How many tabs do you have open right now? Are you at work? Were you in the middle of writing a report? Then why are you reading this on Facebook?
Mate, you need to catch your breath!
We tend to think that multitasking is really cool. But it is actually doing more harm than good!
Here’s why–
Basically, every time you complete a task, you feel a rush, right? That’s dopamine in your brain, which is a sort of ‘victory’ neuro-transmitter.
When you keep doing small, insignificant tasks, or jump from one task to another, you get these false dopamine rushes, and a false sense of achievement, while in reality, you haven’t really got anything done. And that’s not all!
It increases the production of cortisol, the stress hormone!
Next, multitasking, or trying to do more than one thing at a time, causes IQ to drop. And by how much does your IQ drop? A study conducted at the University of London found that IQ drops by 15 points in men when they multitask! And that is a significant drop.
Picture this. When we multitask, our brains become the equivalent of an 8-year-old child’s brain! And the worst part is that our brains at that point are actually comparable to that of someone who has skipped a night of sleep or someone who has been smoking marijuana. Isn’t that scary?
Multi-tasking also has harmful effects on your brain. It may kill your performance and actually cause permanent damage to your brain! Your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain actually switches from one task to another very rapidly and this will tire you out and reduce your performance and productivity. When this is done too often, you will lose the ability to concentrate on one task for a long period of time.
So, the next time you think doing a million things at the same time will save time – think again. It decreases your efficiency and you don’t get anything done!
The biggest culprits of time wastage and multitasking are email, Facebook,WhatsApp and text notifications on your phone when you are trying to concentrate.
So, put your phone on silent or turn off notifications, assign a time to check all the various apps on your phone and concentrate on finishing the task at hand for the rest of the time! The outcome? A job well done.
