Pradip’s hands are moving rapidly across his laptop keyboard. It is already 9:00 PM, and the cup of coffee on his desk is turning cold. He is drafting an important report due first thing tomorrow morning. Just then, his smartphone vibrates with an urgent message in the office group chat. He begins scrolling through the phone with his left hand. In the background, 'lo-fi' music plays through his headphones, and a tab showing today's Nepal Stock Exchange closing report remains open in the corner of his screen.
Pradip feels he is being highly productive, handling four tasks at once. However, during the review the next morning, statistical errors are discovered in the report. The message he sent turns out to be vague, and he had completely forgotten about his coffee.
Many of us might find Pradip’s situation mirror our own. Modern work culture has pushed us into an addiction to 'multitasking,' where juggling multiple responsibilities simultaneously is regarded as efficiency. However, when examined through the lens of psychology and neuroscience, Pradip was not multitasking last night—he was merely trapping his brain in a grand illusion.
A famous legend surrounds Julius Caesar, the renowned ruler of the Roman Empire. It is said that Caesar could issue orders to his soldiers, converse with a historian, and personally write another important letter all at the same time. In other words, he could perform three to four complex tasks simultaneously. For centuries, this alleged ability of Caesar was viewed as a symbol of 'greatness,' and in the modern era, people began racing to become like Caesar under the guise of 'multitasking.'
But was Caesar’s brain structure truly different from that of modern humans? Is it biologically possible for any human brain to achieve this? No matter how much history crowns Caesar as the king of multitasking, modern neuroscience flatly rejects this notion. Science states that Caesar was not multitasking; he was merely 'switching' from one task to another at an extremely rapid pace. And the brain pays a heavy price for that rapid shifting.
In 1999, two psychologists from Harvard University, Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, conducted a peculiar experiment. They showed participants a video featuring two teams (one wearing white t-shirts and the other wearing black) playing basketball. The participants had only one assignment: to count how many times the players in white t-shirts passed the ball.
In the middle of the video, a person wearing a black gorilla suit walks slowly into the center of the court, thumps their chest, stays for about 9 seconds, and walks away. After the video ended, the psychologists asked, "How many of you noticed the gorilla?"
Astonishingly, more than half (nearly 50 percent) of the participants did not notice the gorilla at all. Even though the gorilla danced right in front of their eyes for 9 seconds, it remained invisible because their brains were occupied with counting the passes. In psychology, this phenomenon is called 'inattentional blindness.'
When our brain fails to see a gorilla right in front of our eyes while focusing on a single task, how can we expect to type a report on a laptop, talk on the phone, and monitor stock market fluctuations simultaneously without making mistakes? Are we truly multitasking, or are we just cultivating an illusion?
In our daily lives, the ability to do multiple things at once (multitasking) is highly praised. People often say, "Their capability is amazing; they can do so many things at once." Yet, few realize how possible this actually is. If we look at research in psychology and neuroscience, multitasking is largely an illusion. A person can focus deeply on only one task at a time.
How does our brain function, and what does psychology say about this? It can be understood through the following key points:
The Brain Performs 'Task Switching'
The prefrontal cortex, the front part of our brain that controls consciousness and attention, can fully focus on only one complex cognitive task at a time. When we assume we are multitasking, our brain is actually engaged in 'task switching.' This means the brain shifts its attention from one task to another at an extremely rapid pace, creating the illusion that things are happening simultaneously.
'Switch Cost' and Declinining Productivity
According to scientific research, when the brain moves from one task to another, a 'switch cost' is incurred.
A few milliseconds or seconds of time are wasted every time focus shifts.
According to psychologist Daniel Kahneman's 'Attention Theory,' our mental energy or 'attentional resource' is limited. When we divide our attention across multiple areas, the quality of our work deteriorates.
Research shows that multitasking can reduce a person's productivity by up to 40 percent and significantly increase the likelihood of making mistakes.
Attention Residue
When you transition from Task A to Task B, your attention does not fully shift immediately. A portion of your brain remains stuck on the previous task, a phenomenon known in psychology as 'attention residue.' This impairs your ability to think clearly and make decisions regarding the new task.
The concept of 'attention residue' was introduced in 2009 by Dr. Sophie Leroy, a professor at the University of Minnesota. According to her, when we leave a task incomplete and immediately jump to another, our performance capacity drops sharply.
