Within the realm of productivity, the effectiveness of multi-taking has been the source of countless debates. From psychologists to business folk, everyone seems to have their own opinion. So, does multi-taking make you more productive or less productive?  Like most complex subjects, the answer is, “it depends.”

My take is that the effectiveness of multi-tasking depends on the types of tasks being performed. If the tasks are of equal importance and generate similar amounts of cognitive load, then they are poor candidates for multi-tasking because the situation quickly devolves into an exercise of how adroitly one can perform context switching.  Any momentum gained from diving into one activity is quickly lost when switching to the other activity. This effect is especially pernicious because the loss in momentum is often mental in nature, and not explicitly felt.

The results from the scientific community reveal that “doing more than one task at a time, especially more than one complex task, takes a toll on productivity.” This toll occurs in two distinct, yet complementary stages. The first stage can be considered “goal shifting” where the person decides to perform a different task. The second stage can be considered “rule activation” where the person orients themselves to the environment of the second task. This all happens in a fraction of a second, but for chronic multi-tasking, the time can really add up. In fact, research suggests that “even brief mental blocks created by shifting between tasks can cost as much as 40 percent of someone’s productive time.”

However, the other side of the debate is that multi-tasking can be accomplished under certain circumstances. In particular, if one of the tasks can be performed automatically and involves a different part of the brain than the primary task, than there is a possibility for successful multi-tasking. For example, someone might be able to “read effectively while listening to classical music because reading comprehension and processing instrumental music engage different parts of the brain.” Although, the ability to retain information “while reading and listening to music with lyrics declines significantly because both tasks activate the language center of the brain.”

What’s really interesting is the potential for turning high focus activities into background processes through the creation of habits. Theoretically, by doing something often enough, it can become so well learned that thinking is no longer necessary to engage in the task. A good example of this occurring is talking on the phone while walking.  When you were a baby, walking was a big deal. Each step took focus and concentration.  But over time, walking becomes something you do naturally, such that you can now walk and talk simultaneously without any problems.

The action step then is to make a habit of the work that needs to be done. For example, imagine that as a business analyst, part of your job is the arduous task of updating the analytics dashboard. Write scripts to automate what you can, but also start making it a habit to review the stats first thing every morning.  Once reviewing the dashboard becomes second-nature, you can take that time to focus on different work, such as crafting the weekly report or responding to emails.  What might have taken half an hour to complete, can effectively be done now for free!

Even more magical is being productive when previously no work was being done at all. A likely instance of this already occurring is when you first wake up, and you go into auto-pilot to wash your face or brush your teeth. Although your brain isn’t fully awake yet, you are able to perform these tasks because they have become routine. If you are able to develop good habits during the morning or late at night when your brain normally isn’t functioning, then a sliver of extra productivity can be edged out of each day.

In the end, general multi-tasking, whereby you try to do everything at once, isn’t as productive as it first seems. But multi-tasking can be successful through the development of habits because that work no longer draws from the limited pool of cognitive resources.  The brain is now able to read from memory, rather than from disk.