Multitasking and Remembering, Is It Possible?
By Livia Oettinger
We all think that we can multitask, but we cannot. I remember many times where I have been out with friends or in a class lecture when I look up and asked someone “Sorry, what did you say?”—we have all been there. Whether that was sending a message to someone or focusing on another task, I thought I would be able to focus and also recall at the same time, but I could not. As a college student, we try and balance many different tasks at once, but there are many distractions that can affect our attention, memory, and thinking. Sure, we can walk and talk at the same time, but can we direct our mind to something else while holding our attention? What happened in that moment where we briefly focus on something else?
We are overworking our brains when we try and multitask. There are many varied reasons why people may want to multitask like saving time, avoiding procrastination, increasing productivity, employment, and more. We may think that employers will want to hire us because we can do many things at once, but this is taking away from our ability to concentrate and allow for critical thinking. In the workplace, it is important to focus and complete tasks effectively and successfully, and if we are trying to do many things at once, that task may not be done correctly or in a timely manner.
In Dr. Julia Shaw’s book, The Memory Illusion, she explains that when people think they are multitasking, they are switching to another task very fast at a cognitive cost, meaning the mental effort in our brain switching from one task to another. She also explains that while we may think that we are getting things done quicker, we are just increasing the capacity of items in our brain that affect our working memory, which can lead to overworking (Shaw, p.7). The consequences of multitasking can affect our ability to remember and recall things later, but also increase stress levels (Bregman, 2010). This represents myself when it comes to my school-work life balance. I am a very work-oriented person, but I attempt to overload myself whether it is drafting a paper on my break or sending an email to my professor at work, or in lecture and messaging my manager about my hours and shifts at work. Either way, this is benefiting me, but it creates high stress levels so what can we do to prevent this?
The most important tip and trick is to slow down. Stress levels may decrease by focusing on one task and slowing down, being in the moment, and being more refreshed to take on other tasks when needed. To avoid multitasking, it is important to try and focus on one thing at a time. When you are having coffee with friends, try, and wait to respond to that message from someone else so you can be present in that conversation. Our brains are wired to respond strongly to social messaging, whether it is verbal or non-verbal (Atchley, 2010). When you are in class at lecture, try and avoid checking your phone or having that side conversation with your neighbor. We can also take breaks in between tasks and even reward ourselves. This may be driving to Starbucks and getting a coffee or tea or even getting up to use the bathroom to refresh the brain, anything. In a perfect world we could do all these things at once, but that is not realistic.
Next time you are in class, put your smartphone on ‘do not disturb’ so that you are not tempted to check your phone and respond to that message, or create a balanced schedule so that you are not trying to complete many different tasks at once. Once we limit these distractions and slow down, we will be able to remember that lecture we attended or remember those moments with our family and friends.
References
Atchley, P. (2010, December 21). You Can’t Multitask, So Stop Trying. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2010/12/you-cant-multi-task-so-stop-tr
Bachmann, O., Grunschel, C., Capelle, J. D., & Fries, S. (2024). Autonomous and controlled motivation in students: An experience sampling study on multitasking, concentration, and affect from a self-determination theory perspective. Motivation Science, https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000333
Bregman, P. (2014, July 23). How (and why) to stop multitasking. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2010/05/how-and-why-to-stop-multitaski
Shaw, J. (2017). The Memory Illusion: remembering, forgetting, and the science of false memory. Random House.x.com. (2024). X (Formerly Twitter). https://x.com/dinosaurcouch/status/1469357028019773444