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Essays on multitasking and its effects
Essays on multitasking and its effects
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I read the article “Multitasking Can Make You Lose… Um… Focus” by Alina Tugend. (The Norton Field Guide, p. 714-718) The article explains the effects of multitasking too often. Many people feel the need to multitask to get things done during one day, but multitasking is shown to be distracting. There are certain times where it is good to multitask, but there are also times that people should focus on only one thing at a time, especially if it is an important task or conversation. Although many people say that multitasking needs to be done in order to accomplish everything they need to, it is possible to make life less stressful by prioritizing tasks that need to be done and not focusing on less significant things at the same time.
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Alina Tugend uses research in the article from Edward M. Hallowell who says, “Multitasking is shifting focus from one task to another in rapid succession. It gives the illusion that we’re simultaneously tasking, but we’re really not.” (Tugend, 2008, par. 4) Multitasking does not allow people to give their full attention to one thing, so tasks can easily be done incorrectly or with half-effort when multitasking. The article also says in a 2001 study published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology, they found, “the participants lost time when they had to move back and forth from one undertaking to another, and that took significantly longer to switch between the more complicated tasks.” (Tugend, 2008, par. 18) Changing in the middle of a task can not only cause complications in the completion of the task, but it can waste valuable time as well. Throughout the article, Tugend lacks to inform the readers of causes of multitasking, this may be because she wants the readers to agree with her viewpoint. It is obvious that the author thinks that too much multitasking is not beneficial, so including possible causes of
Gleick says in his article that by the time Michael Hartl “heads for the bathroom…each morning, he has already got his computer starting... And then, as he runs to breakfast, he…[dials] into the campus computer network, and then gets his web browser started so he can check the news while he eats. ‘I figure I save at least two or three minutes a day…” While Michael is trying to get his computer ready at the same time he is getting ready for the day, he has the potential to rush himself through his hygiene activities which could lead him to not fully completing them. As humans we always want the extra moments in our days to stretch to the maximum that they can, even if it means that we have to cut something else in our day short. We like to be able to say we did more because it gives us a boost in our ego for the day. Doing more multitasking in our days does not always mean we did do more. Switching back and forth between tasks could also take up more time than to stick to one task until it is fully done. When we multitask we have to continuously change the way our mind is thinking and what our body is doing. This could take more of a process to repeatedly get started rather than maintain a single thought on a topic and continuously let it
When we are doing a certain task we may get a text or we have to check our social media because of our addiction to it. These things cause us to drift off from what we actually are focused on. Sometimes we may be doing something, like reading, and our mind will subconsciously drift off onto another topic, like what our plans are for tomorrow. Some people do believe though that if the two tasks you are doing use different sections of the brain that it is all right to multitask. The example Restak gave of this was “an example of the principle of cerebral geography: The brain works at it’s best with the activation of different, rather than identical, brain areas. That’s why doodling while talking on the telephone isn’t a problem for most people, since speaking and drawing use different brain areas. But writing a thank you note while on the phone results in mental strain because speaking and writing share some of the same brain circuitry” (Restak 422). While this may be true, we still are not dedicating all of our time to just one specific task we are working
Humans are creatures that spent more time looking for the distraction from work than actually working. Humans are naturally easily distracted and need something to help us focus on the tasks at hand. Two stories that clearly reflect this are "Stopping by Woods on a snowy evening" by Robert Frost and "Effort by Distraction" by Josephine Miles. In Frost 's story, it shows how humans are easily distracted so we need something so push us forward the goal in mind. Mile 's poem supports this by explaining on how humans focus more on trying to distract themselves than actually working and paying attention. My artifact extends the meaning of my poem because it analyzes how humans are naturally lazy and how we need to push ourselves to continue working.
In the article, “Multitasking Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus,” Alina Tugend centralizes around the negative effects of multitasking. She shows that often with multitasking, people tend to lose focus, lack work quality, have an increase in stress, and in the end she gives a solution to all these problems. Tugend conveys her points by using understandable language, a clear division of subjects, and many reliable sources, making her article cogent.
