Multi-tasking is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days. It’s important to understand what it is, and why it doesn’t work.

Multi-tasking is when we juggle multiple things (thoughts and actions) at the same time. It may surprise you to hear, people who multi-task are less productive than those who just concentrate on one project a time.

Stanford University research confirms that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time. The researchers found that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time.

This was supported by a Harvard Business Review, which indicated multi-tasking leads to as much as a 40% drop in productivity, a 10% drop in IQ, and increased stress levels (Bergman, 2010).

Perhaps there is no better example that illustrates why multitasking doesn’t work than a distracted driver.