"Multitasking is the biggest con the modern world has ever sold us, right up there with fad diets that promise you can eat nothing but cheddar cheese and still lose ten pounds. Dr. Steve Robbins, the 2024 keynote speaker at the American Marketing Association Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, reminded us that people are not wired to process multiple high-level tasks simultaneously."
"Multicost of Multitasking, a 2019 article published by the NIH (originally from Cerebrum), makes it pretty darn clear that multitasking is a misnomer because the human brain lacks the architecture to process multiple cognitive tasks simultaneously. Instead, our brain is an expert task "switchster" which undermines productivity and efficiency. Thanks, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex ( the brain's executive, including attention coordination, applying rules, and inhibiting distractions)."
"This makes it central to deciding which task rules are active at any moment. Think of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (in the vicinity of your forehead) as a sweaty stage manager, orchestrating all the mental spotlights, while the anterior cingulate cortex (below the prefrontal cortex) steps in as the director, calling for a scene change when one task is done and the next clamors for..."
Multitasking is largely a myth because the human brain lacks the architecture to execute multiple high-level cognitive tasks at the same time. The brain performs rapid context switches between tasks rather than true parallel processing, and those switches degrade productivity and efficiency. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex functions as the executive center by coordinating attention, applying task rules, and inhibiting distractions. The anterior cingulate cortex monitors performance and signals when to shift from one task to another. Frequent switching imposes cognitive costs, reduces effectiveness, and undermines sustained focus on complex tasks.
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