Multitasking- boon or bane?

Technology has made life easier but managing all the aspects of life has never been tougher. There are many jobs to be completed viz. friendships to be maintained, family to be taken care of, studies to be kept on track, social media to be followed etc.

Completing one task at a time seems hectic and outrageous but most of us have multiple tasks to perform which leaves us exhausted and frustrated. To accommodate multi tasks 24 hours seem less.

This has made multi-tasking a mundane phenomenon. It’s very rare that one is spotted performing a single task. But is really multi-tasking as good as it seems?

A recent research conducted by Stanford University found out that multitasking not only decreases the productivity of the task but also with trouble individuals in paying attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another.

Another research done at University of London showed that multi tasking lowers the IQ of performing individual.

“Multitasking is very important these days as it helps us in doing many things at the same time but what most of us forget is the quality of work”, says Sreenivas, clinical psychiatrist.

“It surely has bad effects on brain but as it is a must in this hectic schedule one has to take care that they limit it”, he adds.

“For someone who has to take care of the home, work and kids multi tasking is the only option. Most of the working women cannot spend much time on every task in a very limited time”, felt Bhavani Krishna, a senior biotechnology lecturer.

The Pros

Finish up simple tasks at once: We have plethora of simple tasks to do ranging from cooking, cleaning, and listening to music combing these will not affect brain much.

To keep things interesting: Most of the tasks we perform are usual and sometimes boring hence adding an interesting task to the usual task might help us in performing the task faster.

Helps in handling chaos: Urban life is busy and chaotic, you are always filled with interruptions and distractions multitasking will help you in keeping things on track.

Completion of multiple tasks: A part from doing one task it always feels better to know that all your tasks are dealt with to a certain extent.

Keeps you flexible: Multitasking provides an ability to use multiple technologies simultaneously, which keeps people of all ages adaptable, relevant and employable.

The Cons

Delay in progress: It is hard to shift from one task to another. Lack of concentration is the major problem arising from multitasking.

Decreased attention: Dividing your attention leads to a significant decrease in not just productivity, but also in the quality of completed work.

Reduction of cognitive ability: Human brain cannot handle a lot of tasks just like any other muscle of human body it also gets tiered eventually leaving you exhausted. Disruption: Multitasking helps you in dealing with multiple issues but a sudden distraction can kill your thought process.

Mental pressure: Regular multitasking will make you believe that have done a lot of work.

By:Vaishnavi Girish