I remember when I was a kid that “multitasking” was always used as sort of a positive buzz word. It harkened back to the old adage of one “killing two birds with one stone” and thus being as efficient as possible. For these reasons I would often push myself to multitask in my youth in order to get as much done in the shortest amount of time as possible. However, now that I have broken into semi-adulthood I have realized that multitasking can be a slippery slope that leads easily to one doing very shitty work.
As pointed out in the article “The Effects of Chronic Multitasking on Analytical Writing” those who seek “High sensation” often end up multitasking because of that inherent desire. In today’s day and age high sensation seekers are practically the norm because of how much sensory input we are bombarded with at almost all times. Every moment of every day we are receiving countless notifications on our phones that carry information with them. This information fundamentally warps our brains to the point that receiving a normal amount of sensory input feels almost like sensory deprivation to people. Many people my age have called these people “Brain-Rotted” because they are now unable to function properly without being figuratively surgically attached to their phone or computer at all times.
When I was young my father would tell me to not “half-ass” anything. He instilled in me from a young age that it was better to do one thing well than multiple in a mediocre fashion. In essence, this is why multitasking can easily backfire on someone. Splitting one’s attention between multiple things means that each does not get one’s full attention, meaning that errors could more easily pass by someone without them noticing. In terms of academia, one must multitask to an extent. There is simply too much on the average college student’s plate to not multitask a little. However, the trick is to ensure that everything does get done (and ideally, done well) and to not let the amount of things that one is working on at a time overwhelm them.
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