Ben Andrews, an Associate Director here at Tapestry, recently read Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, which got him thinking about all the ways we might be multi-tasking in our everyday lives, and the potential negative impacts of doing so. Read on to find out what he learnt (and make sure to give it your full attention)!
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari explores how we’ve lost our ability to concentrate—both at work and in our personal lives. While it primarily examines the effects of screens and social media, it also provides fascinating insights into workplace productivity and how we can perform better.
Studies show that the average office worker spends 40% of their time under the illusion of multitasking. We can all relate to uninterrupted focus becoming increasingly rare! One study even found that most office workers never get a full hour without distractions in a typical day.
Hari identifies four key reasons why multitasking leads to more mistakes and lower productivity:
1. The Switch Cost Effect
Scientific evidence shows that even briefly glancing at an email or message forces the brain to reconfigure itself when returning to the original task. This seemingly small interruption has massive consequences. One study found that participants who checked messages while taking an IQ test scored an average of 10 points lower – twice the reduction seen in individuals who were high on cannabis. Similarly, another study revealed that receiving text notifications (without even opening them) impaired concentration as much as being over the legal drink-drive limit.
2. The “Screw-Up” Effect
When switching between tasks, the brain must backtrack to recall where it left off – and it doesn’t always do this perfectly. This process creates small errors, which accumulate over time and increase the likelihood of mistakes in our work.
3. Creativity Drain
Multitasking doesn’t just affect accuracy – it also stifles creativity. Innovative thinking comes from the brain making new connections between ideas, often unconsciously. However, when we constantly switch tasks, we remove the quiet & uninterrupted time for our brains that’s necessary to process information and generate fresh and exciting ideas.
4. Diminished Memory
One study tracked individuals who attempted to perform two tasks simultaneously. Afterward, they struggled to remember what they had done compared to those who focused on one task at a time. This suggests that multitasking weakens our ability to convert experiences into long-term memories.
The Key Takeaway
If we spend our workdays constantly switching between tasks, we become slower, more error-prone, less creative, and worse at retaining information. The solution? Prioritize focused work time – especially for demanding tasks. This could be simple, like batching emails, silencing notifications, or setting ‘do not disturb’ periods (even just 30 minutes at a time) can have a far greater impact than we realize, improving both our performance and the quality of our work.