For instance, if you look up stock market updates on your phone while drafting a serious news article, your mind will remain preoccupied with those numbers even after you put the phone down. This 'mental residue' lingering in the brain prevents you from giving full focus to the new task immediately. As a result, errors creep into your work, and decision-making capabilities weaken.
The Exception: When is Multitasking Possible?
According to psychology, multitasking is somewhat possible under only one condition: when one task is completely 'automatic' (automated) and the other requires an active mind.
Examples include listening to music or talking to someone while driving, or talking on the phone while walking. Here, walking or driving (if you are an experienced driver) happens automatically through the brain's 'procedural memory,' requiring minimal mental energy. However, if a sudden hazard appears on the road, the brain instantly halts the conversation and redirects its entire focus toward operating the vehicle.
If the tasks are intellectual and creative—such as writing news or articles, conducting financial analysis, reading a book, or engaging in a serious discussion—multitasking becomes impossible. Attempting it under these conditions does not mean you are finishing work faster; it only exhausts your brain and invites errors.
Therefore, psychology prioritizes 'single-tasking' or 'deep work' over multitasking. Dedicating full attention to one task at a time enhances both efficiency and quality.
Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist who revolutionized behavioral economics and the psychology of attention, stated that our mental effort and capacity for attention function like a limited budget. When you attempt to perform two complex tasks simultaneously, you stretch your budget beyond its limits, resulting only in failure.
He explained the limitations of attention in detail within his groundbreaking 1973 book Attention and Effort and later in his 2011 book Thinking, Fast and Slow. According to him, the brain possesses a fixed 'processing capacity.' If you are driving and another vehicle suddenly overtakes you, your brain instantly stops listening to the person sitting next to you during that critical moment. He presented this theory to prove that the brain cannot handle the burden of two high-energy tasks simultaneously.
Dr. Earl Miller, a world-renowned expert on the prefrontal cortex and attentional control systems, and a neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), states that people live in the illusion that they are multitasking. In reality, they are merely making a hazardous 'cognitive jump' from one task to another. Our brain is hardwired to hold only one thought at a time.
He emphasized this point across various scientific journals and media interviews following numerous brain-scan studies conducted at his MIT laboratory between 2009 and 2015.
Using MRI scans, Miller observed the brain activity that occurs when people attempt to multitask. He discovered that when a person shifts attention, the brain takes time to erase old information and load new data. This creates 'cognitive jarring' (a mental jolt) in the brain, which hinders creativity and increases the stress hormone (cortisol).
To understand the psychological and neuroscientific aspects of multitasking deeply, the book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World, co-authored by Dr. Adam Gazzaley (Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of California) and Dr. Larry D. Rosen (Professor Emeritus of Psychology), serves as an exceptional and relevant resource.
Published in 2016, the book explains that our brains are bound by an evolutionary process dating back to ancient times, giving them limited capacity. However, today's high-tech world, filled with technology, constantly forces us to multitask. This clash between 'modern technology' and the 'ancient brain' represents the core problem of multitasking.
In the book, Dr. Gazzaley explains that when we attempt to multitask, two types of 'interference' occur in the brain:
Distractions: Irrelevant occurrences (such as a phone notification buzzing next to you while working) that disrupt focus despite the brain's attempts to block them out.
Interruptions: Decisions we consciously make ourselves (such as checking emails or stock market updates midway through writing an article).
Research indicates that both forms of interference degrade the brain's performance. A crucial finding in this book notes that as people age, their 'task switching' capacity weakens even further. While younger generations may consider themselves adept at multitasking, laboratory results show that their attention and quality of work decline just as much—they simply do not realize it.
Our prefrontal cortex contains a 'cognitive bottleneck'—a narrow corridor. Just as vehicles on a wide highway encounter a traffic jam when they suddenly reach a narrow bridge, the brain's processing system jams when numerous pieces of information delivered by technology attempt to enter that narrow corridor simultaneously.
Gazzaley and Rosen arrive at a striking conclusion in The Distracted Mind. They note that while our environment is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, our brain still possesses the limited capacity of the ancient era. When we attempt to drive this ancient brain across emails, writing, and social media all at once, a cognitive bottleneck forms. Science shows that we are not multitasking; we are simply jamming our own brains.
Do One Thing at a Time, and Do It Well
Exactly! The ultimate mantra to escape the illusory world of multitasking and achieve outstanding results is: "Do one thing at a time, and do it well."
In psychological terms, this is referred to as 'single-tasking' or 'deep work.' Excellence and creativity emerge in work only when we prevent our mental energy and focus from scattering, keeping them centered on a single point instead.
