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Multitasking is a skill many people are proud to put on their resumes. Even many job ads ask for someone who can multitask. But how much we can multitask, are we built for multitasking or is it just a myth?
In general, humans can not multitask as much as we regard ourselves to. When we try to do more than one thing simultaneously, we only shift our attention from one thing to another, resulting in a drop in cognitive abilities, which result in poor work. As soon as we try to introduce another task to the current task in the name of productivity, the resulting product is poor quality.
Driving is dangerous. In fact, the risk of dying on the road is significantly higher than dying in the air because there are more variables, in this case, the other cars on the road, while on planes, it is a small crew of trained pilots. If few drivers decide to drive and text, then the risk of an accident is significantly higher than dying by other means of transport. This is why more than 38,000 people die on US roads.
The hard truth is that we are not built to multitask; we can do one task very well, but with more than one task, we have to shift our attention between those tasks, and it is just difficult to do.
So is multitasking a myth? Not quite. We can multitask reasonably well if the task requires low cognitive abilities and hold low risk, such as cleaning and listening to the TV, or multitasking for the same goal, such as listening and taking notes. This way, our attention will not switch as you are actively taking notes while listening.
You can test your multitasking abilities with the following tests:
Multitasking Test
Use your phone as a timer to write down the answers on a piece of paper. When you finish every test, stop the clock and note the time it takes you to complete each test.
Test A: Easy
As fast as you can
Time how long it takes you to write the first ten letters of the alphabet
| A |
Then immediately write the first ten numbers
| 1 |
Stop the Clock. Write down how long it took you to finish this test:
| ………. |
Test B: Medium
As fast as you can
Time how long it takes you to write every second letter of the alphabet (hint: a, c, ..) up to ten letters
| A |
Then immediately write every third number (hint: 1,4) up to ten numbers
| 1 |
Stop the Clock. Write down how long it took you to finish this test:
| ………. |
Test C: Hard Core
As fast as you can
Time how long it takes you to write every second letter and every third number. Switching between letters and numbers until ten letters and ten numbers are written.
| B | 3 | D | 6 | F | 9 | H | 12 | J | 15 |
| L | 18 | N | 21 | P | 24 | S | 27 | U | 30 |
Stop the Clock. Write down how long it took you to finish this test:
| ………. |
Results
Compare the three times. What can you see? How easy was it in the first test compared to the last test? Your time will have increased throughout those tests if you are like everyone else.
Test A
The test was straightforward, and anyone could do it effortlessly. Not much of a challenge in the first test as the pattern is quite familiar to you and can be done without any cognitive abilities and effort. There is no multitasking in this first test.
Test B
You might need to apply some effort and thought to this test as the pattern is unfamiliar to you. Your time has significantly increased since the first test. Yet the challenge is still moderate and can be done by anyone. This test does not have any multitasking; you do the alphabet first, then the numbers.
Test C
This is where things get challenging. If you have not given up already, you would have realised that you have to apply lots of cognitive abilities to this test. Your brain will have to alternate between the alphabet and the numbers. If you finish it without cheating by doing numbers or letters first, your time will be significantly more than the first two tests. It is normal to feel mentally drained after this test because your brain is not built for it.
Test B is the same as test C, yet it took significantly longer to finish test C because you have to force your brain to switch between tasks. Imagine working in an office, and you have to reply to a phone call as soon as you get them. This means dropping what you are doing immediately to answer the phone. If you have been in this situation and realised how mentally draining it is having to switch back and forth between a phone call and whatever you are doing, test C is no different.
What should you do with this new found knowledge?
Sometimes you have to work fast, and sometimes you have to work slow. If you find yourself doing tasks with high mental work, you should not multitask but aim to take a single challenge and do it to the best of your ability, and then move to the next task. This way, you will work fast by being slow and focused.
Sometimes you should aim to take your time doing one task but put lots of thought into it, so you do not have to go back and do it again if you did some mistakes. Quilty of work is achieved outside of multitasking. Anyone can multitask, but can you do fine work.
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