The secret to increased productivity and enjoyment while working is to stop multitasking, especially if you think you’re good at it.

Researchers at Stanford University were tasked with finding and documenting the benefits of multitasking. Despite years of trying, they couldn’t find a single benefit. Instead, they made some disturbing discoveries.

The researchers found that if you try to multitask two tasks at the same time, it will take 50% longer than if you did them one after the other. Participants in a University of Michigan study were asked to write a report and check email at the same time (a common practice in a work environment). They took one and a half times longer to finish than people who performed the same two tasks one after the other. Worse still, if you multitask, you’ll also make twice as many mistakes.

An unhealthy addiction

Multitasking is unproductive, stressful, and most worrying of all, it’s addictive. Russell Poldrack fears that multitasking could even create a generation of people who are easily distracted, cannot think clearly, whose memory is disorganized, and who are not as good at analytical reasoning or creative thinking.

Multitasking is enjoyable and addictive because every time you switch tasks, your brain gives you a blast of dopamine. This follows the same neural pathways as addictive drugs. In fact, Australians are so addicted to multitasking that over 88% use their smartphones on public transport, at work (92%), while watching TV (83%) and even when talking to friends (88% ).

The answer is in your unique mind

If multitasking isn’t the answer to getting more done, what is? The answer is to do what your brain does best. With the exception of physical activity like walking or eating, researchers have found that your brain simply can’t do two things at once. Trying to multitask will help you switch between tasks as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, this is time and energy consuming. Your brain has to constantly monitor when to switch tasks, turn the rules on and off each time a task is swapped, and remember where it was. Every time you switch tasks, you lose a second or two (more if you’re older or a great multitasker, chewing up large amounts of mental energy and releasing stress hormones in your body.

“For the most part, we just can’t focus on more than one thing at a time. What we can do is shift our focus from one thing to another with astonishing speed. When switching from one task to another, you think you’re paying attention. to everything around you at the same time when you really aren’t, “said Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience at MIT. Your brain can only do one thing at a time. So if you’re writing an email during a phone conversation, you will miss part of the conversation If you send a text message during a meeting, you will miss part of the meeting.

While you feel like you’re getting more done when you’re multitasking, it’s like turning the wheels on a car that’s only in first gear. You seem very busy, but you may not be very productive.

The simple solution for higher productivity

Multitasking doesn’t work. The key to accomplishing more and coping better while doing it is to focus on one task at a time and choose which one it is wisely. Mindfulness can help you do this. Some of the world’s largest and most innovative companies and universities are using mindfulness training to help people cope with challenging work environments and stay focused.

At its most basic level, mindfulness means paying attention to one thing at a time. It is practiced by sitting quietly and concentrating on one thing. That only thing could be breathing. Every time your mind is distracted from your breathing, you regain it and regain your concentration. Over time, this training takes place at every moment of your work day so that you can focus and focus on one thing at a time in a more productive way.

Mindfulness training strengthens the neural pathways associated with focusing in your brain. You can start by doing your workout while your laptop starts up in the morning. Sarah Lazar, a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital, showed that the gray matter of the men and women who did this training was thicker than that of the people who did not.

If you’re not ready yet for a mindfulness program and all its benefits, you can still experience productivity gains if:

  1. Do one thing at a time.
  2. Complete similar tasks at the same time (but one after another).
  3. Set times to check email and other tasks that break your concentration.
  4. Take regular breaks. Your brain (and the rest of you) operates in 90-minute cycles known as ultradian rhythms. At the end of a cycle, your body will send you the signal that it needs a break to cool down. Pay attention to these signs and step away from your desk for a few moments. This will help you stay alert and focused when you resume your task.