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The Myth of Multitasking: Why Your Brain Can’t Handle It

A Personal Tale: The Multitasking Mirage

Ram Vadranam
6 min readApr 4, 2024
Photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash

Before you tell me you’re the king or queen of multitasking, let me share a little story.

It’s about Alex, a friend of mine, who prided himself on being the ultimate multitasker.

He would often boast about handling emails, participating in Zoom meetings, and crunching numbers on spreadsheets — all at the same moment.

Sounds impressive, right?

Well, not quite.

Despite his best efforts,

Alex’s performance reviews told a different story: missed deadlines, overlooked details, and a general sense of underachievement.

This tale isn’t unique to Alex; it’s a common scenario in today’s hyper-connected world.

So, why can’t we do multiple tasks at a time effectively? Let’s dive in. 🧐

The Science Behind Single-Tasking

A plethora of research suggests that our brains aren’t wired to handle multiple tasks as efficiently as we’d like to believe. A study from Stanford University found that heavy multitaskers are more prone to distractions, less able to maintain their attention, and ultimately, perform worse on cognitive…

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Ram Vadranam
Ram Vadranam

Written by Ram Vadranam

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