Have you ever had those days when you just can’t focus? One minute you’re completely immersed in a work assignment, the next you’re messaging your friends in a group chat and catching up on online showbiz gossip while watching videos of dogs chasing their own tails.
The end result is you get nothing done and you’re left feeling incredibly frustrated. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone and it may not be entirely your fault.
Many experts believe our brains aren’t prepared for the rapidly growing bundle of digital distractions that we are bombarded with, leaving us feeling sluggish and ultimately less productive. What we are facing is a very 21st Century problem.
Some experts now believe that there’s actually no such thing as multitasking – we just switch our focus from task to task extremely quickly. This could be having some serious consequences for how our brains function.
Cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist Daniel J Levitin claims that, on average, we are taking in information equivalent to the content of 175 newspapers every day. That’s five times more more than we did 30 years ago. Our brains seek out novelty and, with the vast array of devices we have at our disposal, the temptation to multitask can be overwhelming.