Monotasking is the New Multitasking

By Moira Lawler for ForbesIf you’re hunkering down at work to wrap up projects before the holiday break, chances are you’re in full-on multitasking mode. You may think it transforms you into a to-do-list-tackling machine, but it might be doing more harm than good.“Multitasking is actually a myth,” says Devora Zack, author of “Singletasking: Get More Done—One Thing at a Time.” “The brain is hardwired to only do one thing at a time.”

 So when you think you’re multitasking, you’re actually practicing something called task switching, which means your brain is bouncing back and forth between activities. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance found task switching eats up time and increases the likelihood that mistakes will be made.

What’s more, multitasking leads to stress, says Dave Crenshaw, keynote speaker and author of “The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing It All’ Gets Nothing Done.” This is exactly what you don’t need this time of year.Luckily, there’s an alternative: the reverse of multitasking, called monotasking or single tasking. Here are five situations in which to try it out, and why it might be the answer to helping you survive a jam-packed schedule—without sacrificing time, energy or quality.Read More →