Summary Of How And Why To Stop Multitasking

Two articles were recently published on multitasking one was for it and one was against it, I agreed most with the arguments made for it. “How and Why to Stop Multitasking” by Peter Bregman gives several good points on how quitting multitasking will improve production and quality of life. The other article, “In Defense of Multitasking” By David Silverman argues that multitasking is crucial for survival in today’s world. He claims we need multitasking as much as we need air. I found the advice in “How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking” was more useful to me, because David Silverman explained how multitasking lowers productivity, takes attention away from your loved ones, and increases stress which are all things I have experienced personally. Both authors had good arguments on multitasking however I agreed most with Peter bregman’s “Why to Stop Multitasking”.
Peter Bregman, in his article, “How (and Why) to stop Multitasking”, calls attention to the study that shows a 10 point drop in IQ in people distracted by incoming calls or emails. I can see how this could be very true. With a loss of focus, how could one expect to use the full potential of their brains? Bregman also points to another study showing that productivity can drop by as much as 40% with interruptions because changing tasks takes time. In the article, “In Defense of Multitasking”, David Silverman argues multitasking “keeps others from being held up” because they don’t have to wait while only one project is worked on. While this also is true, perhaps one would rather be held up slightly to receive your undivided attention later rather than your distracted and slow attention right away. Focusing on one task at a time can save time and produce higher quality work. Multitasking can cause mistakes, lower IQ, and