No matter how much today's corporate world advocates for multitasking, Dr. Cal Newport, a prominent commentator on modern psychology, flatly rejects it. In his acclaimed book Deep Work, he argues that the only path to achieving exceptional results is to avoid fracturing your attention and focus entirely on a single task instead. Aligning with this philosophy, Gary Keller also emphasizes in his book The One Thing that the secret to success is not taking on numerous tasks, but rather 'doing one thing at a time and doing it excellently.'
Dr. Cal Newport, a professor of computer science at Georgetown University and a well-known analyst of modern work culture, productivity, and human behavior, coined the term 'deep work' for the art of doing one thing at a time in his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (2016). He describes this ability as a 'superpower' in today's technology-driven world.
Newport writes, "The depth of your attention is directly proportional to the quality of your work. If you want to produce unique and high-quality work, you must narrow and deepen your focus."
According to him, when we immerse ourselves completely in just one task at a time, our brain strengthens its neuronal networks and we enter a 'flow state' where errors drop to zero and creativity reaches its peak.
Similarly, The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan stands out as a revolutionary book written specifically around the philosophy of focusing on one task at a time. This book completely dismantles the illusion of multi-dimensional work.
The core philosophy of the book suggests that if you desire extraordinary results in any field, you should ask yourself one question: "What is the one thing I can do right now, such that by doing it, everything else will become easier or unnecessary?"
According to the authors, multitasking is merely a 'beautiful lie.' Every individual in history who achieved great and high-quality work focused their entire energy on a single task at a time. The One Thing reinforces that the secret to success is not taking on multiple tasks, but rather 'doing one thing at a time and making it your absolute best.'
Should We Never Multitask?
If multitasking were completely forbidden or impossible, our daily routines would grind to a halt. This is where we must understand the fine line drawn by psychology regarding multitasking. Psychology suggests that multitasking is not inherently forbidden, but we must remain aware of which tasks we are pairing together (Task Pairing). It is entirely possible to combine two or three tasks that carry a low cognitive load, and we routinely do so in practice.
Combining Automatic and Cognitive Tasks (Listening to music while cooking, or talking while walking) In psychology, this is known as 'dual-task performance.' This is possible due to a specific reason. A part of our brain called 'procedural memory' handles our old habits (such as walking, chopping vegetables, or driving) automatically. This requires very little burden on the thinking part of the brain (prefrontal cortex). Therefore, while one task runs automatically, another part of the brain can listen to music or engage in a conversation.
Should you do it? Absolutely. It saves time and makes tedious chores enjoyable.
Two Tasks of the Same Nature (Preparing rice while chopping vegetables) This is called 'task sequencing' or 'batching.' In reality, this is not multitasking. Putting rice on the stove is a 'set and forget' action. While the rice comes to a boil, the mind is free, and you utilize that time to chop vegetables. The brain does not have to make two competing decisions at the exact same second.
Which Type of Multitasking Should Be Avoided? The multitasking that psychology labels as an 'illusion' and 'harmful' applies solely when both tasks demand the brain's cognitive capacity to think, analyze, and make decisions.
We make mistakes when we attempt to engage in a serious professional discussion with a colleague while writing an important office report, or when we try to listen to a client on the phone and make contractual decisions while typing an email, or when we engage in complex financial calculations on the phone while driving on a busy, unfamiliar road. (Listening to music while driving is different, but having a serious debate on the phone increases the risk of accidents).
Multitasking itself is not bad. Believing that you can multitask while performing complex intellectual operations that require critical thinking is an illusion. However, multitasking during daily household chores or automated activities demonstrates efficiency. To put it simply, you can mix physical tasks requiring hands and legs with mental work, but trying to merge two heavy mental tasks simultaneously will result in a 'short circuit.'
Various studies have concluded that even a smartphone left on the table without being checked can negatively impact a person's working memory and attentional capacity. The human brain is not a computer capable of keeping dozens of windows open simultaneously. The brain functions like a powerful flashlight; excellence is born wherever its beam is tightly focused.
Both science and psychology have proven that multitasking is not evidence of efficiency, but rather a sign of scattered attention. To become genuinely productive and creative in this noisy era of modern technology, we must accept the limitations of our ancient brains. Therefore, rather than leaving many tasks incomplete and flawed, it is wiser to embrace a single mantra: do one thing at a time, and do it well.
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