Episode 191: The Myth of Multitasking

Staying focused on a single task is so beneficial--and so challenging. This week, Shannon and Janine discuss how our brains aren't wired to multitask and some strategies for doing one thing at a time.

Discussion topics include:

• The soothing and healing power of a cat's purr

• How hard it is to resist multitasking

• The impossibility of doing more than one thing at the same time

• How multitasking usually results in none of the things being attempted done well

• Situations where you can truly multitask (at least sometimes)

• Shannon's strategy: Placing a sticky note about the one thing she's trying to do on her computer monitor to keep her on task

• Another tip: Turn off notifications

• How focusing on doing one thing at a time seems more important these days than ever

• Acknowledging the temptation of other things and jotting the distraction down to come back to later

• The relationship between our poor memories and distractibility

• The limits of our working memory

• How we can (purportedly) hold only seven pieces of information (plus or minus two) in our memory at a time

• How multitasking is actually rapid switching between tasks--and it takes a lot of brainpower

• The benefit of staying focused on one thing until you complete it: The reward of completion!