Multi-Tasking And Juggling

We like to think that we can multitask, but we can’t be present in all areas at all times. “We know from several really well-conducted studies into human psychology and brain science that we don’t actually multi-task. Not in the sense that we’re doing two activities at the same time with sufficient focus. Instead, the human brain ‘task switches’ constantly between the two different demands vying for its attention. And it doesn’t switch all that well. Think of task switching as less like multi-tasking and more like juggling. You have a couple different balls in the air, but you’re only really touching one at a time. You’re catching and releasing quickly and hopefully paying just enough attention to the other balls that as they’re coming down you can swoop in and catch a new one just after releasing the prior” (David Burkus, “Why You Can’t Multi-Task,” Creative Leadership [blog], Psychology Today, November 15, 2018, (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/creative-leadership/201811/why-you-can-t-multi-task).