Did you know multi-tasking splits your brain? A research article in Science Magazine shared that when you multi-task the brain dedicates one-half of itself to each task. Therefore, doing too many things at once means your brain can’t handle it – because you’re already splitting it in half having two different things going on at once.

This is important to know if you have always thought multi-tasking your way through a workday makes your more productive, then at the end of the day, you wonder why the work wasn’t up to the standards you wanted. In fact, it probably ended up taking more time than expected to complete after all.

For years, it’s been believed that highly productive people were the type that could do multiple things at the same time, easily switching between projects. While it may feel like you are getting more done by switching between tasks, research now shows that multitasking actually impairs your overall performance by hindering, instead of increasing, your productivity.

This means that each time you switch tasks, your brain must switch from concentrating on one thing to trying to remember how to help you do different things at once.

On low-level activities, like doing laundry while completing other household chores, or cooking a meal while talking on the phone, you might be able to successfully do more than one thing at once. But when it comes to higher-level, big-picture projects, multi-tasking divides the thinking processes of the brain, ultimately chancing not getting either task done well or making more mistakes along the way.

To be a more productive individual, focus on just one task at a time instead of trying to do multiple things at once. When you devote specific timeframes to a single project you achieve a deep level of mental focus which means you’ll get the greatest possible results.

If you’ve been a multitasker for a long time, it might be challenging at first to just do one thing. There are several ways to retrain your brain to stay attentive to one task at a time. One method is practicing meditation to train your brain to focus on the task at hand. Another method is working from a prioritized list of tasks, and taking short breaks throughout the day. These can be effective ways to boost your productivity and there are several more which I’ll be sharing with you. I want you to be productive but without having to multi-task – so you avoid splitting your brain!