Here’s something that I share with the students at Arkansas Governor’s School every summer. Although these are high school juniors, the core principle applies to EVERYONE. Hopefully these studies by brain experts will help you understand what’s really happening … and lead you to adjust your thinking accordingly (and possibly even result in less stress).

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So you’re listening to a presentation in one of your AGS classes or to the evening’s Impact Speaker … but simultaneously, you’re answering a text from a friend, or chatting with friends on your tablet, or scrolling down to see what’s new on your favorite social media platform. You’re just multitasking, right?

WRONG! 

As this article points out, multiple brain studies have confirmed that multitasking is a myth! People who think they can split their attention between multiple tasks at once aren’t actually getting more done. In fact, multiple studies have shown that they’re doing less and performing worse than those who single-task. Many brain experts say that when you’re doing two things at once, attention and efficiency on both tasks can drop by up to 30%. And when you attempt to do three or more, your effectiveness level can plummet even more drastically.

And contrary to popular opinion, it’s not just Millennials or Generation Z that have developed this addiction to so-called multitasking.* I always remind my graduate students that Boomers and Gen X’ers are just as bad if not worse. Many even brag about their “ability” to multitask!

So again, multitasking is a myth … it simply can’t be done!

Please keep this in mind as you’re listening to presentations during AGS this summer. To gain the maximum benefit from the experience, focus your entire attention on the speaker. You owe it to yourself!

* Yes, younger brains are usually more agile … but that just makes it’s easier to fool yourself.