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601. Multitasking Doesn’t Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying?
Freakonomics Radio
The Myth of Multitasking and the Value of Focus
Research reveals that multitasking significantly impairs productivity, contradicting the common belief that it enhances efficiency. Time is wasted during task switching, and optimal productivity arises when individuals concentrate on one task at a time, followed by breaks. The concept of multitasking leads to confusion and a 'switch cost' that hampers performance. Many individuals feel pressured to respond to numerous digital notifications, often leading to a false sense of accomplishment. Attention is a limited resource, while distractions are abundant, making it challenging to engage in deep work, which includes intricate tasks like writing or coding. This struggle with focus is not new; historical figures like Arthur Schopenhauer acknowledged similar distractions in their environments. Personal experiences indicate that multitasking is universally difficult and costly, akin to how computer systems, despite appearing to multitask, actually switch tasks rapidly without true simultaneous processing. The comparison of human behavior to computer operations highlights the pitfalls of attempting to multitask in a similarly ineffective manner.
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