Multitasking: Efficient or Myth?

"People can't multitask very well, and when people say they can, they're deluding themselves," said neuroscientist Earl Miller. And, he said, "The brain is very good at deluding itself."

Miller, a Picower professor of neuroscience at MIT, says that for the most part, we simply can't focus on more than one thing at a time.

What we can do, he said, is shift our focus from one thing to the next with astonishing speed.

check out the source and story here

another good resource here


Multitasking, or more accurately, switching focus quickly and repeatedly is an ingrained part of our society now. Not only is multitasking the norm, it has come to be expected.

Okay, this is getting boring. Let's switch focus for a minute and take the...

                                              Multitasking Quiz!

• Do you have more than three tabs open right now?
• While reading this blog, are you also checking your email?
• Are you on the phone?
• Are you also checking your facebook every few minutes?
• Are you in the midst of a texting conversation?
• Are you drinking coffee or other stimulants so that your brain can keep up with all the pressure you are putting on yourself to multitask?
• Are you also listening to music? Downloading music, perhaps?
• Reading a magazine? Online or print?

If you aswered yes to any of these questions, then it is the year 2011, just like I thought it was. Now that that's settled.

A study from the University of Michigan found that we may reduce our productivity by 20 to 40% by attempting to multitask because the brain actually pauses briefly each time it has to switch focus. We also retain less information while multitasking and struggle to apply the knowledge to other situations. It's like we're trading relevancy, context and wisdom for a flood of information.

Aside from issues of productivity, multitasking affects mental health. Some of the effects include: shortened attention spans, difficulty listening, stress, agitation, the release of higher levels of adrenaline and even anti-social behavoir.

For most of us, however, multitasking is not just something we do occasionally, it is a lifestyle. So essentially, we are making a lifestyle of attempting to force ourselves to do something that is often impossible and rarely helpful. No wonder it can be hard to live up to our daily expectations of ourselves.

Dharana is the sixth step of the yogic path. Dharana means focus, or concentration. It involves not only doing one thing at a time, but also thinking about one thing at a time.

While working in wilderness therapy, I had a client (we'll call her Jenny) who was extremely scatterred and unaware. It was not unusual for her to take two hours to prepare for a hike. This process involves packing a backpack and filling up waterbottles. The other clients would finish within thirty minutes or so. Jenny would wander around camp, pick up her waterbottle, walk over to the water and then walk away to put her jacket away. After her jacket was packed, she would walk over and fill her first water bottle. Then she would get involved in a coversation. Then she would look for her next waterbottle, but while doing that would realize that she didn't know where her hat was. So off she'd go, in search of her hat. I created an intervention for Jenny in which she said out loud what she was doing as she did it. She began to learn how to focus her attention on one thing at a time.

What Jenny didn't know was that I set up a similar intervention for myself. Dharana is a struggle for me because I love to run around in circles, accomplishing very little and appearing to be very busy and important. Now, on days when I have alot of tasks that I need to complete, I write down what I am about to do, right before I do it. The idea is that I won't do anything else until that singular task is complete.

I believe that through practicing dharana, we can calm our minds, become more efficient, achieve our goals, and feel good while doing it!

some tips for practicing dharana:

•  Turn off unnecessary technology. Enjoy one form of media at a time. Close extra tabs and windows (your computer will run faster too).
• Engage in conversation without the distraction of texting other people at the same time.
• Listen to mantra, instrumentals and classical music without words while engaging in activities that involve verbal and language skills. ie. writing a paper, email, conversations
• Steadily perform one task at a time.
• Remember to exhale.
• Enjoy focusing on the flavor and texture of your food. Sit down to eat.

Oh and of course, practice yoga! While practicing, try to observe the physical and mental experience of the asanas.