One of the podcasts I listen to regularly is “The Mindset Mentor” with Rob Dial Jr. It’s basically a motivational self-development podcast, consisting of 15-20 minute episodes a few times a week, where Rob talks about different ways to change your perspectives, gain focus, and excel in life. Kind of like what Stephanie and I do on our “Motivation / Manifestation Monday” episodes, but without the Law of Attraction spin on things.

A couple weeks ago, Rob did an episode about tips on how to stop being overwhelmed, and one of the concepts he discussed was the idea that multitasking makes you dumber. Since I’ve been listening to his podcast for the past couple of years, this is something I’ve heard Rob mention more than once, but I’ve always kind of blown it off because multitasking has been the foundation of how I live my life. I am basically a multitasking queen, and I’ve always had this belief that multitasking equals efficiency.

I read a chapter or two of a book when I’m on the treadmill. I take advantage of my commute to work as the optimal time to catch up with someone on the phone. I meal prep and often have multiple dishes in various stages of cooking while I’m folding laundry or vacuuming the house. And no matter what I’m doing, I typically have a podcast playing in the background because I’m at the point where there are so many I want to listen to that it’s difficult to keep up with daily episode releases.

I am one of those people who can’t sit still for more than a few minutes because I feel unproductive if I’m not doing something. I also have this mentality that there isn’t enough time to do all of the things I want to do in a day, so unless I multitask, I won’t get things done. Even as I sit here writing this article, I’m drinking coffee, listening to a subliminal, playing rope tug-o-war with my dogs, constantly looking at the clock to see how much time I have left before I need to get ready for work, thinking about all of the items on my “to do” list for the day, and frequently checking my phone.

However, since I’m on this continuous journey of growth and self-development to manifest my best fucking life, I figured it was worth doing a little research to find out more about this idea. I ended up going down the Google rabbit hole, looking at articles from medical doctors, psychologists, university studies, and healthcare websites. The consensus was pretty much the same. Every resource I looked at confirmed the theory that multi-tasking is “bad.”

Overall, research shows that multitasking even two things at once interferes with memory, divides your attention, creates distraction, interferes with your ability to learn, and reduces efficiency. According to neuroscientists at Stanford University, too much multitasking actually slows down your brain’s ability to process, resulting in mistakes, attention lapses, and forgetfulness. Basically, your brain function decreases when you ask it to handle competing sources of attention. And, on top of that, from a mental health perspective, multitasking can negatively impact your mood and motivation levels, cause irritability and impatience, and lead to chronic stress. When your brain tries to focus on too many things at one time, it drains your energy, which can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and fatigue.

From a productivity standpoint, I can see how this makes sense. There are times I’ve been trying to do too many things at once that all required some level of focus and concentration, and, as a result, I’ve made mistakes because I wasn’t paying attention. Fortunately, they were mostly fixable mistakes. But, I can also definitely admit that dividing my attention has caused me to become distracted and end up doing some stupid shit. Yes, I am one of those people who has quite literally walked into a pole and embarrassed myself in front of strangers because I was looking down at my phone instead of paying attention to the fact there was a stop sign on the corner. I am also guilty of having entire phone conversations with someone where I have no idea what was said afterwards because I was too busy trying to accomplish other tasks at the same time.

Yet, I also believe that my ability to multitask is part of what made me a good cop. Having to maintain a strong level of situational awareness, paying attention to my surroundings while simultaneously interviewing someone, listening to the way they talk, writing down notes, watching their body language, taking in clues in my environment, remembering important details, being aware of other people in the room or area and what they are doing, and being mentally prepared to immediately switch gears and react to any danger or change definitely required the ability to be effective at multitasking. So, in contrast to the idea of multitasking being dangerous, my law enforcement experiences taught me the opposite, as I know my ability to multitask saved my life (and the lives of others) on several occasions.

Some researchers say that multitasking is actually “task switching,” because our brains really only allow us to do one thing at a time, and what we are actually doing when we think we are multitasking is quickly switching back and forth between tasks. This is especially significant when it comes to juggling multiple media-related sources, like switching back and forth between your phone, computer, tablet, game console, and television. Sadly, I will admit this is something I do frequently.

When I’m in the mood to “wind down,” I curl up on the couch to catch up on “90 Day Fiancé,” (or my current new fave, “Tulsa King”), but because I feel guilty, anxious, and unproductive just watching TV, and I don’t have much free time to begin with, I simultaneously try to accomplish several tasks at the same time. This typically involves burying my head in my phone and frequently glancing up at the TV when I hear something that peaks my interest (which, when it comes to “90 Day Fiancé,” is ALL THE TIME…). I go back and forth between researching news articles and information for podcast episodes, jotting down ideas and key points in a notebook, coloring a picture on my “Happy Color” app, checking my email, sending text messages, and looking at the alerts that pop up on my phone from one of the many apps that seem to have taken over my life.

I somehow convince myself that this is all “relaxing,” but when I think about it in terms of the negative impacts of multitasking, it actually just sounds exhausting. My brain is not relaxing at all because it’s operating like a ping-pong machine, competing for attention from every angle, listening to the TV, switching my eyes back and forth from the TV to my phone, typing a text message, writing in a notebook… It’s like stimulation overload. I guess it’s no wonder that I find myself forgetting simple things like where I set down my coffee cup or why I walked into the living room and then just end up standing there confused because I can’t remember that I was looking for my coffee cup in the first place.

Research also shows that multitasking hinders creativity and innovation, but I don’t necessarily agree with this one. While I can admit that juggling multiple tasks makes it more difficult to be truly present in the moment, and it contradicts the practice of mindfulness, I often get my most productive ideas and burst of creativity when I’m multitasking and my brain is going 90 miles an hour. At least, that’s what I believe…?

One bright spot I found during my research, though, is that I did see several articles promoting the concept of multitasking when it comes to being in nature and gaining clarity. Getting outside and taking a walk while thinking about a problem or issue can be beneficial to your brain because being in nature can improve creativity and help with problem-solving. I can say from personal experience that this is absolutely true for me, as I do tend to get a lot of my creative ideas when I’m either in my yard, hanging out with my goats, or taking a walk.

So, I guess the question remains whether this newfound information about multitasking will change my behavior? While I don’t think I’m going to completely stop “task switching” anytime soon, the bottom line is that I probably need to lay off the tech devices every now and then to give my brain a rest and experiment with focusing on one activity at a time. Who knows, maybe it really will make me more productive.

Unapologetically Outspoken,

Tara