Multitasking doesn’t exist – only rapid switching.

Question on this card

What does the brain do during so-called multitasking?

1. Runs both tasks in parallel
2. Switches rapidly between tasks
3. Assigns one task to each hemisphere
4. Prioritises tasks automatically

Related cards

• Quickly checking email costs more than the minute.Sophie Leroy showed in 2009 that switching from an unfinished task to a new one leaves part of your …
• Why a 10-minute nap works better than 30 minutes.In 2006 Brooks and Lack compared naps of 5, 10, 20 and 30 minutes. The 10-minute nap produced the …
• Nearly half your day, you're thinking about something else.In 2010 Killingsworth and Gilbert sampled 2,250 adults at random moments via an app. In 46.9 …
• 21 days to form a habit? The study says otherwise.In 2010 Phillippa Lally tracked 96 people who repeated a new routine daily, such as drinking a …
• 20 percent of your work delivers 80 percent of the result.Vilfredo Pareto noticed in 1896 that 20 percent of Italians owned 80 percent of the land. The …
• Why your deadline always takes longer than planned.In 1994 Buehler and colleagues asked students when they'd finish their thesis. The average estimate …
• Why you recall a list's start and end, not its middle.Learn a list of 15 words and you'll recall the first and last ones best. The first ones you had …
• Your phone distracts you even when it's off.In 2017 Ward and colleagues gave about 800 people concentration tests. Their silenced phone was …

Keep reading

This card belongs to the topic Mind & Everyday. Every card is short, cites a source and can be saved – due ones come back by themselves later.

About Doomlearn · Projects · Legal notice · Privacy · Terms