Do We Have An ATTENTION DEFICIT Problem?

Do We Have An ATTENTION DEFICIT Problem?

It is NOT uncommon for us to see people working and grinding hard [yes, that includes even the ultra wealthy  business moguls and even Fortune 500 CEOs to juggle two OR three mobile phones even WHEN in a meeting.  YES, ATTENTION DEFICIT is a legitimate problem and researches show that it is now the silent killer that is the very root cause of a lot of misdecisions OR wrong decisions we make.  So, the question is:  Do We Have An ATTENTION DEFICIT Problem???

BUT before we get mixed with ATTENTION DEFICIT, no sirrrrrs, we WON'T discuss either ADD [attention deficit disorder] or ADHD but we'd like to tackle WHAT our brains are doing WHEN we multitask, switching rapidly between tasks.  Neuroscientists claim that such constant switches taxes our brain one too many as it essentially tires it out and makes it less efficient.  Effectively, this affects our ability to focus our attention in general, even WHEN we are NOT multitasking😌😌😌

For alignment, multitasking essentially means that you are trying to perform two OR more tasks at the same time.  Many people mistakenly believe that multitasking reflects a high level of cognitive ability and think that you should multitask to maintain your brain health.  BUT here's a big BUT from experts.  Our brains are NOT and were NOT set up for multitasking at all.  Instead, our brain was designed to be a 'monotasker', that is, to focus on and complete one task at a time❗❗❗

The wide misconception prevailing for so long now is that our brain can multitask.  YES and NO.  It can because it CAN'T say NO.  BUT as neuroscientists claim, those constant brain switching essentially tires out our brain and in the end, it makes us less efficient.  I remember my first  stint in Singapore, I was about to be introduced for the first time to our client whose project I'll be managing.  I requested for a project briefing from the consulting director and I was advised I'll be briefed once we are on the road to the client's site.  Whoa, when finally we were on the road, the consulting director was rushing on a document in her laptop while verbally briefing me at a 'shinkanzen speed'.  I pulled the brakes and said, can we pause and focus before multitasking???

Our takeaway: multitasking has more short-term  effects than we thought.  One correlational study showed that individuals WHO are high media multitaskers have smaller brain volumes in an area of the brain known as 'cingulate cortex', which experts claim, are important for regulating emotions and behaviors.  However, it is unclear if multitasking causes permanent brain changes if people with smaller volumes in this brain region are more likely to be drawn to multitasking.  So, DO WE HAVE AN ATTENTION DEFICIT problem???