Multi-Tasking is a fantasy.  There are plenty of high-energy people out there who say they can Multi-Task, and many a job-seeker has laid claim to this skill in an interview.  The truth is, they are lying.  Humans can only do one thing at a time.

Our modern tools have propagated the Multi-Tasking myth.  Our Smart-TV’s display a picture-in-picture view of two simultaneous channels and our computers show numerous windows. Today’s office workers typically sit facing multiple monitors.  As you read this, your email inbox is filling up while text messages pop up on your digital watch and your phone vibrates with new voicemails.  You are convinced you are Multi-Tasking, but you are delusional.

Multi-tasking is commonly believed to be a straight-forward case of doing two or more tasks simultaneously.  Many of us spend our days trying to do this, not realizing just how little we are actually accomplishing and how stressed out it is making us.  You might be able to walk down the stairs while sipping a latte and checking your smartphone, but true Multi-Tasking reaches beyond mere muscle memory.  University of Michigan Psychology Professor David Meyer says that our brains simply aren’t wired for complex concurrent tasks. <continue reading>