"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 a misconception because the human brain lacks the architecture to perform multiple high-level cognitive tasks simultaneously. The brain instead rapidly switches attention between tasks, producing inefficiency and undermining productivity. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex acts as the executive controller, coordinating attention, applying rules, and inhibiting distractions to determine which task rules are active. The anterior cingulate cortex signals when to shift between tasks. Repeated task-switching increases cognitive load and degrades performance. Attempts to multitask therefore reduce effectiveness on complex work and favor single-task focus to preserve attention, rule consistency, and overall efficiency.
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