Multitasking Is Bad For Your Mental Health

If you are like most people, you have a multitude of things to do; want to do; and need to do. So much, in fact that you wonder where to start, it is all too hard and it’s easier to just procrastinate for a little longer, besides there is always tomorrow right? So, like many people the answer is to do more at once and the merry-go-round of multi-tasking starts. Sadly, this starts a nasty spiral down the slope of poor productivity, feeling overwhelmed, burnt out and can be detrimental to your brain health. (Stay with me on this one.)

Or maybe you resort to multitasking because that is what gurus teach about howto be more productive and organise yourself. Doing more at the same time will double your productivity, is the answer often preached. Spinning plates may be a great human circus act, but when it comes to life, having too many spinning plates in the air can be detrimental to you achieving great outcomes.‍

If any of this sounds familiar, then understand you are not alone, and this pattern is rife across many businesses large and small as well as individuals. Getting pushed and pulled in so many directions all at the same time. In fact, after 18years of helping Australian businesses solve this problem, I see a business climate that has not only not improved but seems to be getting worse as people become busier and busier as years go by.

Where does it lead to and when does it end? Well, do nothing and things won’t stay the same they will get worse. More exhaustion, more feeling of being out of control and more restless nights’ sleep

Let me shatter some myths around productivity, time management and achieving more by being a better multi tasker.

First let’s look at why we multitask in the first place.

You like getting involved in several tasks just to feel a sense of achievement. You think, you actually make yourself believe, that you are devoting enough effort and that you’ll eventually succeed in some areas. The truth is that when you do so, you lose your focus and your prospect of attaining success in any of them are hugely diminished.

When you are involved in multitasking, what you are doing is saying yes to every offer, (maybe even pleasing people). By consenting to all sorts of tasks you think you are doing the right thing, being more productive and helping more people; but pleasing everybody leads to you being the one who suffers. You not only overexert yourself, you start to feel bad because you fail to manage so many tasks at a time.For some, the extreme consequence is that you feel less fulfilled, hollow and sometimes depressed. This leads to less peace and more turmoil.

The latest research from Stanford University has concluded that multitasking actually damages your brain, as it tries to pay attention to multifaceted tasks and thus loses the focus altogether.

Frequent multi taskers don’t perform well because they have difficulty organising their thoughts and sorting out important relevant info vs not so important; but just as big a problem is the downtime that happens when we switch from one task to another. We actually get slower at switching, and it takes more time to get back to where we were. The result is a big downturn in productivity. Productivity become slow and we feel we need to do more tasks to compensate, and the vicious spiral gets worse and worse!

According to scientific research, multitasking leads to mental agitation, depression and may cause social anxiety too. So, under such circumstances, can you expect your business or yourself to grow or flourish? Indeed, that is just not possible.

“multitasking is, in fact, a lie that actually wastes time, energy, and money. Most of all, it robs us of life and our relationships with others.” —Chuck Norris, world-renowned actor and martial artist

Research is clear and precise in that your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Additionally, the researchers discovered that people who are constantly exposed to multitasking, do not have the same abilities as those who only perform one task at a time to pay attention, recall information, or move between tasks.‍

Multitasking hurts your focus and productivity. Instead, learn how to be more effective by doing one thing at a time. A strong clear focus and ability to filter your tasks in a meaningful way, is the only way to combat the temptation to constantly switch between tasks.

In simple English, when you try to do two things at once your brain just can’t cope with performing both tasks at the same time. Don’t believe me? Try listening to two radios with two different channels at the same time?