Losing Your Focus…

Where is your cell phone right now? If you’re working, creating, or relaxing, it shouldn’t be nearby unless you actually need it. I’m writing my May 2nd blog, so my phone is in the family room—out of sight, out of mind, and no interruptions.

Your cell phone is a distraction. Period. It robs you of your focus. How often do you think about it, even if it’s not currently ringing or pinging for your attention? Maybe I should check it right now, right? Do you pick it up to see if anyone has texted you? Ah, now it has your full attention. So, you turn it over and put it down. Damn, you’ve lost your train of thought. The sad thing is, how many times during the day does this occur? Add all those up, and you’ll soon discover how much time you’ve lost. You’re trying to multitask, and guess what? It doesn’t work.

Multitasking can have negative consequences for productivity and brain health. It can interfere with working memory and cause poor work performance, mental fatigue, increased stress, and anxiety. Sadly, you’re not being more productive if you’re trying to juggle two or three tasks at the same time. Research has found that it’s far less efficient to try to do two (or more!) things at once than to focus on just one task at a time. 

When we take on a task, several brain networks dealing with attention and cognitive control are involved. These are the frontoparietal control network, the dorsal attention network, and the ventral attention network. Attempts to multitask can create interference among these networks, and this can lead to slower processing as well as mistakes, explains Kevin Paul Madore, a neuroscientist at Stanford University. “One way we can examine the effects of multitasking on behavior and the demands it places on relevant brain networks is by analyzing ‘task switch costs,'” he says.

A switch cost is a loss of accuracy or speed that comes when you shift between tasks. Though some of the costs of multitasking are subtle, they are by no means trivial. Too much multitasking can interfere with both working memory and long-term memory. Research by Madore and colleagues found that heavier media multitasking is associated with attention lapses and forgetfulness. However, it’s still not clear what’s causing what. “Some research has indicated that chronic everyday media multitasking is related to errors in our ability to hold and use information in mind (working memory) and our ability to retrieve information (long-term memory),” says Madore, but he adds that more research is needed to determine the direction of causality.

Feeling like you’re not so sharp, lately? Is your brain feeling a bit fuzzy? It’s not that you’re getting older, but more than likely, you have too much going on. You’ve allowed yourself (willingly and unwillingly) to be hi-jinked. Slow down my friend. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Task-switching reduces cognitive function and weakens problem-solving skills.
Multitasking creates the illusion of efficiency but actually slows you down.
Your brain needs full concentration to process information accurately.
Constantly switching tasks overloads the brain, leading to mental exhaustion.
Multitasking prevents information from being properly stored in long-term memory.
Creativity requires deep focus and mental space to generate new ideas.
Multitasking while talking to someone reduces connection and attention.