The Humble Art of Strategic Selfishness: Sharpen Your Mind by Single-Tasking

Challenge ahead! In my previous blogs, I have written quite a lot on preserving energy, and on making strategically selfish choices to truly be there–both for your loved ones and for your  colleagues. However, when it comes to fighting multitasking, the number one challenge of our digital age, I find that it is easier said than done.

At times, I find myself watching Netflix, sending Whatsapp messages, and checking train times simultaneously. Alternatively, I find myself on a conference call, answering a colleague and arranging stuff on my desk. This constant task switching makes me edgy, distracted, and tired.

It also got me thinking: how often do we pick up the phone when we are with friends? How frequently do we distract ourselves, rather than living in the moment and enjoying precious experiences? And most important of all, why it is so difficult to focus only on one task at hand?

Is multitasking possible?

If you’re like most people, part of you believes that multitasking is possible–but that you have simply been doing it wrong. Personally, I really wish that this was true. As someone who wants to get everything out of life, the mere thought of only having 24 hours a day (and over a fairly short lifespan to boot) is distressing. For that reason, anything that would add the proverbial 25th hour would be the best birthday gift ever.

Unfortunately, that is not true. Let’s get this out of the way: multitasking is harmful, unnecessary, inefficient, and impossible.

Let’s start with the textbook definition: multitasking is supposedly the ability to juggle multiple activities at once. One view, expressed by Nick Bilton at The New York Times, draws on existing research to show that multitasking could be possible. As the argument goes, the backlash to multitasking is similar to other responses to technological advances, from printing presses to televisions: besides, humans have only just learned to read–another instance of our brains rewiring and evolving to accomplish new functions. We’ll just need a bit more time to get it right. Sounds promising right?

Yet Bilton’s view ignores the vast body of existing research, which unequivocally states that what we actually consider to be multitasking is simply our brains switching between tasks very rapidly. Here’s the thing: people can do more than one thing at once; however, as Psychology Today points out, this is only possible if one task doesn’t require any conscious focus or thought, or if the tasks activate different parts of the brain. For instance, you can read and listen to music at the same time (each activity uses different brain regions), and you can also walk and talk at the same time (because walking is so ingrained in us that it is automatic). But you can’t use answer a colleague, fill out a quarterly report, and design tomorrow’s presentation all at the same time.

In fact, one study found that only about 2.5 percent of the human population can truly multitask, juggling multiple chores simultaneously without any loss in efficiency. Other than these mythical, rare “supertaskers”, however, no one has the ability to multitask. In fact, the more highly one rates their ability to multitask–the more likely it is that they perform poorly on tests. In fact, research shows that the vast majority of the population overestimates their multitasking skills, similar to the illusory superiority effect (where everyone thinks they’re above average).

The downsides of multitasking

Unfortunately, multitasking exacts a high cost. In a survey of scientific literature on multitasking and brain function, the American Psychological Association reports that shifting between tasks can create mental blocks, draining as much as 40 percent of a person’s productive time. In another experiment, scientists found that switching tasks was extremely unproductive–especially if the task was unfamiliar to the participant or highly complex.

Indeed, in most nations, it is illegal to use your mobile phone while driving. In one study, subjects were hooked up to an MRI while they drove a car on a virtual road; one group listened to sentences and judged them true or false, while the control group drove without distraction. The results were predictable: those who multitasked saw activity in their brain’s spatial processing area decrease by 37 percent, with a corresponding drop in driving performance.

But it’s not just car crashes we have to worry about. Neuroscientists are concerned that dividing our attention will, over the long-term, destroy our ability to focus. As one professor points out, the more one multitasks, the less comfortable one will be with complex tasks that require deep concentration. Another study found that multitaskers had far less brain density in areas associated with controlling emotions and cognitive functions (such as learning).

So what can we do?

Unfortunately, modern society is full of contradictions: we are overloaded with sensory information, yet to perform at the highest level, our primitive brains need to single-task.

True, there are a variety of hacks and workarounds, such as the 20-minute technique: here, you work on a single activity (such as email) in intervals that last no longer than 20 minutes, with breaks in between. By sitting down and hammering out one task (or one piece of one task) at a time, you can get more done than if you spread your attention and energy widely. More importantly, 20 minutes still allows for other (seemingly) urgent things to be addressed fast.

One useful app is Moments, which tells me how often I pick up my phone and how much time I spend on it. Imagine my shock when I learned that my phone use totalled several hours per day! I am horrified, especially when I think about what I could have done with all that extra time. Since I downloaded Moments, I have used my phone less, simply because I am now more conscious of screen time.

So after having dived into some of the research and having become more mindful about multitasking, I realize that single-tasking will help me optimize my professional and personal life, becoming the best, most engaged friend, family member, or employee that I can be.