Why Is Multitasking Dangerous for Your Productivity and Mental Health

Previously, people who were able to do several things at once were compared with the famous ancient Roman politician Julius Caesar. But now you will hardly surprise anyone with such abilities. The rhythm of modern life requires keeping up with "everything." This skill is beautifully called multitasking. But is this really ability worth developing? Perhaps Caesar's contemporaries were most admired by the fact that he could combine business that required special skills that were not available to everyone at that time. For example, not everyone could read, and even combine reading with something else - and even more so.

"Laurels of Caesar." Multitasking: Talent or Norm?

At all times, people have used multitasking in everyday life. For example, going to the store and buying a new dress requires that the buyer keeping in mind the prices, styles, knowledge of fashion trends, the question of the practicality of this clothing, etc. That is, you need to read, count, compare, check the quality of the material.

Studying at school also requires parallel execution of several tasks. For example, a student must listen to a teacher and write down what is said in a notebook. All these matters are familiar to everyone; they cope with them, not even thinking about their special talents. However, for some people, such a process is incompatible with their skills. That is why it is better to order a project from a service such as CustomWritings.com.

Processes in the Brain while Multitasking

Many believe that during the execution of tasks the brain works on them synchronously. However, it is not. Programs are split into small pieces, and actions on them are performed in turn. First, we make a piece of one task and then switch to a piece of another. It happens so fast that we don’t even notice the transition. Despite the fact that switching takes place in just one-tenth of a second, a change can play a fatal role if at least one of the tasks performed requires the utmost concentration.

For example, a person talking on the phone while driving is at risk of an accident. But multitasking is not always so catastrophic. A lot of things make it easy to switch attention. It’s not difficult at the same time to listen to music and talk with a friend. And this is far from the limit of human possibilities.

What Does this Ability Depend on?

About 2% of the population has an exceptionally high ability to switch attention. They can easily do several things without losing quality. Probably, genetic predisposition is important here. It is believed that women are much more able to keep several actions in mind than men but there is no scientific evidence to support this.

Does Multitasking Help?

As mentioned above, many believe that multitasking is a gift of God, which should be practiced as often as possible. It supposedly significantly improves the quantity and quality of work. However, attempts to do two things at the same time lead to a decrease in the quality of work and increase the number of errors.

How to Keep Things Right?

Multitasking is a useful skill. But we must remember that, alas, a person is limited in his capabilities. Despite the fact that many cases can indeed be combined, some of them are incompatible. If at least one of the tasks you are doing is related to the life and safety of the multitasker himself or the people around, you need to focus on this task. Put everything else aside for later.

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