Who are called multitaskers, are multitaskers more successful?

When I graduated from university, I was aware that I was entering a difficult process. I wanted to start my career in the right place and work with the right company and managers. I thought beginnings were important for success. I had a dream of working in an institution that would take me forward and improve myself.

During this difficult process, I was also facing my fears. The question that swirled around in my mind was whether I had the skills and equipment to work for the company I wanted. I was questioning whether I would meet the demands of the institutions and their managers.

I started applying for jobs. During these applications, I cannot forget a word that I constantly see in the features section: Multi-tasking.

With this word, which I did not understand at first, but which I understood later, institutions meant the ability to do more than one job at the same time or the ability to quickly switch from one activity to another.

After thinking about it, I realized that I was not very good at this, and I was upset. Ever since I was a kid, whenever I tried to multi-task, both feet would slip into one shoe and I would fail. I had a habit of only being able to focus on one thing. Today I realize that the part of me that I was sad about as a child was actually my strong feature.

Today, companies emphasize having multi-tasking in their job postings and put it at the top of the features sought for the job to be done.

People have been proud of multi-tasking for years and continue to be proud of it.

That's why, when I go to a bank branch, the banker is talking to me, while he is looking at his computer and doing my job, he answers the phone calls and talks to another customer who has just arrived at the branch.

That's why, during an important meeting, the manager who manages the meeting reads the messages coming to his phone or follows the work from his computer at the same time.

This must be why I hear these words around me a lot:

“I can write my e-mail while talking to you.”

“We work and chat at the same time.”

“I can get things done while I listen to you.”

“I can hold meetings while taking care of my child.”

All the researches done in recent years show that there is a big mistake in multitasking. Multi-tasking is actually a habit that tires the brain and reduces its efficiency.

We think that we can do more than one job at the same time, thus saving time and increasing efficiency. Whereas,

While we think we are gaining time, our brain has difficulty switching from one activity to another and wastes unnecessary energy. This comes back to us as a feeling of burnout at the end of the day.

We make more mistakes when we think we are working more efficiently. According to studies conducted in the United States, 14 percent of fatal traffic accidents occur because of using the phone while driving.

It has been proven that when we try to do more than one task at the same time, our memory is also affected. If you're complaining at the end of the day that you can't remember important details, you need to give up your multitasking habit.

The human brain does not have the capacity to focus on more than one task at the same time. According to research by neuroscientists, trying to focus on more than one thing at the same time reduces a person's productivity by 20-40 percent.

Don't try to do too many things at once. This habit makes you an unproductive and tired person. It lowers your quality of life.

Institutions should also benefit from this research and seek people who have the capacity to focus instead of multitasking.

It is time to raise our awareness of multi-tasking and listen to the words of Confucius:

“If you chase two rabbits at the same time, you can't catch both.”