How Neuroscience Can Help You Multitask the Right Way
Even if you think you’re terrible at multitasking
Most people fail at multitasking because they choose the wrong combination of tasks. Studies show that 97.5% of people can only focus attention on one thing at a time, and there’s ample evidence that if you switch your attention from one task to another, you end up performing both tasks poorly.
Still, that doesn’t mean multitasking is impossible. It’s true that focusing attention on multiple tasks at once is nearly impossible. But there are myriad productive tasks you can perform that don’t require conscious attention from your brain. Combine these tasks well, and you can indeed do multiple things at once without sacrificing your performance or burning yourself out. With a trick I’ll share below, you can even add in a third task without issue.
Multitasking is possible for nearly everyone. To do it right, though, you need to choose the right tasks, know yourself, and understand how your brain processes different kinds of information.
Here’s how.
Understand Cognitive Load
To multitask well, you have to start with a basic understanding of the neuroscience of attention. When we focus on a task that requires a lot of cognitive focus —…
