Multitasking causes us to lose impulse control, drives down our ability to focus, and diminishes our processing power. There’s a myth that open apps, open thoughts, and multitasking makes us more productive, but research proves the opposite. People used to be able to remember nine-digit phone numbers, but now we can only remember five- or six-digit strings. Because information saturates our brains, our ability to remember digits is reduced. In other countries, phone numbers can be 10 or 11 digits. In the United States, phone numbers are nine digits, and, in the past, people often memorized them. RAM slows when a computer has too many apps open, and your working memory drops when you divide your attention. Think of working memory like a computer’s random-access memory (RAM). Strong executive function is important for any professional, and working memory (the brain’s ability to hold information temporarily) is a key component of strong executive function. Executive function is responsible for paying attention, organizing and planning, initiating tasks and focusing on them, and regulating emotions.
Surprise, surprise - when my kids close them, my phone works faster. My phone slows to a stop because I have 60 apps running simultaneously. “Dad, look how many apps you have open!” I forget to close them and think it doesn’t matter, but it does. If we think of the brain as a computer processor, then a multitasking brain is like a smartphone with multiple apps open. To deal with the unending stream of information, we divide our attention and multitask, but the efficacy of multitasking is a myth. When I learn something new, I shove a fat penguin off the other side, and that’s the way it goes.” Close Your Apps “You can only fit a certain number of penguins on an iceberg. “Well, information - look at it like an iceberg,” he replied. I thought, The amount of information this guy stores in his brain is amazing, so I asked him, “How do you remember everything you need to know?” And he said, “You know, Joe, it’s like penguins on an iceberg.”
He is constantly training and filling his brain with new information: how to operate in different climates, at different altitudes, on different teams, and with different skillsets. My friend Chuck is a pararescueman (PJ) in the U.S. Our generation suffers from infobesity, and it’s damaging our ability to focus. Somebody once told me, “The brain is an amazing processor but a terrible storage device.” Yet we consume more and more information every day, and this unending stream overloads our brains.