Many people believe they can multitask. In fact, some people celebrate their ability to multitask. We tell ourselves that multitasking makes us…

Many people believe they can multitask. In fact, some people celebrate their ability to multitask. We tell ourselves that multitasking makes us more efficient but even the term itself is a bit of a misnomer.

To be clear about what is meant by multitasking, we mean the act of completing two or more tasks at the same time which require mental focus without any loss of accuracy or speed. By this definition, we exclude activities like walking and talking that, once learned, become tasks that require little conscious effort, even when undertaken at the same time. Instead, we have in mind those tasks that activate or require our concentration and attention and, in so doing, generate cognitive load. 

In our last blog, we cited the example of first learning how to drive a car to illustrate how much mental focus is involved in this, and how little capacity is left in working memory for much else. Since we know that working memory has limited capacity, it is important then to give it the best chance possible to complete its’ functions, whether in class, doing homework or at home when revising. 

This is because learning requires mental focus. And anything that occupies your working memory reduces your ability to think. So said Daniel Kahneman when discussing the scientific idea of cognitive load. 

Yet very many learners, of all ages and levels of expertise, try to multitask. This might involve listening to their favourite tunes while studying, completing homework while engaging in family conversation or bouncing between an email and a presentation. This constant ‘staying on top of things in an effort to miss nothing’ is detrimental to learning. The switching back and forth between competing tasks results in a kind of bottleneck – a switch cost, which is a delay that occurs when the brain must redirect attention back and forth, away from the details and steps taken so far in one task and on to the other. Numerous studies have shown that when we do this, we are in fact engaged in task switching.

Gloria Mark, Professor of informatics at the University of California, found that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the original task after switching.

In the Mark et al study task switching caused mental fatigue, stress, frustration and feelings of time pressure. When we task switch, we almost always take longer to complete both tasks and we are also much more likely to make errors, than when we focus on a single task at a time. Moreover, even if you do learn certain things while multitasking, that learning is less flexible and you cannot retrieve the information as easily.

It’s one thing to recognise the pitfalls of multitasking. It’s quite another to break the habit, however. 

The first step is to listen to the science and recognise the difference between multitasking and task switching. Then, work on the self-discipline of a single task for a short period of time, say 20 minutes. Close all other textbooks, emails and other sources of information and distraction. When you complete these 20 minutes, take a quick break to check your progress. You will be pleasantly surprised to see how much more you can do without bouncing back and forth from one task to task another.

Plan short bouts of work/study/revision. And build in active participation into these. It really is better for learners to complete a single task well, before starting another. Because when we talk about multitasking, we are really talking about attention: paying attention, shifting attention and judging which things are worthy of this attention. So, if you want to achieve great things, pay attention. As Isacc Newton said, more than any other talent, it was his patient attention that led to his many scientific discoveries.

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