Multitasking is Bad for Your Health
University of Michigan study shows that multitasking can slow you down as much as 50 percent, and causes stress.
If you are not multitasking, do you feel like wasting precious moments? You are not alone. We all do it! We all become experts in doing many things at once. We can read, eat, and listen at the same time simply because we want every free minute counts. From adults to children, doing it all in less of a time is the way of life.
Multitasking is not new. It goes way back to many generations before us. If you ever ask your parents: “Are you listening”, you probably know the answer to this. My mom used to say: “I can hear you with this ear, and listen to your sister with the other.”
However, do you know that multitasking is bad for your health? Studies show that when you are multitasking, you actually are less efficient.
Why is it bad for Your Health if you are Multitasking?
- It can cause stress
- Your attention is divided which can cause short-term memory loss
- Insomnia
- It can flare up inflammation for chronic illness sufferers
- It can actually slow you down
- Lacking the best of your ability
How to Cut Down Your Multitasking Habit
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Focus
University of Michigan study shows that multitasking can slow you down as much as 50 percent. The reasons are: you waste time switching back and forth between tasks and you need time to get back into each project.
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Take a Small Step
If you are facing a big project, break it into many small steps. Focus on just a part of it. You will feel a sense of accomplishment when that part is done, and you will also avoid feeling stressed out.
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Set Limits
When tackle a big project, make sure you set limits such as when it should be done, what you need to do, and how much time you will spend working on it. Realistic expectation allows you to enjoy the finished product.
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Get Help
Asking for help is not only fun to share; it also cuts down the pressure which causes stress in your life. Learning to get help will eliminate your urge to multitasking.
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Practice the Three P’s: Plan! Prioritize! And Pace yourself!
It is easier to say than to do this. I am a proud multitasking person, but I find it is true that I often feel exhausted and overwhelmed when taking on many things at once. Racing against time is what we are so used to. Let all learn to slow down, and minimize our multitasking activities!
Liked it
nobert soloria bermosa | Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
nice topic, great sets of advice..
thanks IC,
SunGoddess | Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
Is that why I’m still awake? Too much multitasking?
Great article, Icy! =)
Anne Lyken-Garner | Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
I multi task quite a lot. After reading this, I’ll have to learn to slow down. Sound advice and great research!
valli | Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
Great research, Icy. I learned many things from this.
Jared Stenzel | Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
I never would have thought it would have slowed productivity by 50%. I don’t do it all that much. I sometimes eat and read; however I doubt this 50% applies directly to this situation. Nice article!
quiet voice | Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
…Hi IC, great research, makes
you think. Things we think are
good, are not necessarily so.
Thanks.
R.B. Parsley | Apr 22, 2008 | Reply
Icy,
Excellent article! and also very informative. I too multitask. But I only multitask when I’m writing, so I don’t get tired of writing the same thing. I used to multitask with other things also, but like your article says, it did slow me down even more. I found some of what I multitask wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. A former employer used to hang a sign in every area of the shop That read: The Faster I Go and The More I Do, The more Behinder I Get. which simply means Do Not Multi-task. We want quality products, not quantity.
I’m so glad you wrote this article. I’ve got a friend that does this quite a bit, and believe it or not its beginning to take its toll on him.
Keep the writing fire burning. You did a great job on this.
Randy
Lucy Lockett | Apr 22, 2008 | Reply
Many interesting points in this article!
CHAN LEE PENG | Apr 23, 2008 | Reply
Thanks again for this great post!
Francie | Apr 26, 2008 | Reply
Too much multi tasking for me results in total exhaustion! I am learning to slow down, it is difficult but necessary. Great article!!
MysLykeMeeh | Apr 29, 2008 | Reply
So true and interesting article. Thanks!
Nick Kenney | May 4, 2008 | Reply
Great advice Icy but no worries here…Jan says since I’m a guy I don’t know how to multi-task…
Guess she’s right I usually tackle one project at a time and it drives me nuts if two people talk to me at the same time! lol
Judy Sheldon | May 6, 2008 | Reply
I’ve done it all my life. I’m not sure if I can stop. Interesting article, Icy, with a lot of thoughts to bear in mind.
b. radley | May 6, 2008 | Reply
very, very interesting article. it makes me wonder why employers only want employees who can multi-task when multi-tasking can actually slow things down. something to think about. thanks for this.
Rookie | May 8, 2008 | Reply
WOW! I would have NEVER thought that multi-tasking is bad. Like u said, we all do it, why we (humans) tought even machines to do it.
I get tired of things too soon, so i cant trust myself to stick to just one activity at a time….but now i think i got to rethink.
