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The Multitasking Trap: How to Use Your Brain 100%
21.06.2024 03:30
Do you enjoy jogging or walking in the fresh air? It is good not only for your physical health but also for your concentration.
Running clears your head in the truest sense of the word.
So if work is becoming overwhelming again or you're completely overwhelmed by multitasking, start a short run. But how exactly does it help your brain?
Digitization creates a more complex world of work
Digitalization has been fundamentally changing our world of work for several years now. It is visible in almost every industry and poses completely new challenges for people.
This way, you no longer have to do just one task, but can do several tasks at the same time.
However, this is where the big problem lies, because multitasking has one downside that outweighs all the other benefits in terms of health and productivity.
Your concentration drops, your productivity decreases, and you are under constant stress, which sooner or later negatively affects your mental or physical health.
Multitasking overloads the "processors" in your brain
To keep things simple, think of your brain as a computer: every time you perform a task, you open a program, so to speak.
Let's say you're checking your email, talking on the phone with an important client, and working on a draft of a new project. That means you have three programs "open" in your brain.
Meanwhile, you may be worried about the bad grade your child brought home from school and still be upset about the fight you had with your significant other. This brings us to the five programs in the brain.
To continue the analogy, let's compare it to a computer again. So, in your head, you not only have your email program, but also an Internet browser, Power Point, SAP software, and open cloud storage. The problem is that with each additional program, you slow down the others.
Processors increasingly reach their performance limits, and in the worst case, the computer crashes completely. And that's exactly what happens to your prefrontal cortex when you over-multitask.
So multitasking, so to speak, puts a strain on your "processors", individual programs slow down, your concentration drops, and with it your productivity.
The prefrontal cortex is the seat of your personality
This “brain processor,” the prefrontal cortex, is located at the front of the brain in what’s called the frontal lobe. Scientists also call it the “observational attention system,” or, colloquially, the “brain’s CEO.”
The prefrontal cortex is perhaps the area of the brain that has the greatest influence on a person's personality. It is also responsible for conscious (reflective) thinking, concentration, planning, decision-making, and determination.
The functionality of the prefrontal cortex is fundamentally different from other areas of the brain: on the one hand, it can “rest,” i.e. switch off almost completely, if not actively used. On the other hand, it can also be “overloaded” during its active use – as explained in the example with the computer.
This excessive demand, caused by excessive workload, stress or emotion, can make thinking (almost) impossible.
Both the memory of information in short-term memory and the current processing of information are then impaired (in exceptional situations also in the long term). The result: you have the famous "blackout".
By the way, how susceptible people are to such excessive loads on the prefrontal cortex varies from person to person.
Running helps with prefrontal cortex 'blackout'
You can actively use your prefrontal cortex while simultaneously calming or deactivating it, thereby restoring your focus and improving your performance (at work). But how? As mentioned, the prefrontal cortex is located in the so-called frontal lobe of the brain – right next to the areas responsible for motor skills.
So when you walk or jog, the motor areas of the brain are activated. This requires energy, which comes from the prefrontal cortex. The result: it is "deactivated", so it calms down, and then you can fully use your "processor" again.
So your concentration increases again, and you work better, become more productive and less prone to mistakes. A short walk, a jog or any other exercise is a relaxing break for the prefrontal cortex. Running clears your head, literally.
Bottom Line: Running is Good for Your Health – and Your Focus
So if you're having trouble concentrating or even passing out, take a walk, grab a coffee in the cafeteria, or do some yoga. The important thing is to keep moving. This will allow you to switch off and reset your overloaded prefrontal cortex. At the same time, you're doing not only your concentration a favor, but your health as well.
So if you firmly incorporate regular exercise into your daily life – even if it’s just a few minutes a day – you’ll be more focused, more productive, less prone to mistakes, and therefore also more successful at work.
At the same time, you are not only strengthening your physical health, but also your brain health. So: how about a five-minute break and a short walk in the fresh air?!
Earlier we talked about how to restore whiteness to curtains.
