seem to last when I´ve turned off my computer or TV and sat down to focus on an assignment with just a pen and paper at my disposal. Time seems to slow down since there are no distractions, and I come out of it feeling refreshed and with a new sense of how much I´m able to accomplish in just a short while.
I´ve noticed that a task such as reading a book sometimes can be a bit difficult because the habit of skimming through text on the Internet, but after awhile I tend to maintain focus and reading then become a rather tranquil experience.
Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D. tells us how you can switch from being a multi-tasker to a single-tasker and why that is both healthy and makes you smarter:
Many scientifically proven strategies to boost your mental performance involve easily embraceable, common-sense tactics that can have an immense impact on the long-term health of your most important natural resource. One such tactic is eliminating toxic multitasking.
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So often we find ourselves in environments that erroneously place a high value on being able to multitask, the prevailing perception being that the more you can do at once, the more expertly intelligent and efficient you are. Alarmingly, some people even believe that multitasking is a good workout for the brain.
This type of thinking is damaging to your health.
Multitasking is a brain drain that exhausts the mind, zaps cognitive resources and, if left unchecked, condemns us to early mental decline and decreased sharpness. Chronic multitaskers also have increased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, which can damage the memory region of the brain.
The truth is, your brain is not designed to do more than one thing at a time. It literally cannot achieve this, except in very rare circumstances. Instead, it toggles back and forth from one task to the next. For example, when you are driving while talking on the phone, your brain can either use its resources to drive or to talk on the phone, but never both. Scans show that when you talk on the phone, there is limited activation of your visual brain – suggesting you are driving without really watching. This explains how we can sometimes end up places without knowing exactly how we got there.
Frequently switching between tasks overloads the brain and makes you less efficient. It’s a formula for failure in which your thoughts remain on the surface level and errors occur more frequently.
The Health Editor James Hamblin from The Atlantic talks about this subject in an excellent way. I think we all recognize ourselves more or less listening to what he has to share with us:
Featured image: A multi-tasking dad in a Citroën C4 Picasso commercial (video).
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