While humans can improve their ability to switch between two tasks, monotasking–doing one thing at a ... [+]
Although numerous studies tell us remote working boosts efficiency, many of us will, by now, be well aware that working from home during a pandemic can be a productivity disaster.
But that depends on your definition of productivity. For self-proclaimed multitaskers, taking a phone call or sitting through a video meeting while clearing their inbox is efficiency epitomized, yet scientific studies show that multitasking is, in fact, a myth.
Because it’s impossible for our brains to concentrate fully on two things at once, when we attempt to multitask we are simply hopping back and forth between tasks, distracting ourselves with each switch.
Proud multitaskers might be utterly convinced that years of practice have enabled them to do two tasks concurrently without losing time, so I asked Philip Beaman, professor of experimental psychology at the University of Reading, to explain further (his Neil Young analogy really helps).
Beaman says: “Practice won't help you ‘to multitask’. It might help you to do this task and that one together a bit more efficiently, although even that isn't guaranteed. It certainly won't help with trying to juggle two new and different tasks.
“Think of Neil Young playing the guitar and harmonica together. It might produce a pretty good result, and there are good reasons why he might want to do it like this, but it won't help him to drive a car and take a phone call at the same time (which no-one should do, hands-free or not).”
So, what is it about how the brain is designed that means we are unable to multitask? Professor Beaman says: “I would turn it around and ask what is it that makes you think the brain should have been ‘designed’ to allow multitasking? On an evolutionary scale that seems like a very modern pre-occupation.”
He does concede that humans can improve their ability to switch between two tasks, but says that monotasking–doing one thing at a time–is more efficient.
“Although you can improve with practice so that the costs of multitasking are reduced, generally speaking you will be slower and less accurate when trying to multitask,” he says. “Perhaps predictably, it seems that–when given the opportunity–those most prone to multitasking are also those who have the strongest belief in their own multitasking ability.
“The idea that you can combine two tasks as efficiently as just completing them singly is pretty much a myth. It is obviously possible to switch attention between different tasks so that you alternate between one and another–and you can improve at this with practice–but there are very few things which you can do ‘at once’ as efficiently as if you only had the one task in the first place.”
How to monotask effectively
The solution, then, is to monotask. To do this effectively, make sure that your working environment is free from as many distractions as possible. As Beaman suggests: “I would definitely want to remove distractions. It is a much safer prospect than just hoping that people will learn to cope.”
Part of the problem with this approach is that we don’t always recognize a distraction when we see one. While idly scrolling through social media feeds falls clearly into the category of distraction, answering questions from colleagues and dealing with our inboxes sound like part and parcel of the job. Yet they regularly steal our time and focus.
A simple remedy is to question how we approach necessary and unavoidable tasks like these. For example, could we assign half-hour slots during our work day, perhaps one in the morning and one at the end of the day, to clear our inboxes and respond to clients and colleagues?
And could we dedicate another window every day to fielding (non-urgent) questions from colleagues? That way we could schedule tasks that require concentrated attention around a virtual open door hour.
This has another knock-on benefit. Often, when we delay dealing with distractions, they simply disappear. Our colleagues find the answer they need in another way, the sender of an email writes back to say “actually don’t worry, I’ve just figured it out”. And, suddenly, what would have taken our time and attention simply evaporates.
