Is Multitasking a Myth? By: Mridula Murugan

 Is Multitasking a Myth?

By: Mridula Murugan

If you’re working on a task, but a notification diverts you into doing something else. By the time you get back to your original task, your attention might already be on your phone and other notifications, bringing you to do different tabs on your screen. While modern technology makes it significantly easier to work on multiple apps and websites at the same time, it makes your brain struggle to work on one task at a time. 

There have been studies showing the costs of switching between one task to another, increasing errors and taking more time after abandoning the old task. This “switch cost” is important to consider, because it proves that we can’t actually do more than one task at a time. While multitasking was an important idea during the pandemic when everything was conducted online, it should no longer be such a frequent practice. Many people believe that they are better at multitasking than they really are, which could lead to other issues in judging our own performance or dangerous forms of multitasking—like texting and driving. 

Another problem with multitasking is it makes us less comfortable with staying in deep focus. I've found that doing even the simplest assignment while frequently checking your phone or getting distracted immediately destroys any focus. This takes significantly longer to finish, making you more overwhelmed with work in the long run. Whether a task is boring or not, keep focusing on one at a time to get even faster at your work and reduce your time spent switching between every task!

Works Cited

“The Myth of Multitasking.” Neuroleadership.com, NeuroLeadership Institute, 18 Sept. 2025, www.neuroleadership.com/articles/the-myth-of-multitasking.