
22 Jan Your Well Being: One Thing at a Time
Why you should stop multitasking—and four simple habits that can help you quit
By Bev Lucas
Have you seen my keys? I can’t believe I missed the meeting—I thought it was next week! His name is on the tip of my tongue. Where are my glasses? (Hint: Check the top of your head.)
If you keep forgetting things, you’re not alone. Although typically associated with aging, forgetfulness is a common problem that can affect adults of all ages. Well-known culprits include stress, depression, lack of sleep, thyroid problems, and, of course, early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. (See “When to Get Help for Memory Concerns” on page 41.)
But one surprising cause of memory meltdown is multitasking. That’s right. If your life is more demanding and hectic than ever before and you’re constantly trying to juggle multiple tasks at once, it might be adversely affecting your memory.
What is multitasking?
Most people think that multitasking means doing two or more things at the same time, such as catching up on emails during a virtual meeting. But that’s not true. “What we’re actually doing when ‘multitasking’ is shifting our attention back and forth very quickly between two or more tasks,” says Marisa Menchola, PhD, associate professor and director of neuropsychology training at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson.
Experts caution that this task switching comes at a cost. “The brain has attention systems that allow us to focus on a task. However, in order to shift back and forth, the brain must disengage its attention systems from the current task and then shift to the other task. Then it has to engage in that task, and then disengage from that task and reorient to the first one,” Menchola says. “When this process happens over and over, the brain has to work harder than it does when it can focus on just one task at a time.”
How multitasking affects memory
Short-term memory allows a person to remember a small amount of information for a very limited amount of time (for example, recalling someone’s name when you’ve just been introduced). But when our brains are bombarded with information from multitasking, our short-term memory becomes overloaded and doesn’t work as well as it should, explains Gloria Mark, PhD, an informatics professor at the University of California, Irvine. “This information overload can lead to forgetfulness,” she says.
In addition to its impact on the brain’s working memory, “rapid switching can create confusion, which can lead to mistakes,” Mark adds. “This process is reflective of our memories not working the way they should.” Another issue of concern is that too much switching can lead to stress and fatigue. “When we’re stressed and fatigued, our memories don’t work as well,” she notes.
The productivity myth
Does multitasking make you more productive? The answer, surprisingly, is no. In fact, rapid task shifting makes you less productive. “We think that by shifting our attention, we’re accomplishing more because we’re able to work on multiple things,” says Mark, who is the author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity. “But there’s a switch cost every time. As a result, it actually takes longer to do the individual tasks when we’re switching our attention between them than it would if we focused on a single task,” she explains.
Multitasking isn’t always a bad idea. “When one of the things being done is automatic and doesn’t take a lot of cognitive effort but the other one does, multitasking can work and save some time,” says Menchola.
One example is listening to music while working. “I work in an open space that I share with several other colleagues, and it can get noisy,” says Tia Cusanelli, principal systems engineer at Northrop Grumman in Baltimore. “To cut down on the noise when I’m writing code, I put on my headphones and listen to music without vocals. This allows me to focus on writing the code,” she says. “The key is that the music doesn’t have lyrics, so I’m not concentrating on the words to the song.”
You must remember this
The good news: There are multiple strategies that can help you cut down on multitasking, improve your focus, and boost your chances of remembering things you don’t want to forget.
1Say no to notifications. “When it comes to cognitive efficiency and attention, [cell phone] notifications are the enemy,” says Menchola, who is the author of A Brain-Friendly Life: How to Manage Cognitive Overload and Reduce Glitching. “The whole point of notifications is to capture our attention to get us to shift. Turning notifications off is a very effective strategy, especially when you’re focused on a cognitively demanding, difficult task.”
The easiest way to silence alerts and notifications is to turn the sound off using the Ring/Silent toggle switch. The shortcoming of this method is that you can still be distracted by the phone vibrating or lighting up when you receive a call or notification.
Another option is to selectively silence notifications using the phone’s Focus mode settings, Cusanelli says. Introduced in response to growing concerns about the adverse impacts of technology overuse, Focus mode helps users fine-tune notifications. “You can set up one Focus for work so that you’re not getting spam calls and other notifications during the workday, and one for sleep so that you’re not awakened after you go to bed,” she explains. “With Focus mode, you can also allow important notifications to get through. That way you can still be contacted if there’s an emergency, but you won’t be disturbed by the hundredth notification of the day.”
2Cut down on email checks. “Research shows that people check their email on average 77 times a day, and that’s too much,” says Mark. “It’s better to set up a schedule that works for you. One option might be to check it in the morning, then before or after lunch, and again at the end of the day.” Menchola agrees. “It’s best to check your email or voicemail intentionally,” she says. “This way you’re not constantly having your attention hijacked.”
3Identify logical break points. When dealing with complex tasks like those at work, the best thing for our brains is to focus on one thing at a time and try to complete it before moving on to something else, Mark advises. If that’s not possible, the best thing is to stop at a logical break. “If you’re writing a long report for work, for example, stop at the end of a section. When you pick up the task again, you don’t have to try to reorient and recreate the work that you’ve done.” Another tip: “Look ahead and plan to work through until the next break point. Then stop and take a break or pick up another task,” says Mark.
4 “Outsource” brain tasks. To reduce demands on your brain, Menchola suggests keeping a to-do list and checking off tasks as they’re completed. If you can’t do a task as soon as you remember it, add it to your to-do list. Set alarms to remind yourself about important tasks, such as joining a virtual meeting or taking medication. Even a good old-fashioned Post-it note that you stick somewhere you’ll see it can be an effective way to avoid overloading your brain with information.
Don’t be afraid to use technology to outsource simple brain tasks. “I take notes in the Notes app on my phone because I typically have it with me, unlike a physical notebook,” says Cusanelli. And one way to avoid worry about finding your keys: don’t use them. “More and more cars now have apps that allow you to go keyless,” she says. “You can also get smart locks for your home that identify you biometrically, so there’s no need to remember a code or password.” EW
Bev Lucas is a freelance writer in Columbia, Maryland.
EXTRA!
When to Get Help for Memory Concerns
Fortunately, not all memory lapses are a cause for alarm. However, if you notice your memory getting worse, or if a family member or friend is concerned about your memory, you should make an appointment to see your health-care provider.
“One cause for concern is when memory issues begin to affect your ability to perform daily activities—for example, when you make mistakes on things that are very routine,” says Marisa Menchola, of the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. “These are things that you typically would not make mistakes on because you can do them almost without thinking.”
Even if a medical cause for your forgetfulness is not found, an evaluation by a health-care specialist in diagnosing and treating memory issues can identify factors that might be at play. “Evaluations help us look at all of the factors, such as anxiety or depression, sleep deprivation, stress, medication, even perimenopause or menopause, that can drain our cognitive resources,” she says. “Even if there is nothing more serious going on, we can provide strategies to control the factors that are draining our cognitive resources so that we can function better in daily life.”