Hopeful Thinking - Saturday, September 2, 2023 - Multitasking Foolishness

Allow me to begin with a premise: Multitasking does not exist. You can’t do it. No one actually can. 

That’s not to say you don’t think you can do it. Almost everyone thinks they can multitask. But study after study shows us that not only is the act of multitasking impossible, our constant attempts to make it so are hurting us.

Yes, it’s possible to switch back-and-forth between different tasks to the point that you think you’re handling them both. And you are, but only to a degree. It’s the switching part that’s the problem. At least, some of it. 

It takes time for our brain to switch back-and-forth. It also takes an emotional toll on us in the process of recalibrating the parameters of one task we were just working on to the other. Even going back-and-forth between working on the computer and answering the phone requires two different sets of parameters we have to consider. Even though it might not seem to take much time at all, only fractions of a second, the brain undergoes stress during these moments. That stress accumulates in an ambiguous mental state that we can’t clearly point to our multitasking as the culprit.

There’s a spiritual activity from within the ancient Hindu tradition of yoga and promoted here in the western world by spiritual writer Ram Das in the early 70s. The activity is to be here now.

Being here now, in its simplest form, is about not letting the past or the future prevent you from fully experiencing the present. It cautions the same warning as multitasking theory does in that when you’re not focused on one thing at a time fully, you are not only doing a disservice to the task, but yourself as well. 

Our attention is everything. Attend to what is before you.

A 2010 Harvard study found that most of us spend nearly half of our waking hours thinking about something other than what we’re actually working on. Digest that for a moment. Nearly half our time awake is spent not fully paying attention to what we’re doing. That study showed also that when we are not focusing on the task at hand, it comes with an emotional cost. 

Excessive task-switching can affect our ability to sleep, it slows us down, of course, and enhances our anxiety. Checking off the items on our task list is supposed to make us feel good. But if we’re constantly switching back-and-forth between all the items among it, you might eventually check off all those items, but at what cost? And how much longer did it take than if you had focused on each of them one at a time?

But there are other components to remaining in the present as well. Namely, our emotional state. Because sometimes working in the present requires us to think about the past. And that’s completely appropriate. Except for when the past fills us with anxiety or regret. Then we are ruminating on the past, rather than referencing it. 

We like to dream about the future. And we work today to prepare for it. But if the future fills you with fear and apprehension, then you are not present in the moment. 

Reference the past and anticipate the future. Those are the ideal mental states for living in the present. Because your brain cannot multitask time either. It cannot multitask emotional states.

Right now I am sitting on a comfy little loveseat typing this out. I can hear the hum of the air conditioner. I take satisfaction in the task of writing because writing has always been good to me. I feel anticipation for the end of this week when my words will be published and shared with others who might find comfort in them. My clothes are comfortable. I am in a relaxed state.

Do I worry about the fact that my car just got towed to the mechanic and I don’t yet know how much it will cost? Of course. But by attempting to be at ease about it in the present I am relieving myself (to some degree) of worry. I am making an assumption that all shall be well, and that we can hopefully afford what needs doing. 

In scripture, it says “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Science concurs, and goes farther than that. We not only prevent ourselves living longer by worrying, we shorten our time here in doing it.

So, when you can, try to focus fully on the task at hand. Put the phone away. Stay at your activity as long as you are able until it’s finished. Then take a pause before moving on. Switch between tasks as rarely as you are able. Recognize that it is a heavy emotional lift every time you do it. So be gentle with those muscles. You can only carry so much at once. 

All of your many tasks and interests will thank you for it.