The Myth of Multi-tasking
Two days ago, the Boston Globe's lead article was "Green Line collision injures 49. Officials say trolley driver was sending text message."
The trolley operator was not named but he was described as 24 years-old and had been on the job 22 months.
The irony was that I was writing an article about the perils of multi-tasking when I read about the incident.
The accident was reminiscent of the story of Captain Robert Loft, the pilot of Eastern Airlines Flight 104. 99 people were killed when the plane crashed into the Everglades. An investigation into the accident revealed that Captain Loft and the first officer were trying to discover why a lightbulb that should have indicated that the landing gear was down was malfunctioning. The crew was so attentive to the light bulb, they forgot that no one was flying the airplane.
Like the iconic message on the cigaratte pack, there should be a warning in all offices and homes, "Multi-tasking could be dangerous to your health and sanity."
Study after study shows that the gains we make by multi-tasking are often illusory. That’s because the brain slows down when it has to juggle tasks. Workplace studies have found that it takes up to 15 minutes for us to regain a deep state of concentration after a distraction such as a phone call.
And the contents of our working memory evaporate almost immediately. After about 2 seconds, things begin to disappear. And after 15 seconds of considering a new problem, we will have forgotten the original problem. In some cases the forgetting rate can be as high as 40%.
While multi-tasking may seem to be saving time, psychologists, neuroscientists and others are finding that it puts us under a great deal of stress and actually make us less efficient. Edward M. Hallowell, a psychiatrist and author of CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap says, “Multi-tasking is shifting focus from one task to another in rapid succession. It gives the illusion that we’re simultaneously tasking, but we’re really not. It’s like playing tennis with three balls.” You can Google all these studies, but common sense does not always translate into common practice. The ability to "multi-task" is regarded as skill set. Employers put it their job descriptions. The perils and myths of multi-tasking do not have any traction in the transcendent busyness of our lives. Dr. Hallowell has a nice exclamation point for this story, "As our minds fill with noise -- feckless synaptic events signifying nothing -- the brain gradually loses its capacity to attend fully and gradually to anything. Desperately trying to keep up with a multitude of jobs, we feel a constant low level of panic and guilt."
I don't feel panic or guilt, but I do feel a creeping sense that a day's work has been reduced to an hour of true productivity.
It is sad that not even the death of 99 passengers on flight 104 or the injury of 49 people on the MBTA Green Line will make a dent in the pervasiveness of multi-tasking. So, let us try to make a habit of smart single tasking -- especially when the lives of others are in our hands.
Post Script:
You can read the story of flight 104 by Luisa Yanez in http://tinyurl.com/qh9kox.
Creativity Central
3 Comments
Reader Comments (3)
Yes, multitasking is impossible, But the temptation to try is ever present. I constantly have to drag my eyes away from e-mails while talking on the phone. A few times I've succumbed to the lure of talking on a cell phone while driving. When I reach a dull or difficult area of work, I jump up to get another cup of coffee. It takes real effort for me to focus on one task, one person, one problem for any length of time. Why is my brain so promiscuous?
Diane: Try reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. He writes about how we make psychological commitments to myriad tasks. He has a some great techniques for (re)scheduling those tasks -- to free up your mental RAM.
It is often a question of making it a habit. (step by step)
Of course, if you work in academia it's even more of a challenge. Thanks for the salmon.
Hey Martin. I've been poking through your blog and noticed this article. I also noticed you have a live activity feed which keeps on posting information from Everett. We must be neighbors as I'm in Medford.
Anyways, back on topic here. There was a news clip and video from yesterday that documented the top NASCAR drivers trying to text while sitting in front of a simulator. Needless to say, even they couldn't handle it as they kept on wiping. I wish I could find a video of it.
Which also reminds me that two days ago as I was heading back from Arlington, I noticed the car in front of me was going 20 mph and swerving. I thought the driver was drunk. As I went to go pass her, I looked over and noticed she had a laptop wedged between her and her steering wheel...
Every day I drive in the Boston area, it seems to be a challenge due to all these people texting. A law against texting and operating machinery really needs to be enforced for the safety of people.
-Cleo
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