‘food for thought’
Anna Ski | Jun 1, 2008 | Reply
Like you said it is bad for your health. I am a mother of 4 plus hubby, so you can imagine, the multi-tasking I have to do! It’s never ending and most of all exhausting sometimes. When you finish what you have to do and try to put your feet up, it’s like, forget it! You can’t sit down, it’s like an agitator in your brain and your body. You are used to do this, and while I’m doing this, I’ll put the roast on, wash all the linen and then clean up.
I’m like, how? You just don’t have time, the day goes so quick, before you know it, you have to pick up the kids from school. Then make dinner, then set the table, clean up, wash the kids, help them with the homework. Sorry I sound like a whinger, but that’s a typical day for a mom not forgetting the extra surprises that come with it. You are really at ease when you know everyones in bed and you got the whole lounge to yourself, then it’s a different story.
Ravindra | Jun 17, 2009 | Reply
An Insight Into The Perils of Multitasking
an article that appeared on 08th December, 2005 in Times of India, New Delhi (Speaking Tree Column) by SWAMI DHYAN VISMAY
Our life is comprised of two kinds of energy. When we observe silently and eyes closed, we notice only those activities we have control over. This is conscious energy with which we function cons-ciously.
The other energy that operates in inner body organs and is not noticeable is unconscious energy. This unconscious energy is common to all living beings, as we are all connected to the cosmos through breathing.
Animals, birds and plants breathe as we do without any control over this. So the pool of unconscious energy is common and we are given our share rhythmically, as determined by the beautiful but chaotic rules of the cosmos.
Buddha called these Dhamma. We don’t breathe, the cosmos breathes for us. Unconscious energy is multi-tasking. Don’t you see inner body organs of so many creatures functioning simultaneously?
Conscious energy, however, normally, is uni-tasking. That is, it cannot do more than one task (action or thought) at a time. If you are reading this fully focused you may not have noticed anything that is happening near you.
You can, on your own, see the speed and variety of thoughts in your mind at any time. You can also notice many of us shaking some body parts unconsciously while doing or thinking of something else.
This non uni-focused state of an individual’s conscious energy demands additional energy which is stolen from the unconscious domain which in turn cuts short the share of energy of unconscious parts and builds up stress in those inner organs.
Consider your body in anger. When your conscious energy drives your hazy-thinking-attention-divided-control-engine of the brain and so many outer body parts simultaneously, it is obviously multitasking.
This requires more energy than can be supplied fully by the conscious domain. Therefore, it steals some energy from the unconscious domain which in turn tries to compensate by breathing more and by increasing heartbeats.
In anger we stress the conscious-self and unintentionally stress the unconscious energy causing our breathing and heartbeat to become abnormal. If we are awake and fully alert we do not stress the conscious-self.
When our cons-cious-self indulges in multitasking we get stressed, exhausted and irritated in addition to the pain we inflict on the inner body organs.
These pains are noticed only in the long run if multitasking habits continue, in the form of a number of ailments. In fact, depression happens to the sensitive minds due to repeated indulgence of multitasking.
Meditation is a tool for the multitasking humanity to free itself from what causes stress, anxiety, depression and a large number of other ailments. While meditating sit relaxed, close your eyes, observe the total comfort and state of your body parts and keep watching your breath. With every breath try to make it more easy.
This focused and prolonged observation gradually makes you watchful of your breath which is an indicator of a stress-free mind-body.
This practice, with a pious feeling for your surrounding, and love and care for the same, eventually leads you to immense peace and makes you liberated and fearless.
wasim abbasi | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
I question this study , how it is bad for health. It’s hard to function without multitasking. Mutitasking is the most efficient way of using time. People who do mutitasking are more productive at work and home. Mutitasking is managing your time when it is not utlized for another task being in progress. Mutitasking is paractised by mothers at home while managing their daily affairs , while cooking etc. This is being paractised in many profession and project management is one of them.
Elissavet Vinston | Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
Ravindra,
Thank you for this thoughful explanation. I work as a cashier at walmart and one of the things they want me to do is multitask. Of course when that happens i really get frazzled, confused and cannot give my full attention to the customer, who is really the bottom line. The managers would like for me to ring up a customer, at the same time answer the phone, and also answer questions, when someone want to find something , or dip fish or get a grill down, or a mower and on and on, Tha to me creates a poisonous enviroment where one cannot give their attention to one task fully. No wander i feer exhausted when my shift ends. Some things are going to change for sure after this enlightening discussion here. I also listenedto NPR today about the same subject, and the general concensus on people who were multitaksing, was negative. That tells me to listen to my inner self when it tells me to stop and pay attention to one thing at a time. Thank you so much for explaining multitasking so well. Liz