How often do you try to multitask?

Do you ever feel the

“buzz” described above?

Think you get more done when you multitask? Think you can absorb a class lecture while texting friends and checking eBay’s latest offerings?
Think again. Researchers have amassed considerable evidence that multitasking doesn’t increase efficiency or productivity. In fact, it’s very clear that the human brain simply isn’t capable of engaging in two conceptual tasks simultaneously (Brown, 2010; Gallagher, 2009; Rubinstein, Meyer, & Evans, 2001). When you think you are multitasking, actually your brain is switching quickly from one task to another. Each time the brain switches, it has to reorient itself, which takes time and mental energy. Again and again, experiments show that people perform tasks more quickly and accurately when they do them one at a time rather than trying to do them simultaneously (Klingberg, 2008; Foerde, Knowlton, & Poldrack, 2006; Nass & Yen, 2010; Opir, Nass, & Wagner, in press;
Rubinstein et al., 2001).
Many people feel they are operating at peak level when they multitask.
They get a buzz from jumping in and out of tasks. That’s what David Glenn (2010) calls the “illusion of competence,” and he says it is particularly evident in students who often send text messages and check Facebook while in classes. They feel hyped and assume they’ve absorbed what happens in a class. But when it comes to recalling information or synthesizing and analyzing it, they’re at a disadvantage because they didn’t really grasp the information.