The Myth of Multitasking
Mindful in May - Week 1
During the month of May I will be encouraging you to look at different areas of your life and consider ways to develop The Total Somatics Approach to Mindfulness.
Check out my video below. After the video, please allow me to develop this subject further.
To support you through Week 1 of Mindful In May, download the FREE support material by clicking HERE.
The Myth Of Multitasking
For many years people were very proud to announce they were great multitaskers. In recent years however Neuroscience has revealed that multitasking is not as effective as we once thought. Why?
When we are fully focused on an event or pursuit, we use a variety of neurological processes from different portions of our brain. When we perform activities which we feel are ‘second nature’ such as walking, eating and driving, we can at times be practising this subconsciously. This is not ideal if you are operating large machinery or driving a vehicle, for obvious reasons! When we practise something which is second nature, there are no real thought processes required. We are operating on 'autopilot.'
So if you feel that you multitask, stop and consider your actions. You will notice that your focus will fluctuate between the different activities or jobs you need to do. You will find that your brain will basically play the game of “stop/start” over and over again. In psychology this action is not referred to as multitasking, rather it is known as serial tasking.
Serial tasking is not an efficient way for your brain to operate. Research by the American Psychological Association reveal that this “stop/start” action in the brain is very disruptive. Between the various tasks you need to attend to, there is a lag time whilst your brain switches from one activity to the next. This lag time has been shown to take as much as 40% more time whilst you move from one task to the other compared to if you had stayed fully focused on one activity, successfully completed it and then moved on to your next job.
A multitasker or serial tasker statistically will make more mistakes, have less recall of information and take longer to complete a task compared to ones who stay mindful and fully focused on one activity at a time.
Enjoy developing a mindful approach to your activities this week and notice that as you stay fully focused to one task at a time, you will finish sooner, increase the quality of your work and feel less stressed.
Have a fantastic week!
Take care,
Heidi Hadley xx
