How Many Things Do You Do At Once?

My mother had this weird habit: she would turn down the radio in the car when she felt lost, so she could think. I thought it was weird. In the house, when she was trying to concentrate on say, a new recipe, she would turn off the music until she had all the ingredients assembled. It turns out that she really wasn’t nuts. It was her brain on overload. Too much information, not enough processing skill. But thinking is a skill, like everything else. If we work at it, we get better. If we don’t, well…turn down the radio.

Neuroscience once again explains this odd behavior. By now, most of us know that multi-tasking doesn’t work. You can go back and forth with two tasks, but doing two things at the same time diminishes both. It’s harder, and takes longer, which defeats the purpose of trying to get more done in a shorter amount of time. It is quicker to prioritize the work that needs to be done, then accomplish it one task at a time. According to Steven Yantis, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, listening, say, on a cell phone and driving at the same time has a cost. Driving suffers. Another example that cell phones and driving don’t mix. Like we need more reminders.

It is also more difficult to think at all, much less multi-task when you are tired or depressed. Your brain just isn’t functioning. It needs fuel and activation, and maybe some rest.

We have a need to do more, with less time. It’s nuts! Sometimes slowing down speeds you up, because you can concentrate on one thing at a time, giving it your full attention, then moving on to one more thing. That way, you don’t feel overwhelmed during the day and frazzled at the end of it. You feel good about what you did, leaving you refreshed to do it again tomorrow, instead of dreading a repeat of the frustration of today.

Accomplishing tasks to “done, but not great” has another cost as well: stress. And by now you know, if I have harped enough about this, stress ages us prematurely, and shortens our lives. I don’t care how cool it is, smoking a cigarette, yakking on your cell phone, eating lunch (because you are running late), and driving all at the same time is not a good idea.

By working on tasks one at a time, you get better at each task, and accomplish more. It’s one less stress.

That’s Aging Intelligently.