Compassionate Living Psychology

Multi-tasking is part of our lives – opening multiple tabs on internet browser, watching the news while writing up a report, listening to music while reading an article, texting while attending a seminar etc.

Sometimes I multi-task to save time – instead of waiting for a reply while discussing some chores arrangement with my husband, I would read at the same time. In other occasions, I multi-task out of habit – opening my email, reading news headline and checking my diary for the day simultaneously once I switch on the computer very morning. Boredom is another reason that I begin to multi-task. Feeling stuck in one task, sometimes I start working on new chores like replying email or doing background research for my next project and switch between the original task and these newer, smaller, and simpler work.

There are also times when I seem to be “enticed into” multi-tasking like checking the phone when a notification comes up. The multi-tasking episode may end swiftly if it is only a cat triggering the security camera, but it may persist when it is a friend sharing a big update that I feel like “I should reply.”

As I write this blog – while listening to music – I ask myself, is multi-task a good practice or a harmful habit? Reading while waiting for my husband’s reply appears harmless and I do feel that I am making the best use of time. However, it is not uncommon that I lose track on what I am reading after replying him and have to go back several pages after the text exchange. Switching between several tasks, while all of them being work-related, can sometimes result in extra time needed to pick up each tasks again, trying to recall where I left it before the switch. That said, can I say that multi-task had negatively impacted my efficiency? Although there is a “switch cost” as I shift from one difficult task to another simpler and smaller job, could that be a small price to pay compared to daydreaming out of boredom and end up not finishing much work either?

Indeed, research findings regarding the impact of multi-tasking is mixed. Furthermore, multi-tasking in experimental setting like remembering a list while listening to materials played in headphone is not always comparable to the multi-tasking that we engage in day-to-day real lives setting. Yet, there are some consistent findings regarding our habit to multi-task:

1. We tend to “self-interrupt” when we experience negative feelings about a task and therefore switch to tasks that we expect to be more rewarding.
2. We can become aware of the cost of multi-tasking and recognize instances when multi-tasking is affecting our performance. The ability is called metacognition.
3. When we pair a familiar task that require little cognitive resource with others tasks, it may pose limited impact on performance. For example, listening to familiar music while studying may do no harm or in some instances, even enhance our performance.
4. We can choose how to allocate our attention according to the priority of the tasks at hand.
5. We can choose the timing of switching between tasks to limit its impact on our task performance.
6. We can allocate our cognitive resources to other task when there is a lag time, i.e. a period when the original task places limited to no demand on our attention. For example, after we have put the dough in the oven, there is a lag time before the bread is ready.

Reflecting on how I can apply these findings in my work habit, I resonate the most with the point about metacognition – notice how multi-tasking is working or not working for us.

1. Multi-task wisely and choose tasks that are compatible with each other rather than fighting for cognitive resources: I can choose to listen to familiar songs rather than listening to breaking news coverage on TV while writing up a report.
2. Limit my access to rewarding yet incompatible activities so I would not be enticed into performance-impeding multi-tasking, for example, I have a separate phone for all leisure-related apps and I put that phone away when I am working.
3. Plan ahead on how to make better use of lag time and focus on tasks that are short and simple: it might be more efficient to finish a short article within the lag time instead of reading a story book so I do not have to spend extra time going back pages to refresh my memory after interruption to attend to another task.
4. For particularly cognitively demanding or important task, it may be the best to focus on one task alone and refrain from multi-tasking.

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