Research has shown again and again that the human mind isn’t meant to multi-task. In fact, multi-tasking can have long-term harmful effects on brain function.
In most situations, multi-tasking is a misnomer – the person juggling email, text messaging, Facebook and a meeting is really doing something called “rapid toggling between tasks,” and is engaged in constant context switching.
Furthermore, a typical office worker gets only 11 minutes between each interruption, while it takes an average of 25 minutes to return to the original task after an interruption.
A two-task limit
Studies have found that multi-taskers use their brains less effectively. A study by neuroscientists at the French medical research agency Inserm showed that when people focus on two tasks simultaneously, each side of the brain tackles a different task.
This suggests a two-task limit on what the human brain can handle. Taking on more tasks increases the likelihood of errors.
Researchers suggest that rather than switching tasks from minute to minute, dedicate a 20-minute chunk of time to a single task, and then switch to the next one.
Don’t be a sucker for email
The average professional spends about 23% of the day emailing. Encourage employees to check emails a few scheduled times per day and turn email notifications off the rest of the time.
Quick questions are often better asked face to face or by phone, where they don’t add to the huge amount of email we’re already dealing with.
