You've probably heard that multi-tasking
isn't good for your productivity
but do you know why that is?
Today we're going to explore the reasons
and by the end of this video
you're gonna have a good understanding
of exactly why multi-tasking is a tempting
yet ultimately ineffective strategy in most situations.
I'll also be recommending some tools and strategies
to reduce the temptation to multi-task
which is no small feat given the sheer amount of tasks
we all have to deal with on a daily basis
and the availability of technology
that makes multi-tasking so easy.
(intense music)
What's the price of gold?
Well, buy it!
Tell my mom that I'm coming Wednesday.
Sorry, next Thursday.
Actually, October, okay?
Finally, and possibly contrary to your expectations,
we'll be talking about the times at which
multi-tasking does make sense.
That's right, it turns out that multi-tasking
doesn't entirely deserve the bad rap
it's gotten from people like productivity bloggers
and management consultants who often say that
multi-tasking doesn't exist.
Multi-tasking does exist.
What doesn't exist is multi-focus.
Thank of your brain like a computer, or to be more precise,
a very specific kind of computer
and one that we haven't seen in probably 10 or 15 years.
A computer with a single core processor.
Now most modern computers have multi-core processors.
The current lineup of 15 inch MacBook Pros
have quad-core processors
meaning processors with four cores.
And even my aging iPhone 6S has a processor with two cores.
With multiple cores comes the ability to truly multi-task.
Each core could run operations independently.
However within each core
only one calculation can be executed at any given time.
So how are you still able to run multiple programs at once?
How was it that you could be playing RuneScape in one window
talking to a friend in MSN Messenger in another
and, in still another, be writing a video script
full of references that show everyone
just how much of an old man you've truly become?
How do you, fellow kids?
Well it's pretty simple.
The processors switch back and forth between multiple tasks.
But since they could manage
millions of instructions per second
they created the illusion of true multi-tasking.
Now unfortunately the human brain
was not designed to switch back and forth
between tasks quickly.
It takes a little while for your brain to truly lock-on
to any task that requires a high level of concentration
or active attention.
So when you switch your attention away to something else
you incur what's called a cognitive switching penalty.
Not only do you lose the time that it takes
to switch from one task to the other
and then back again later
you also lose a lot more time
while your brain tries to get itself back
into the flow state.
And if you're switching tasks often
your brain forever stays
in the shallow end of the focus pool.
Multiple studies over the past few decades
have demonstrated this inconvenient biological truth
and, what's more, they've also demonstrated that
multi-taskers make more mistakes
which is something that I was reminded of just last night
when I decided to stream some Enter the Gungeon on Twitch.
I have put over 100 hours into that game
but because I was simultaneously trying to answer questions
and be entertaining on the stream
my skill level dropped like a rock.
So the science is clear and it's backed up by experience.
Committing to a single target of focus
will make you far more effective in the long run.
Once you enter the flow state on that single task
you'll work more quickly
and your creative and logical abilities
will be fully unlocked.
So with all that being said
how can you avoid the temptation to multi-task?
Well, one thing that's been helping me a lot lately
is doing all of my writing and my research on this iPad Pro.
When I first got it a couple of weeks ago
I was initially annoyed that it wasn't quite as good
at doing a lot of things
that I already did on my MacBook Pro.
Copying and pasting was a lot slower
a lot of the keyboard shortcuts I normally use didn't work.
I mean, I could complain for hours.
But then I saw these inconveniences for what they truly are.
Useful restrictions.
Yes, my iPad sucks for answering emails,
and it sucks for editing video,
and it sucks for lots of things, but,
it is very good for writing,
which is the most important work that I do,
and it's the work that I'm most-resistant to doing
because writing's hard.
So now every single morning
I take my iPad to the coffee shop
and I leave my MacBook at home.
And there I do at least one full Pomodoro of writing
and I'll show you my setup right now.
On 3/4 of the screen I have Evernote
and I basically write whatever comes to mind
and on the other quarter of the screen
I have an app called Tide
which functions as my Pomodoro timer.
Now you definitely don't need an expensive iPad
to get the same benefits.
My friend Martin back in college
actually did the exact same thing with an old iPod Touch
and a little stand, and a Bluetooth keyboard.
And of course you could do the exact same thing
with a notebook and a pen as well
as long as your handwriting muscles haven't atrophied.
If you do have to use a computer
you can use an app like Cold Turkey Writer
which locks down your computer
and lets you do nothing but write
until you've hit a word count goal
or you could use apps like Freedom or FocalFilter
to block websites that you find distracting.
Whatever you use the key is to lock down your options.
With all that being said
there are times when multi-tasking can be useful
and I want to give you two examples.
The first is any situation
where neither of the tasks that you're doing
requires intense concentration
and where one or more of them
is something that you've mastered to the point
where it's essentially become muscle memory.
Cooking is a great example.
Through practice I've memorized several recipes
and I've gotten pretty good at a lot of the basic techniques
like cutting vegetables
with proper guide hand technique of course
and sauteing onions.
This means that
at least when I'm cooking a recipe I'm familiar with
I can easily handle multiple things going on at once.
I can have the onions on the stove
I can be chopping kale
I can keep the timing for the garlic bread
in the back of my head
and I could also easily listen to audio books
while I do it all.
But if I'm making a new recipe
I can't listen to audio books
and I'm not nearly as good
at managing multiple dishes at once.
The moment that an unfamiliar process
or a new technique enters the equation
it is back to single tasking for me.
Now aside from that the one other situation
where it can be useful to multi-task
is when you wanna background process something in your head.
As Dr. Barbara Oakley points out in her book
A Mind for Numbers, your brain has
two different modes of processing.
The focused mode and the diffused mode.
When you walk away from a project
after focusing on it for awhile
and kinda just let it simmer in the background
you're entering the diffused mode
and when you do this new insights can pop up
that wouldn't have otherwise popped up
if you remained focused.
My friend Martin actually brought this point up to me
while I was writing this video
because right now he's designing an algorithm
that'll suggest articles to people on our website.
And he mentioned that
after working on it intensely for a while he took a break
to go fight an easy monster in Monster Hunter
at which point some new insights popped up
into the back of his head about how to improve it.
So to recap all of this
when you're faced with a task
that requires careful attention
focus only on that task.
Avoid the temptation to multi-task.
And if it's hopeful choose tools that restrict your options
and cut down on that temptation
like website blockers or less capable computers.
Finally at other times
like when you wanna save time on tasks
you've already mastered
or when you wanna take advantage
of that diffused mode of thinking
use multi-tasking as the context-specific tool that it is.
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I wanna give a huge thanks to Skillshare
for sponsoring this video
and once again supporting this channel
and, as always, guys, thank you so much for watching.
Hopefully you learned something from this video
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Thanks for watching. And may the Force be ever in your favor, Mr. Potter.