Performing well in at certain tasks and retaining information both require a high level of attention. Multitasking requires that this attention be divided amongst different tasks. As a result, the some of the attention used for a certain task must now be used for other tasks, which affects the factors needed to complete it. Referring to an experiment that was discussed earlier, Wieth and Burns (2014) stated that even with the reward, the promise of incentive could not override the limits of people’s attention. Retaining information requires undivided attention. The key word is ‘undivided.’ According to this experiment, it is nearly impossible to have the same high level of focus while working on multiple tasks that a person would while working on one task. Once someone has reached the end of their attention span, their performance begins to falter. In a final experiment involving media multitasking and attention, Ralph, Thomson, Cheyne, and Smilek (2014) stated that multitasking can lead to mind wandering and lapses in attention, which distracts people from their tasks. These results show that once their attention is divided, it can lead to distractions and difficulty completing different tasks. It is difficult to complete one assignment while focusing on several others at the same time. Multitasking affects the attention needed for a task, which can affect everything
This news that humans are actually not talented with multitasking should come as no surprise, however, there are many people who attempt to refute this. There are numerous studies that show people who think they are multitasking are “task-switching” which is focusing on one task and moving back and forth between the two quickly (Mautz). What this does is overstimulate the brain. Instead of focusing on one task and completing it well, people try to do multiple tasks at the same time. Starting and stopping each task is not easy on the brain. Recent neuroscience research states
According to the survey of ten people, multitasking can generally be defined as doing multiple things at the same time. However, one person defined multitasking as “being able to focus and work on more than one assignment.” This definition brings up the word “focus,” which could change the meaning of multitasking. The addition of the word “focus” could be applying the APA’s idea that the brain switches its concentration to focus on one task at a time, but quickly switching from task to task during a short time period. This can be seen when someone ...
Multitasking has a long research history (e.g., McQueen, 1917) with many arguments concerning the benefits or lack thereof. While authors (e.g.Britton & Tesser, 1991) may describe multitasking as a potential time management strategy, others (e.g. Pashler, 1994) find results of studies to suggest there are limitations to a person’s ability to dual task. Although we find studies that display results that indicate multitasking is a hindrance, other studies struggle to show multitasking to pose a positive or negative.
According to The Dangers of Multitasking, the downsides of multitasking outweigh its upsides (Davies 39). Multitasking students can miss many necessary information that they really need to pass tests and understand lessons when they multitask during the lectures, which causes them to get a low grade on their tests. “Many experienced multitaskers have experienced an unexpected thing when, for example, their e-mail service was disabled for a period of time. They discovered that they were actually more productive during that period of time” (Multitasking 758). That means that multitaskers are more productive when they concentrate on one task; so students will do better on tests and in school in general, if they quit or cut back on multitasking during classes. Moreover, “The human brain works more efficiently on a single task and for sustained rather than intermitted or alternating periods of time” (Multitasking 758). So, this does not mean...
Multi-tasking is doing more than one task at a time and the average human will, in some way or form, do this throughout the day and many times without even knowing they are doing it. For the purposes of this exercise, I am multitasking by working on this exercise, watching a movie on the television, listening to music, and keeping up with lunch on the stove. Multi-tasking is a must in order to survive and is as easy as being able to breath, eat, think, and walk at the same time. Many jobs as well as raising children involve being able to multi-task. My job as an Army paralegal causes me to do many things at once and be able to keep track of many actions coming in and going out of my office. If I lose focus for a moment in these tasks, it
It will always have a negative effect on individuals, no matter how good they think they are at multitasking. Once people get distracted from something they lose the cues and information that is in their head. By losing the cues information it will never make it to users working memory, create stress, and make it hard to concentrate and process information. Too much information will get rid of the important information that they actually need to know. Distractions are caused by sound and sight.
For example, texting while taking a test causes lower scores, due to not fully being able to concentrate on the test being taken. Multitasking has been proven to lower student performance on tests, also causing them to perform poorly on memory and attention tests. Students ranging from the ages of 13 to 18 are said to be on more than six kinds of media while outside of school hours. In the multitasking article it talks about the tendency “to pay continuous partial attention,” resulting in a person being unable to completely concentrate on anything. It takes a person longer to multitask than it does for the person to complete two separate tasks, one after the other. Having to make a choice while multitasking will end up delaying the other tasks you need to accomplish. Multitaskers do worse on memory and attention tests than those who do not multitask. The affect on a reader’s attention when he or she is distracted by a phone call, email, or text message while reading is that when they
The human mind cannot handle two tasks at the same time. Actually, humans characteristically assign time to a given task prior to switching to another task. Kristanto and Abraham posit, “[the human brain possesses] a limited processing channel in the brain; therefore, the results of information from multitasking are usually capped and not optimized” (666). This means that the time allocated to each process kept being interrupted and so does the required level of concentration for addressing the problem. Consequently, the amount of time and effort used in addressing a problem in a multitasking activity is reduced significantly.
The Myth of Multitasking “There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not enough time in the year, if you will do two things at a time.” (1st paragraph) This statement seems to make multi-tasking a lost cause with no time to accomplish the missions of life if you do them two things at a time for a year. Looking at the demands of the workforce today, this belief is not possible. There is always a requirement for multi-tasking, despite the fact many organizations will not write it down on job descriptions.
Multitasking can affect the society everyday life. You can lose focus while multitasking because you're doing more than one thing at a time. Being focused on one thing can help but doing other activities can affect you. I've read the book “The Multitasking Mind” by Dario D. Salvucci Niels A Taatgen and he discussed some effects on multitasking in our daily lives. Also Mr. Dario gave some examples on how to use and learn multitasking.