Most of us inherently multitask; juggling between things comes easy to us. Like talking over the phone while typing an email, watching TV and checking our social media updates, eating and driving and so on. This ability or rather this need to multi-task comes from an innate urge to complete all the tasks within our jam-packed daily schedules. It also gives us a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of being highly productive individuals.

However, with the advancement in cognitive studies and increased awareness on self-development, there have been many researches recently on the human ability to multitask. Most of these studies have found that multitasking is in fact bad for our mental health as it taxes the brain unnecessarily.

As humans we are not conditioned to multitask, hopping from one task to another or doing two things at the same time is not ideal for our stress levels.

Why I decided to ditch multitasking?

Being adept at multitasking I have always advocated its merits. I firmly believed multitasking is an art of utilizing time more efficiently. To be honest I was skeptical whenever I came across such expert claims deriding the benefits of multitasking, after all I was pretty efficient both at home and in my office.

But at the same time I had these nagging thoughts creeping in my mind pertaining to the mistakes I had made while trying to do too many things at once. Like a certain typo in an official email because I was also eating at the same time or the countless moments I struggled to keep up at a conversation because I was busy checking my WhatsApp.

So for me, what started as a reluctant effort to stop multitasking and concentrate on just one task at a time has now turned into a healthy habit and actually increased my productivity.

Read these points below as to why you should stop multitasking.

Multitasking Tires Your Brain Quickly:

Research says human brain is essentially designed to mono task which means doing just one work at one time. When we try to do two or more things simultaneously our brains exerts itself to concentrate but cannot fully focus on any particular thing.

Like for example you are organizing your room while talking to a friend over the phone and watching TV. During this process your brain is constantly shuffling between all three tasks.

Normally, to move from one task to another your brain needs that fraction of time to focus its attention on the new task but if you are constantly moving between tasks, your brain cannot fully comprehend because the moment it starts focusing on one thing you may start doing something else. This multitasking tires your brain and eventually you will feel the stress too.

Hampers Productivity:

This is something I pointed out earlier in the post, multitasking is not equal to being more productive rather it might increase the chances of making mistakes. Since the brain is processing too much information it cannot fully register each and everything. This can result in overlapping of information leading to mistakes.

For example: Sending a text message to a wrong recipient because you were watching TV. Sounds familiar?

Additionally, in their bid to do too many things, multitasking individuals may end up having several incomplete tasks.

Increases Distraction:

Multitasking has an adverse effect on your attentiveness to a task. The focus span gets severely limited when you are multitasking. You may get bored easily doing something and search avenues for instant gratification. You may even abandon or neglect a task altogether.

For example you are writing your college assignment but somehow you cannot focus so unintentionally you start checking your social media feed, or you leave your room and head to the kitchen to eat something, or start listening to music. In this case you are ignoring your task because it doesn’t stimulate you enough.

But eventually you will also get tired of continuously checking all your social media feeds or binge eating or listening to that music and you will start doing something else or maybe go back to do you college assignment.

It is important to note that in all these cases you are creating one work loop after another but not fully settling down and paying attention to just one specific thing.

Struggling to be in the present:

Most multitasking individuals have a common problem. They struggle to live in the present moment. Their brain is forever drifting back and forth between incomplete tasks and it is difficult for them to shut that down. Even during a conversation their minds are not fully present in the process. They may not be attentive listeners. They also experience difficulty in registering what the other person is trying to communicate.

This is not exactly a healthy thing for any relationship.

Slow Progress:

Multitasking affects your output and slows down the work process. When you are typing an official report on your laptop and checking your mobile every 5 minutes it not only slows down your typing speed but also obstructs the flow of your thoughts. This leads to two results a.) It considerably increases you task duration and its completion b.) It may affect your the quality of your work.

Increases Stress and Anxiety:

People who multitask lack patience to complete a job properly; most of the time they are in a hurry to get a job done. They may not do it intentionally, it just becomes their nature. Thus they get anxious if something takes too long and since they try to complete many things they get stressed out easily.


