Having to multitask is a “starry task” for most people. But even if a person does two or three things at once, this does not always mean that he successfully copes with everything. Often the opposite is true: multitasking is bad for results and has nothing to do with productivity. Also, the habit of often being distracted and not finishing what you start is a sign of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Ekaterina Demyanovskaya, a candidate of medical sciences, neurologist and Gemotest Laboratory specialist, told socialbites.ca.
“Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is not a personality trait. This is a neuropsychiatric disorder in which it is difficult for children and adults to concentrate on one thing for a long time. ADHD is associated with inadequate functioning of the parts of the brain responsible for planning, self-organization, and behavior control. As a result, the person cannot focus on details, he is distracted during lectures, reading, watching movies. It is difficult for him to even maintain a conversation for a long time, ”said the expert.
Also, according to him, people with ADHD have trouble following instructions and getting things done. ADHD does not allow you to cope with even a single task. Due to lack of attention, people with this syndrome switch rapidly between different processes, but are unable to study any of them in depth. The most difficult thing for them is tedious and painstaking work. They do not like to prepare reports, fill out forms, read long texts, are often late and lose their keys, wallets, glasses, work papers and mobile phones.
That’s why it’s especially important for people with ADHD to make to-do lists, plan their days clearly, set deadlines and try to stick to them: complete one task – take on another.
“However, multitasking doesn’t usually only interfere with people with ADHD. The human brain is so organized that it’s difficult to dive into several tasks at once. A limited amount of information can be stored in short-term memory. That’s why most people can only really concentrate on two things at a time, and other duties affect, as they say, “over the top”. That’s why drivers who talk on the phone while driving crash more often than drivers who are drunk,” said Ekaterina Demyanovskaya.
Also, according to the neurologist, there are people who can do three things at once with high quality. But there are very few of them – only 2.5%, they are called supertasks.
“Multitasking requires a high level of self-organization. You need to clearly prioritize and decide quickly what is really worth distracting and what can be put off for now. The secret to the success of super missions is to combine tasks that require different efforts. For example, one thing requires maximum mental effort, while the other two can be done “on the machine”. Then there will be enough resources for everything and it will be possible to do more, ”the candidate of science concluded.
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