Powerful Reasons Why Multitasking Is Not Good

Are you struggling with a lot of work? Well, know that multitasking is not good all the time & it can cause serious impacts on your mental & physical wellbeing.

According to a study by Stanford, people who multitask are putting their brains in trouble, as they switch from one task to another and never fully immerse in what they are doing.

In today’s date, we all feel there’s so much to do and so little time that we usually end up multitasking.

To say the least, the pandemic and its ripples that made us all work from home have just escalated the phenomena of multitasking more than ever.

We think we can do it all – texting while walking, sending emails on the go, chatting on the phone while cooking dinner, working while watching Netflix, so on and so forth.

But honestly, it’s not humanely possible to concentrate on more than one thing at the same time, hence when we multitask, our productivity suffers.

There might be emergencies when one needs to handle multiple things simultaneously, but that shouldn’t become a habit and it’s never a matter of pride to multitask.

Why multitasking is not good all the time:

1. Multitasking leads to making mistakes.

When we do one thing at a time, all our focus is on it. Think about it, can you solve a math problem while watching a football match?

Maybe you can, but that’ll always take longer than usual. And there are high chances of goofing up the calculations!

When we’re doing several things at once, our mind is mostly divided between them – thus it’s natural that our mistakes will multiply.

And according to the same study mentioned above by Stanford research, multitaskers are terrible at filtering out irrelevant information.

This means that even if we’re making a mistake, there are chances that we might not just notice it.

2. Multitasking lowers the pace of work.

Apparently, it might seem that multitasking will help you save time, but you’ll soon see how they actually eat up more of your time rather than saving it.

When we take up a lot of things together, our pace of work slows down, and that eventually leads to spending more time as we keep being entangled amidst all.

Rather, try and finish one thing at a time, and take up the next work. Keep a ‘To Do’ list so that you have a track of all that you need to do and assign time slots for each of the tasks.

Time management is a skill and we need to work on it, to get better. Multitasking is surely not a solution for time-saving.

3. Multitasking increases stress and leads to anxiety.

Trying to focus on more than one task at a time puts unnecessary pressure on the brain, which is designed to concentrate on one task at a time.

Drawing lines from the earlier points, when we can’t finish something on time and tend to make recurring mistakes, that eventually causes stress and anxiety.

And not only does this constant struggle of divided attention causes fatigue and mental imbalance, but it can adversely affect physical well-being due to lack of sleep, major eating disorders, etc.

4. Multitasking kills creativity.

Since our focus is divided while doing multiple things at a time, we tend to struggle with serious problem-solving and the brain refuses to seek out creative ideas as it keeps hopping from one thing to another.

Our creativity is nurtured only when we dedicatedly do something and immerse ourselves completely in managing one task.

When you are cooking and replying to your emails at the same time, there are chances that you’d forget to add something to the food or might just end up sending a mail which isn’t convincing enough, and have a couple of errors too!

How about wrapping up all your emails and then getting to cook your meal? – That way, you’ll have your full concentration at work and you can whole-heartedly prepare a sumptuous meal, and sprinkle some love on it.

5. Multitasking often tends to weaken our memory.

Research has proved that memory loss and absentmindedness are very common among those who tend to multitask on a regular basis.

As I mentioned earlier, our brain is not designed to handle too many tasks at the same time, and when we force it to do so, it has its own way of revolting!

When we are juggling between two different activities, we’re not paying proper attention to any one of them. As our concentration shifts, there are chances to forget the minute details while might lead to serious problems. Needless to say, the impact would become increasingly apparent as we get older.

6. Multitasking lowers the EQ levels.

It might not seem so obvious at a first glance, but our Emotional Quotient (EQ) levels are highly affected due to multitasking.

Just take a minute and think, how many times in a day do you keep checking your phone – maybe just to scroll through your social media feed – while talking to your parents or partner?

Truth be told, every time we keep ourselves busy while having a conversation with someone, we tend to emotionally disconnect with the other person, leaving him/her feel neglected.

On the other hand, multitasking in meetings and other social settings indicates low self-esteem and lack of social awareness – two emotional intelligence skills that are critical to succeed at work.

The power of multitasking is essentially a myth that has never actually helped anyone to efficiently accomplish anything that matters in life.

Caught up amidst the hustle & bustle, we often forget to live in the moment. It’s only when you connect fully with your close ones or do something whole-heartedly, will you enjoy the sense of fulfillment.

Here are some ideas to increase productivity while focusing on one thing at a time and decrease your stress levels.

• Meditate in the morning, before you start your day. Focus on your breathing and be grateful for the fact that you are healthy and loved.
• Start with doing the work that appears the hardest. Take your own time to finish it, putting in your 100%. Create a structure at work and try taking small breaks in between, when you shift from one task to another.
• Log out of your mail after work, so that when you are spending time with your family (or enjoying some ‘me time’), nobody can disturb you. You don’t need to reply to all your emails/chats instantly, remember that.
• Celebrate your little success. For example, if you finish work before time, treat yourself to a cup of freshly brewed coffee. This will add a sense of motivation and help you to do better in the future.
• Accept your failures and note them down, so that you don’t repeat them again. There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes.

Remember that you can never do it all – so it’s better to pick one thing at a time.

In life, you’re gonna miss out on something or the other, so it’s important to know your priorities and work accordingly, rather than multitasking all the time.

I would highly appreciate your thoughts on the same, below in the comment section.