2 Management Consulting * What is it? * Paying Attention * Your Brain on Multi-tasking * Delusions...

*Welcometo

Multi-Tasking:Myth or Reality?

2 Management Consulting

*Agenda

*What is it?

*Paying Attention

*Your Brain on Multi-tasking

*Delusions – Fooling Ourselves

*In the Real World

*Summary and Conclusion

*???

Management Consulting


*What is it?


* The ability to perform multiple tasks at one time

* or it can also involve switching back and forth from one thing to another

* or involve performing a number of tasks in rapid succession


*New Expectations

*E-mail

*Texting

*Phone

*Web


*An Example

*Posting on Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, Instagram, etc.

*Answering e-mail

*Texting

*Writing a report

*Completing a spreadsheet

*Listening to music/podcast


*Fact

*The human brain can only perform

1

task at a time.


*Paying Attention

* Mind Wandering (Default Mode Network)

* Mind wandering or day dreaming

* Natural and restful brain state

* Brain not engaged in a purposeful task

* Thoughts directed inward – goals, feelings, plans and relationship with others (feeling empathy)

* Central Executive

* Demanding task

* Prevent distraction

* Limiting thoughts

* Thoughts directed outward and inward – task focus

* Attentional Filter – constant monitor of environment for what is important

* Attentional Switch – enables us to

* Shift from one task to another

* Organize information


*The Illusion

*Multitasking

isa

powerful

and

diabolical

Illusion!

9

*Your Brain on Multi-tasking

Frequent multitaskers:

*Cannot pay attention

*Recall information, or

*Switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time

*Are actually worse at multitasking

*Slowed down on task performance

*Have reduced work quality by 40%

~~ Results of research conducted at Stanford University


*The Brain Chemistry

* Stress hormone cortisol

* Fight or flight hormone adrenaline

*Causing mental fog or scrambled thinking

*Creates a dopamine-addiction feedback loop by rewarding the brain for losing focus and constantly searching for external stimulation

*Pre-frontal cortex novelty bias – easily hijacked by something new and shiny

*Pattern – phone, internet, email, SMS, texting tweaks the novelty-seeking, reward-seeking brain centers causing a burst of endogenous opioids

*Result –> lose focus and get off task



*MT Crack

*Nucleus accumbens a small structure of the limbic system

*Regulates dopamine production and is the region that “lights up” when gamblerswin a bet, drug addicts take cocaine, or people have orgasms

*Email-, Facebook- and Twitter-checking reward the dumb, novelty-seeking portion of the brain driving the limbic system that induces this feeling of pleasure,

*Not the planning, scheduling, higher-level thought centers in the prefrontal cortex


*Outcome

*Reduces efficiency and performance

*Lowers IQ by 15 points – similar to smoking marijuana or staying up all night

*Lowers brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex (responsible for empathy and cognitive and emotional control)

~~ Results of research conducted at the Glenn Wilson, Gresham College, London


*Impact on Learning

*Learning information while multitasking causes new information to go to wrong part of the brain – striatum (brain region specialized for storing new procedures and skills) rather than hippocampus (brain region specialized for organizing and categorizing facts easier to retrieve)

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*Delusion

An erroneous belief held in the face of contrary evidence.

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*Levels of Delusion

*Inattention – autopilot, multitasking

*Denial – not believe what is right before our eyes

*Misperception of Reality – threatens our most cherished assumptions/beliefs


*Out of Gas

MT causes:

*The prefrontal cortex and striatum to burn up oxygenated glucose, the same fuel they need to stay on task

*The brain to burn through fuel so quickly that we feel exhausted and disoriented after even a short time

*Anxiety, which raises levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the brain, which in turn can lead to aggressive and impulsive behavior


*In the Real World

Distracted Drivers

*Chances of having an accident:

* 4 times more likely while talking on cell

*23 times more likely while texting on cell


*Decision Fatigue

MT requires lots of decision-making resulting in:

*Loss of impulse control

*Making truly bad decisions about something important

*Decision avoidance

*Reduced ability to make trade-offs


*Summary

*Human brain cannot multi-task

*So called multi-taskers are justrapidly switching from one activityto another

*Psychological Harms

*Inability to concentrate/focus

*40% reduction in productivity

*Decision fatigue


*Conclusion

*Multi-tasking is a Myth

2 Management Consulting * What is it? * Paying Attention * Your Brain on Multi-tasking * Delusions...

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