The Multi Tasking Brain

Do you ever feel like your brain isn’t sharp anymore?

Do you struggle to get things done?

It’s totally normal. Even top lawyers have off days.

A common cause is multitasking.

Multitasking leads to a 40% drop in productivity and increases errors.

Although multitasking can seem a productive way to plough through work, our brains struggle when flip flopping from one task to another.

A study of Microsoft employees showed workers took on average 15 minutes to return to intense mental work like report writing or coding after responding to messages or emails.

So, shake off the multitasking habit.

> Our brains are at their most energetic in the mornings (even if our bodies disagree on chilly January mornings!) So, do arduous work early in the day.

> Break down chunky tasks into smaller pieces and tick those off so you can see progress. I recommend downloading one of the many Pomodoro technique apps to help with this.

> Our brains love a hit of dopamine, so complete a task then reward yourself. Ticking it off a ‘to do’ list is satisfying. Chocolate works too!

Written by Jason Connolly