The Connection Between Multitasking and Burnout

Dr. Gloria Mark is a Chancellor's Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. She studies on how our minds and behavior have changed with the rise of digital media use. Her newest book that's out is called Attention Span, A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity.

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EPISODE SUMMARY

In the ever-changing world of technology, we’ve grown so much as a society with unlimited access to information. But as you and I both know, often times this ability to search for anything, anytime– from the palm of our hands– can be taken advantage of.

How often have we been told generation after generation that our patience and attention span is declining? We know it's true. Even I’m guilty of hopping onto social media or my smartphone when I’m supposed to be doing a million other things.

But did you know– the average attention span back in 2004 was roughly 2 and a half minutes… and today, the modern attention span has declined to 47 seconds. That’s how much our population has changed in less than 2 decades. And this rapidly changing mental capacity certainly has implications on our overall health.

In this podcast, attention expert Dr. Gloria Mark is here to shed light on the connection between constantly shifting our focus and attention all over the place– and the eventual burnout that comes from it.

Dr. Gloria Mark has been studying the effects of technology on our attention span for years, so she’s here to educate us on how detrimental certain aspects of technology can be to our mental state– and to our overall health.

She talks about some of the most popular social media apps, and how these can quickly lead to burnout in your day-to-day– without you even realizing it.

But don’t worry, she goes through some much-needed recommendations that we can all implement to help us reduce the burden society today has put on our minds and bodies because of our multitasking efforts.

You won’t want to miss the strategies she discusses, and how important it is to keep our focus on the present and not jump around from one thing to the next. Recognizing this distraction is the first step to making the change to preserve our mental capacity, therefore improving our overall quality of life! So listen here, and start making simple changes to reduce burnout and feel your best.

IN THIS EPISODE

How our attention span has changed in the modern digital age
The consequences of multitasking
How social media is impacting our mental bandwidth
How to minimize digital distractions
The different types of attention
Strategies and recommendations for conserving and replenishing attention resources
The importance of improving your quality of sleep and rest
Balancing work and personal life
Gaining control over your attention
Shifting your focus to achieve optimal well being