- Busy at the Till
- Different Ways We Multitask
- Your Brain on Multitasking
- One Thing at a Time
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Like this article? We recommend
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Different Ways We Multitask
Let's take a look at the different cases in which people tend to do several things at once. First, there are times when we're distracted by technology. Many students like to do their homework in front of the TV, trying to work out math problems during commercials. At work, some people like to use their laptops or iPhones during meetings. And many people attempt to talk on the phone and read their email simultaneously.
On top of all of these outside distractions, we sacrifice concentration when we think about one thing while doing another. We might be tormented by something that happened in the past, for example: Perhaps you're upset because you didn't put the finishing touches on a proposal, or you might feel bad about having turned down a friend's offer to meet for lunch. Sometimes we spend time dreaming about our big goals instead of focusing on the small tasks in front of us. Finally, we may be expending a lot of intellectual energy worrying about things that could go wrong in the future.