Why multitasking needs to be eliminated from our lexicons.
Check your emails. Check your investments. Call your family. Open tabs in your internet browser. Keep up with the news. Respond to that text. Keep multiple streams of information open. Check your notifications. Do your job. Learn something new. Clean the dishes. Workout. Meditate. Schedule events with friends. Relax?
Is it possible to focus on one thing at time?
The US has a widespread problem with distraction. Some have gone as far as saying we live in a "Distraction Economy." Distraction, thankfully, has negative connotations. We know we should avoid it when we have stuff to do. But it has an insidious synonym. One that, for some reason, has kept a positive connotation over the years. Multitasking.
Culturally, we've given multitasking a pass. It sounds more responsible. "Oh, Fred? Yea, he's a multitasker. He responds to email quickly, even while he writes his book." Apparently, Fred gets everything he needs to get done all at once. But what good ol' Fred didn't tell you is that's impossible. Fred's book is terrible because he kept responding to his friend Fred.
Our gadgets create a persistent illusion: we can do everything all at once. We can stay connected to everything without faltering in the task at hand. But multitasking is impossible -- it is distraction. MIT neuroscientist Earl Miller says that our brains are "not wired to multitask. When people think they're multitasking, they're actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly. And every time they do, there's a cognitive cost."
No doubt, this constant task-switching takes a toll on our brain chemistry. After we've switched tasks for a whole morning, our literal willpower to work plummets. Small tasks like checking or sending email, answering a text, or posting a tweet send forth a tiny rush of dopamine. We love that reward, so we keep switching between tasks. Instant gratification after instant gratification. That dopamine eventually exhausts our brain, and we struggle with even the most moderate cognitive loads. Ability to write (in Fred's case) goes down as much as 50%.
The loop also makes you feel like you're getting stuff done when you're not. Switching task after task provides the illusion of productivity. You're just sitting on a plateau of notifications. So here's the truth. All those self-proclaimed Freds out there? They're actually doing worse than mono-taskers in every metric. Attentiveness, learning, project completion, you name it. Freds are getting crushed.
Kids who study while listening to music, texting, and checking their notifications, for example, perform substantially worse than their peers who did not. Men who multitasked during cognitive tasks showed a drop in IQ of over 15 points versus their baseline (no multitasking). That's the cognitive equivalent of pulling an all-nighter.
So if you're someone who wants to do more things and do them well, don't be a Fred.
See you guys next week.
What I'm Reading
Only two articles this week. The first is an original article. The second is a response to the first. Both very interesting.
2) The Invention of Moral Narrative (Slate Star Codex) - A response to the first article. The writer, Scott Alexander, is well read on morality, so I'm always interested in his opinion on stuff like this. (15 minute read)
Book of the Week
Curious how the Internet affects our brains? I recommend The Shallows. It was nominated for a Pulitzer in General Non-Fiction. Honestly, this book is great if you just want to learn about the brain. But it's main goal is to show you how the brain interacts with the internet. It provides a balanced perspective on the good and bad. I really think it's important to be aware of this stuff -- our brains are still fairly ancient mechanisms that haven't caught up with human progress. You'll leave with essential pointers on how to balance being connected with unplugging.
