The Backlash Against Multitasking

With so many streams of incoming information, multitasking can seem like a necessity. Switching between a project and urgent emails while listening to a podcast or monitoring a Twitter stream appears to be the only way to get everything done in the 21st century. But what's the cost in depth and rigor of thought associated with all these distractions?
This question has been at the heart of a lively discussion in the blogosphere lately, with many weighing in on the evils of multitasking. The Britannica blog devoted a whole series of posts to the issue, including one by Maggie Jackson, author of Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, and another by Nicholas "Google is Making Us Stupid" Carr. Continual multitasking, they say, prevents us from thinking deeply and synthesizing information, and weakens our ability to screen out the irrelevant.

So what's the solution? A return to "unitasking" says intent.com in a post instructing readers in the lost art of focus.

To unitask effectively.... We have to get very clear about what we want to do, and very committed to doing it.

Before unitasking, to take a moment to untask. Just stop everything that you are doing to clear your mind. Having untasked completely, now ask yourself, "What do I really want (or need) to do right now?" It is very likely that a clear answer to this question will just pop right into your mind, for having cleared your mind of other people's voices, it is much easier to hear your own.

Once you have chosen what you want to do, imagine the pleasure of doing it (or imagine the pleasure of having done it). Then affirm to yourself, "This is what I want to do.".... You are now able to unitask effectively.

The next time you hear someone talking or read someone writing about information overload, save your own attention and tune that person out. Nobody's ever going to do anything about this so-called problem, so don't overload your own brain by wrestling with the issue.