(This article originally appeared in The Weekly Simplifier #9)

Multi-tasking — The Cost
by Shawn Tuttle

To multi-task or not to multi-task,
that is the question.

Face it, sometimes you just have to multi-task. But given a choice, the wisdom of multi-tasking is being called into question. Studies on brain psychology are showing that the brain is less efficient when asked to perform multiple activities at once. We often multi-task because we believe we are being more productive and efficient with our time. Are we really, though?

Personal experience shows that multi-tasking sets the stage for a frantic mindset and easily leads to dropping the ball on high-priority items.

More often than not, the question shouldn’t be “Can I do it?” (as in, “Do I literally have the ability to concurrently do these activities?”) but, “What is the cost?”

Is losing your peace of mind worth it?

Is risking your high-priority goals worth it?

I answer, “No” and “No” to these questions.

Scenario: You find yourself in the middle of 3 open emails, a phone call, a spreadsheet, and a due-next-week, high-priority project. You’re mixing ToDos with projects, thinking you are making progress on both. At the end of the day though, you feel more frazzled than anything, disappointed in the progress made on your project, and barely a dent in the Todo list. You worked all day but what to show for it?!? Argh!

What else is going on: Your brain does a lot of back-end work for you. When you learn a new system or process, your brain logs the instructions for that task. The next time you go to check emails, for example, your brain calls up instructions along the lines of: go to email program, scan for high-priority, read, determine if response required and by when, etc. Hey, you’re smart. This happens quickly.

However, if you decide to switch gears and pay a bill, your brain shelves some or all of the check email instructions and calls up the pay bills instructions. Ok, bill paid. Brain now shelves pay bill instructions and calls up check email instructions. Just describing it sounds laborious.

Each task switch takes time and brain juice, both of which are limited resources. But just as important as managing your time and brain juice usage is managing your priorities.

When you allow a multi-task mindset, low priority items have a way of overtaking your workspace. Low priority ToDos then open the door for irrelevant activities, like surfing the net. What this means is that your high priority items don’t get done. Theoretically, you could analyze each additional task to determine if it is a high priority but that brings us back to wasting precious time and brain juice on continual evaluation.

Granted, we don’t always have total control over our work environment…and even a simplicist like myself admits that multitasking can be necessary and even helpful sometimes. But making an effort to focus your work time, and making sure that multitasking isn’t filling your time with low-priority “incidentals” are worthy pursuits—and the cost of multi-tasking should be factored in when making a conscious choice to work that way.

Remembering the cost of multi-tasking can save you time and money, and make your days feel more productive.

Mono-taskers of the world—unite! :-)

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Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify