As I have always suspected, new studies show that multitaskers aren’t nearly as efficient as they think they are. Here’s a story in the New York Times that summarizes several reports on the ability of the human brain to do more than one thing at a time.
To my mind, the trouble with multitasking is that while trying to do many things at once you wind up doing nothing very well. There’s ample evidence (see stories here, and here) that people can’t drive and talk on the phone at the same time. And hands-free laws don’t solve the problem because the source of distraction isn’t the phone, it’s the conversation.
My great ambition is to have the kind of life where I don’t need to accomplish a lot of things at once. I want to slow down and do less. I’d like to have the peace to focus on one thing at a time, give it my whole attention, and then move to something else. Part of this desire comes from my belief in the Buddhist and Yogic philosophy of being fully present. Multitasking just robs us of the ability to really get into the moment by ensuring that we are never fully in the moment.
I think most people know this at heart. That’s why so much advertising shows beautiful people doing something simple, like enjoying a cup of coffee or walking at sunset or just sitting on the sofa with a cat and a newspaper. So if we all know that we’re happier doing one thing at a time, why do we let ourselves get so caught up in the hurrying sickness that makes us feel we’re wasting our time if we’re not doing three things at once? It’s almost as though we get addicted to the sense of importance that comes with busyness. Or maybe we’re afraid if we slow down and stop multitasking we’ll be bored with our lives or ourselves. But really, aren’t there worse things than a little mental space in which to feel time slow down? Try it, and we might find we like the feeling of actually living life instead of just getting things done!
