The Cost of divided attention:

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​Welcome back to the GSD (Get Stuff Done) for Social Good blog! This space shares evidence-based best practices in organizational management and celebrates leaders and organizations driving meaningful impact. In this issue, I’m focused on the evidence around multitasking, a behavior so embedded in our culture that most of us view it as a skill to hone rather than a habit to break. A scan of job descriptions notes that this skill is evident in many—if not most—jobs at non-profit organizations. 

As part of my continuing education, I’m enrolled in a certificate program on neuroleadership through the NeuroLeadership Institute. This program explores how insights from brain science can transform leadership and workplace culture. One thing has become painfully clear: as a society, we violate many of the best practices derived from neuroscience. Multitasking is one example.  

The Brain on Multitasking
Multitasking may feel productive, but it harms your brain’s ability to focus. Multitasking impairs your brain’s ability to focus. A 2009 Stanford study found that frequent media multitaskers—those who switch between TV, phones, and social media—perform worse on tests of attention and memory. High-media users even show cognitive patterns similar to ADHD, training their brains for distraction instead of focus.  More recent research supports these findings. A 2020 Stanford study revealed that media multitasking impairs memory and increases attention lapses, reinforcing that, over time, frequent multitasking weakens cognitive performance.

The Illusion of Efficiency
Multitasking creates an illusion of productivity, but research shows it’s one of the least efficient ways to work. As the American Psychological Association notes, numerous studies confirm that task-switching—jumping between two or more tasks slows down task completion and increases the likelihood of errors.  One study quantifies the impact multitasking can have with their finding that an office worker takes an average of 25 minutes to return to their original task after being interrupted. Though it feels like you’re getting more done, multitasking reduces the quality of your output, drains mental energy, and sets you up for inefficiency and frustration.

The Ripple Effects of Multitasking
What surprised me most was that the adverse effects of multitasking extend beyond the individual engaging in it. A 2003 Cornell University study found that students seated near others multitasking on laptops performed worse on comprehension and retention tasks, demonstrating how even passive exposure to multitasking impairs focus. This underscores the collective costs of multitasking, highlighting the need to minimize distractions in shared spaces to enhance focus and learning.

What We Believe vs. What the Data Shows
You might think, “But this data doesn’t apply to me. I’m a good multi-tasker!” Think again! A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that most people underestimate how much task-switching reduces productivity and overestimate their ability to juggle multiple tasks effectively (Rubinstein, Meyer, & Evans, 2001).   This disconnect perpetuates a culture that celebrates busyness over effectiveness. Multitasking feels productive in the moment, but it’s a poor substitute for focused, deliberate effort.

Attention Is Limited
At its core, the issue with multitasking is that attention is a finite resource. Dividing attention between tasks leads to impaired learning, weaker memory, and diminished overall performance. Brain activity becomes less efficient when people divide attention, impairing immediate and long-term learning. In other words, your brain simply isn’t built to multitask effectively. Focusing on one task at a time isn’t just a best practice—it’s a biological necessity.

A Call to Action
In this GSD for Social Good issue, I challenge us all—leaders, managers, and changemakers alike—to break free from the multitasking myth. The data is overwhelming and compelling: multitasking is inefficient, impairs performance, and harms our ability to focus. Let’s prioritize sustained attention, celebrate deep work, and recognize that productivity isn’t about doing everything at once—it’s about doing the right things well. The NeuroLeadership Institute offers the following tips: 

“Apply the 20-minute rule: Develop the self-discipline to laser focus on a single task for 20 minutes. Turn off social media and other notifications, put your cellphone out of sight, and close windows on your computer that aren’t related to the task at hand. Instead of obsessively checking email hundreds of times a day, for example, devote 20 minutes at the beginning and end of your day for this task. When you complete your 20 minutes, take a quick break, and then continue the same task or switch to another for 20 minutes. You’ll be surprised how much more you can accomplish in 20-minute increments without frenetically hopping from task to task.”

Stay tuned as I continue exploring insights from the NeuroLeadership Institute and share other actionable strategies for fostering more effective workplaces so that together we can Get Stuff Done for Social Good.   

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