Bits: Message to Executives: Stop Multitasking

I spent the last year reporting and writing about the effects of heavy technology use on the brain. It figures that I’d suffer some of them myself.

In the wash of information I looked at for our series, “Your Brain On Computers,” I missed the publication in January of? “Recovering from Information Overload,” an article that advises corporate executives on the “perils of multitasking.”

The article cites various studies in arguing that multitasking slows down production, hampers creativity, makes people anxious and can be addictive. But what’s particularly noteworthy is the source: McKinsey Quarterly, a publication from the worldwide consulting firm.

This article was written by and for hard-charging corporate people — not researchers, theoreticians or nut-and-berry eaters singing Kumbaya and urging everyone to just slow down, man.

“Always on, multitasking work environments are killing productivity, dampening creativity, and making us unhappy,” the article begins. It goes on to say that “these scourges hit CEO’s and others in the C-suite particularly hard” because senior executives need time and focus to synthesize lots of information, and make good judgments.

In pithy fashion, the article urges executives to cope by Focusing (do one thing at a time), Filtering (delegating so that you don’t take on too many tasks or too much information) and Forgetting (read: exercise, take breaks, clear your head).

“Addressing information overload takes enormous self-discipline,” the article reads.

Of course, if executives are multitasking as much as the authors suggest (and as I apparently am), they probably missed the article.