More Evidence That Multitasking Reduces Productivity

bdking writes "A recent study by a Louisiana State University psychology professor adds more evidence to the argument that the human brain is incapable of performing numerous tasks without memory and productivity loss. 'In four separate experiments, both local second-graders and LSU psychology students were shown words on a computer screen and instructed to remember them in the correct sequence. As the participants read the words, they also sometimes heard unrelated words in the headphones all were wearing. Adults in the LSU study showed a word recall performance drop of 10% on average, while the second-graders’ performance diminished by up to 30% on average.'"

Comments

Propose addition to the dictionary

[Psychotria]

I propose that a new word is added to the English dictionary: distraction.

Re:Here's the thing.

[obarel]

Here's the thing: would you like to do things once and finish them, or keep fixing the mistakes you've made while being distracted?

Coooperative or Preemptive Multitasking?

[zhiwenchong]

I find I'm very productive when I focus on short tasks and switch between them (sort of like how co-routines work).

I'm not productive when I'm doing more than one thing at a time.

Re:noshit

[Yvan256]

Hence the expression "it's not rocket surgery".