Is Multi-Tasking Good for Us?

5 February 2024

A couple of days ago, I was just about to begin cooking a meal when I realized that I needed to take my car out of the parking area and position it by the roadside as my housemate was going to park his car behind mine. In an act of providence, immediately after parking my car by the roadside, I ran back into the house and upon seeing the fry-pan heating up on the stove, I exhaled just remembering what I was in the process of doing prior to rushing outside.

In my younger years, I was fascinated with multi-tasking. It was primarily in the feat of juggling a variety of tasks simultaneously that I found quite sensational. For example, I would attempt having my laundry spin in the washing machine, while cooking lunch on the stove and place my wardrobe of clothes, towels, pillow and blankets outside to sundry.

The urge to become increasingly productive fueled my cravings in multi-tasking.
Unfortunately multi-tasking is not as super-productive as I envisioned it to be.
In a research statement published in 2020 by Dr. Kevin Madore and his team, the article states, ‘Heavier media multitasking is associated with a propensity to have attention lapses and forget…the degree to which an individual engages with multiple media types in a given media consumption hour (for example, watching television while texting)—are provocative, in part because heavier [multiple media types are] associated with reduced working memory and episodic memory even when performing a single task, possibly because of its positive relationship with failures of sustained attention and increased mind wandering..’ ¹ 

Making it even more obvious of the adverse effects of attempting multiple tasks simultaneously is explained in detail in another article released by Dr. Madore and Wagner in 2019, which states, ‘the human mind and brain lack the architecture to perform two or more tasks simultaneously…individuals almost always take longer to complete a task and do so with more errors when switching between tasks than when they stay with one task.‘ ² 

Additionally, multi-tasking has been linked to chronic stress as the mind is taxed with processing and responding to a variety of information and preparation for expected objectives. There is also the dangers of engaging various media platforms which leads to decreased concentration spans and inability to distinguish between priorities.

In Fiji and in many places in the world, walking home after school and work whilst engaging media on a device (while in a public space) can lead to being robbed, assaulted, missing your stop or even being hit by an oncoming vehicle. Or even at home, where burning stoves without your supervision can extend to torching your house.
Furthermore, a significant amount of time can be wasted due to engaging multiple media streams and platforms.

With an abundance of distractions and the urge to accomplish multiple tasks and goals in a shorter period of time, it is very easy to lose sight of what and who is important and what who is not.

To conclude, I have noticed a great deal of anxiety and depression in my increased usage of social media. But this engagement of mine has been inevitable due to my great distance from family and friends. Secondly, my fear of financial deprivation and inability to attain important possessions such as my own house, clearing off my debts and other pressing issues fuels my relapse into attempting multiple tasks simultaneously.
The Bible counsels us in 1 Timothy 6:6-10, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.“

The bottom line is there needs to be a balance between ambition and satisfaction with current progress. We also need to value and appreciate the special people in our lives and never forfeit the time and experiences spent together – for that is what fuels the social media networks – loneliness and desire to belong and be accepted.

The cravings for earning and accumulating money is instigated by the desire to afford a comfortable life for your loved ones and freedom to pursue your hobbies and other enjoyments.
But instead of focusing on what isn’t and yet to unfold, let’s not discredit and overlook what we have and who is there with us.

Stay blessed and focused dear reader!

References:
1. Madore, Kevin P., et al. “Memory Failure Predicted by Attention Lapsing and Media Multitasking.” Nature, 28 Oct. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2870-z. Accessed 30 Oct. 2020.

2. Madore, Kevin P., and Anthony D. Wagner. “Multicosts of Multitasking.” Cerebrum: The Dana Forum on Brain Science, 1 Apr. 2019, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7075496/.