‘Infomania’ distractions reduce intelligence and mental sharpness
A 2005 HP study found that ‘infomania’ distractions from incoming email and phone calls led to a 10-point fall in respondents’ IQs – over twice the IQ drop experienced after smoking marijuana. Over half of the 1,100 respondents admitted to responding to emails immediately. The psychologist who conducted the study, Dr Glenn Wilson, said that ‘infomania’ can reduce mental sharpness, and those constantly breaking away from tasks to react to distractions suffer effects similar to losing a night’s sleep.
Distractions and multitasking can slow us down and cause brain overload, stress and inefficiency
Research from Professor Miller, a neuroscientist from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that rather than truly multitasking, the human brain simply switches rapidly between tasks, putting greater stress on our brains than if we conducted those tasks one after another. Further, if we simultaneously focus on two similar tasks – tasks that use the same part of the brain such as talking on the phone while writing an email – we can overload our brains’ processing capacity, leading to inefficiency.
Meanwhile, the Journal of Experimental Psychology reported on an American study which found that it took students up to 40 per cent longer to solve maths problems when switching between multiple tasks. The study also observed increases in stress, and a negative cycle in which we multitask to get things done quickly, feel stressed when tasks take longer than expected, and then persist with inefficient multitasking in a vain attempt to catch up. Research from the University of California also found that interruptions can cause significantly higher stress levels, frustration and pressure.
Heavy multitaskers may become less resistant to distractions
Experiments from Stanford University analysed ‘media multitaskers’, defined as people who consume “more than one item or stream of content at the same time”. They found that ‘heavy’ multitaskers perform worse on task-switching tests than ‘light’ multitaskers, and are “more susceptible to interference”. In other words, the more we multitask the more inherently prone to distractions we become.
Finding focus
Some multitask better than others, and some more easily deal with distractions. Even so, research suggests that avoiding distractions and focusing solely on one task can improve intelligence, mental sharpness and productivity, and reduce stress. Being conscious of these observations when planning tasks means you can more proactively avoid distractions and find focus when you need it.
Practical tips
List your most important tasks and find ways to avoid distractions and interruptions when doing them. Block out ‘sacred’ time segments to focus on single tasks. Take steps such as silencing your email and mobile or escaping to a quieter place to work. Above all – when beginning a key task – pledge to ignore other tasks and distractions and focus solely on the job at hand. As a rule check emails, texts and other distractions on a schedule – such as every three hours – rather than responding to them constantly. If you must multitask: avoid doing so in the afternoon – post lunch fatigue plus multitasking equals brain overload; only multitask simpler tasks; and avoid multitasking similar tasks such as email and phone calls. And, when you feel distracted, stressed or inefficient: take a break, then re-find your focus.