How to stop multitasking?

Limit your time on social media:

You might wonder why in all my examples I emphasized on social media. This is because these days most of our multitasking happens while managing social media. Monitor your time spent on social media and then set a limit for yourself as to how long you want to stay connected to the web.

This is the biggest favor you can do to yourself. I am not saying it will be easy but start with simple steps like checking your mobile 30 minutes after you wake-up and setting aside all electronic gadgets 30 minutes prior to bedtime.

Plan your day:

Plan your day and be practical regarding how much you can work in a day. If you keep your to-do list small you will be able to concentrate better and be more productive. If possible, set a time for yourself where you can just relax doing nothing. This duration can be as little as 5 minutes. Just sit or lie quietly during this time. It will calm down your mind.

Work in a distraction free environment

Try to work in a distraction free environment to give your full concentration to the job at hand. Keep all distractions like your mobile phones (especially your mobile phone), chit-chatting colleagues, family and friends at bay. Good concentration improves your work quality and you may also complete a job earlier than expected.

Just keep just a simple thought in mind – quality always scores over quantity – It’s not about how much we work but how good we work.

by Kara Masterson, Contributing Writer

Positive thought is more powerful than you can ever imagine, and the science supports this. It gives you a significant boost in productivity, improves your physical and mental health and helps you achieve the success you seek. These are five points everyone should read about why the power of positive thinking is both strong and important, and how you can harness it to succeed in your own life.

It Benefits You in Numerous Ways

Positive thinking has been proven to have a number of benefits for your mind and your body. For example, people with a more positive outlook are less likely to develop heart conditions, experience less stress and ultimately live longer lives. It sounds bogus, but plenty of scientific studies have backed it up over the years. Positive thinking is inextricably linked to good health. It turns you into someone people will actually want to be around and gives you a better ability to cope with stress and hardships in life.

It Is Infectious

One great thing about positive thinking is that it is infectious. It influences the lives of those around you for the better. Think about it: aren’t you happier when you are around other people who are happy? You can be that person for others. Improving the lives of those around you is always a noble goal, and if you can do so while improving your own life, what are you waiting for?

Have Goals and Strive to Meet Them

In order to keep yourself optimistic but still realistic, setting goals and then mapping out ways to reach them is an important step in harnessing the power of your positive thinking in order to succeed. All the positive thinking in the world won’t have an impact on your life unless you act upon it. Rather than waiting for a problem to resolve itself or thinking it will never go away when it actually can, you need to take action to do better. Successful actions beget positive thought, because you will now know that such achievements are possible.

Surrounding Yourself with Positive People Is Key

Surrounding yourself with positive people can, understandably, increase your own positive thinking. You should always be looking to cut negative and toxic people out of your life. If you cannot, you will have to find ways to manage it so their moods do not affect yours. However, it is still advised to distance yourself from these people, no matter how close to them you are.

When surrounded by positive people both in your work and personal life, you will feel better and more valued, like you can conquer the challenges of life. You can also attend seminars and listen to motivational speakers like Dallin Larsen and others. Take steps to bring positive people into your life in any way possible.

Learn to Identify and Manage Negative Thoughts

You are going to have a more difficult time harnessing the power of positive thought if you are unable to recognize and deal with negative thoughts in a healthy manner. For example, when something bad happens, we tend to blame ourselves. This is a type of negative thought called personalization and can be dealt with by working to realize that many bad things that happen in our lives are beyond our control.

Another example is when you focus only on the negative elements of a situation and not the positive ones, or when you always assume the worst is going to happen. Once you identify these negative thoughts, you can learn to manage them and replace them with positive thoughts instead.

Positive thinking affects far more than your mood. It also affects your physical and mental health, the way others see you, your job performance and so much more. Everyone, but especially proud pessimists, need to read and seriously consider the preceding five points on positive thinking. It’s a powerful tool you can add to your arsenal in order to succeed both professionally and in everyday life.

Author Bio

Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from West Jordan, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max.