Mobile technology enables us to be hyper-connected to the ever
expanding network of social and business worldwide. It enables us to multitask like never
before. According to a study
on technology and human potential, the negative effects of this “always on”
mentality is an increased loss of patience and the need for instant
gratification.
As technology advances it creates avenues for getting things
done. Working on multiple projects,
doing multiple tasks all at the same time—but what are the results? In our new inpatient world, we may be
watching television, while checking emails; and at the same time: surfing the
net, texting with friends, scheduling appointments, and even throwing in a game
of Candy Crush—after all there may be a few seconds of lag time between texts,
commercials, and webpage loading.
The
question is: How much attention are we giving to each of the projects or tasks
we are doing? Are we really being that productive?
“When we talk about multitasking, we are really talking about attention.” --Christine Rosen, The Myth of Multitasking
One study estimates that multitasking
costs global businesses 450 Billion each year. The research shows that people who engage in
multitasking actually end up wasting 40 percent of their productive time switching
between tasks. They also have a higher
susceptibility to distractions. Why is
this?
According to a study on distracted drivers, multitasking
is a myth. In this study it was
revealed that the brain does not perform two or more tasks at once—what we like
to believe it can do when we multitask.
Instead the brain actually performs these multiple tasks very quickly in
a sequential order. This “attention
switching” gives us the false feeling of doing more in less time.
While the brain attempts to juggle the tasks
it is given, it must also juggle the focus and attention to each task, this
results in a reaction time or delay.
These delays may be a few tenths of a second or more. That may not seem like a lot, but they do add
up.
When we multitask we are also prone to making mistakes,
which then we need time to fix.
Multitasking ends up making us ineffectual.
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