The True Cost of Multitasking on Your Productivity

We are always in a hurry to save time and get everything done in the quickest way possible. Driving while being on the phone is the most famous example of multitasking. Multitasking is also switching repeatedly from one task to another, hoping to get them all done at once. But let’s stop and ask ourselves- is multitasking actually increasing our productivity level?
When we jump from one task to another and switch among tasks, we are not being efficient, in fact, we are putting our brains in stress by the constant change. Research has found that even a fresh brain of a 12-year-old cannot multitask. We are actually switching our tasks. Task switching or as we call in Multitasking takes a great toll on our productivity. Following are some of the ways it is taking a toll on us:

• If you are dealing with something complex, the chances of making errors increase in multi-tasking. Such jobs require full attention without anything else in mind. 
• Studies have found that it takes more time to complete a task when multitasking as compared to sticking to individual tasks. 
• The probability of making mistakes, minor or colossal, is more while doing multitasking.

Not only productivity, but multitasking affects our health as well. It leads to increased stress, fatigue, and frustration. There was an experiment that was conducted. Two groups were selected, one of the multitaskers and the other consisted of people who tend to engage themselves with one task at a time. The results were shocking! Multitaskers did badly on every experiment as compared to the other group. The reason is that multitaskers take the gist of the concept from different subjects. However, the single minded person tends to give time to one task only so that productivity increases. 
The reason why multitasking takes a toll on our productivity is that, us thinking to get maximum done in the shortest span of time, takes a toll on our brain, with time, gradually we start losing our focus, paying attention seems like a torturous task to us and it starts impacting our productivity and daily life in an adverse way. We might get our things done somehow, but we will not be learning or adapting any new skills or techniques. 
A great example which I am sure a lot of us can relate is with, when we study we tend to use our phone too. We think we got it covered like we are smart enough to do both the things at once but in reality, it has been observed whatever we have learned in that time does not stay with us for a long time. It is very likely that we forget about the subject matter the next day. 
In a nutshell, constant multitasking does not only affect our productivity but tends to take a toll on our mental health as well. Studies have found that when a person feels that he/she has been less productive, it automatically ruins their mood. So psychologists suggest to stick to one work at a time and pay attention to it individually. For your mental health and productivity, you need to stop multitasking.

Check out how to stay productive with a single task by using time blocking techniques!