The Myth of “Multi-Tasking” (and What to Do Instead) Part II: What to Do Instead

By Kyle Freiburger, BA and Steven A. Hamon, Ph. D, The Antioch Group

In Part I of this series we pointed out that “multi-tasking,” billed as a vital skill to keep pace with the digital age, is bad for your brain. “Multi-tasking” is actually multi-switching, or what a leading neuroscientist calls “simultaneous inattention” to tasks. Trying to “multi-task” leads to a foggy, exhausted brain with diminished abilities to distinguish what information is important.

We turn now to what to do in place of “multi-tasking.” We are constantly bombarded by information from devices. How does one keep up and stay effective? If we work with the amazing design of our brains, the news is good. Crucial to aligning with the brain is understanding three major networks by which it gets things done:

1. The salience network, located in the hippocampus, pre-frontal cortex and parietal lobes, scrambles to answer three questions about new stimuli: “What are they?” “How important are they?” and “How much do I do about them?”
2. A communication hyperlink, in the cingulate cortex, focuses attention and coordinates networks throughout the brain to avoid error.
3. The default mode network retrieves memories to aid learning. It categorizes by association: “You’ve seen this before; this is like…”

Using these networks in focused periods of “time-on” attention to a set of related tasks will allow response to an amazing amount of data without tiring your brain as much. “Chunking” of information by doing similar tasks (e.g. “pay bills and make donations” or “respond to close friends’ texts”), focusing only on those tasks until they are done is key. Our instant messaging culture makes chunking difficult, but for a healthy brain, distractions need to be put aside. Doing so allows your salience and default mode networks to conserve energy as new information is easily absorbed because it is similar.

What about all the items that accumulate while you finish one set of tasks?  In The Organized Mind (one of two books on brain health we hope you read this year), author Daniel Levitin cites productivity expert David Allen’s advice to take 30 minutes or so daily to respond to accumulated tasks so they don’t become overwhelming. Do so as follows: if it can be done in two minutes or less, do it now. If it will exceed two minutes, defer it — at least until you finish two-minute tasks. Finally, decide that some items aren’t worth responding to, and drop them.

One of us (Kyle) is a digital native who recognizes that constant bombardment by texts and emails derails our entire focus. The “do not disturb” mode that is standard on smart phones is essential to eliminating constant interference. This mode silences all alerts and only allows a message after multiple attempts by the sender. One can skim texts two to three times per day, “chunking” what must be dealt with now and what can wait. There are also apps such as “OtherInbox Organizer” that slot emails into folders by importance. Urgent messages can be dealt with quickly, minor emails left for when time permits.

As important as “chunking” and dealing with accumulated items is, taking “time-off” is of greater importance to both brain health and good problem solving. Again, neuroscientist Levitin: “There’s a reason Google put Ping-Pong tables in their headquarters.” Working in a concerted way for a time, then having exercise or a brief nap ups productivity. Your brain refreshes as the frontal cortex balances activity between the sympathetic nervous system (your “accelerator,” which is busy during sustained attention) and the parasympathetic nervous system (your “brake,” which calms things down).

Refreshing through “time-off” allows the communication hyperlink to slow, which saves wear and tear on it. Importantly, one part of the default mode network actually generates new ideas about problems while our minds wander!

The catch is that refreshing and daydreaming novel solutions can only happen away from the Pavlovian bells of status updates, and pings of texts.

“Time off” may be the hardest, but most critical alternative to “multi-tasking.” We worry that we must stay constantly linked-in, or we’ll miss something. Michael Harris, author of The End of Absence (the other brain health book we hope you read this year) mused “What would I be capable of doing if I weren’t constantly worried about what I ought to be doing (in response to social media)?” (p.115). There are healthy alternatives to the chimerical state of “multi-tasking.” Employing them begins with declaring that we are persons, not microprocessors. We must assert our right to refresh our brains, but we, ourselves, need to be the first party to get that memo!

Kyle Freiburger, BA, is a graduate of Bradley University and a member of the Support Staff of The Antioch Group, Inc. who plans to become a Licensed Clinical Psychologist.

For more information you may call them at The Antioch Group, 309-692-6622, 6615 N. Big Hollow Road, Peoria.