Reminder: Multitasking Doesn't Work. Until it Does.

While browsing one of my favorite work-nerdy blogs on Wrike, I stumbled across a seemingly-seasonal reminder that most of us are terrible at multitasking... but we keep doing it. The article, titled, 'Addicted to Multitasking: The Scientific Reason You Can't Stop Juggling Work', describes the impact multitasking has on our productivity, our lives, and - freaky enough - our brains. 

Why do we do it? We get a sort of high off of introducing new, novel activities into our thought process. Our hormones get a hit off multitasking. "New stimuli cause a surge of endogenous opioids to the reward-seeking parts of the brain. It feels good to indulge in distractions. This not only makes it incredibly difficult to focus on a single complex task, it makes you more likely to complete a dozen simpler, more inconsequential tasks like responding to email or making phones calls, rather than tackle bigger, more significant projects."

We should swear off multitasking forever, right?

Wrong!

It turns out, we come up with some of our best ideas while doing mundane household chores or jogging. There ARE times when multitasking actually does increase our productivity. That's great news for those of us who are addicted to doing multiple things at once!

Exercising while completing tasks can create a mutual benefit; exercising better while solving tasks because our brains and bodies are fully engaged. For more complex tasks, our exercise may slow down a bit but not enough to make this kind of multitasking a bad idea.

Another time to multitask would be while completing easy chores like sweeping or doing dishes, things that we can do almost entirely on autopilot. 

With these kinds of options available, even the most ardent multitaskers can find time in their day to get their multitasking high, while still working to be more efficient and effective in our work life.