Why Multitasking Doesn't Work

Are you a good multi-tasker? Although it may feel as if you're ticking things off the list, recent studies say multitasking makes you less productive and more stressed.

Stanford University researchers found that it led to more mistakes and longer time needed to perform tasks.

An American psychiatrist, Dr Edward Hallowell, who studied multitasking over two decades declared modern workers to be chronic sufferers of "Attention Deficit Trait", having lost the ability to focus, and had become "frenzied underachievers".

The brain's reaction to multiple tasks at the same time is to try to solve them all at once. There is inbuilt inefficiency in this. If you're writing an email and answering the phone, it takes a few minutes to properly switch tasks. There is much time lost in transitions.

Research shows the human mind wanders in 47 per cent of our waking hours. But training in the ancient practice of mindfulness can make for better workers.

It's basically about learning how to manage your attention. The mind is like a muscle; it can be strengthened and toned to make you more present. And it can be trained to more effectively engage in everyday work activities to be more productive, efficient, collaborative and creative.

 Ask for a copy of the report on the first Australian CBMT (Corporate Based Mindfulness Training) Program here

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