Why multitasking backfires – and how to focus on doing one thing at a time
Multitasking may be considered the norm to people who think that it helps them achieve more in less time. In reality though, it merely gives an "illusion" of productivity and may be detrimental to mental health in the long run, experts say.
Multitasking can often create an "illusion of productivity" by giving us a sense of control that we are making progress on our to-do list, a mental health expert says. (Illustration: iStock)
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Earlier this week, my colleague was getting a glass of water in her kitchen with one hand while replying to work text messages with the other. Distracted by the Slack discussion on her phone, the glass ended up slipping from her grasp, smashing to pieces on the floor.
Fortunately, no one was injured. I was sympathetic when she told me, but was undeterred by her cautionary tale.
Later that same day, I was walking to a cafe while texting furiously on my phone. Deep in conversation with several colleagues – ironically, about this very piece I am writing – I found myself bumping into four different people along the way, apologising in sheepish embarrassment each time.
In both instances, my colleague and I were guilty of a sin many of us would probably consider routine: multitasking.
These days, we are all too familiar with the possible downsides of juggling multiple tasks.
We've heard the stories of because they were too absorbed in the podcast playing in their earbuds instead of maintaining the correct form and posture.
We've probably made careless mistakes at work while simultaneously handling or rapidly switching between tasks.
More seriously, there are numerous reports of traffic accidents caused by motorists distracted by their mobile phones.
In the United States, 397 people died in traffic accidents involving at least one driver who was using their phone in 2023.
Back home in Singapore, fatalities due to road accidents soared to a 10-year high of 149 in 2025. The Traffic Police noted that more than half of road accidents in the year were caused by a failure to "keep a proper lookout".
One key example highlighted by the authorities were "pedestrians distracted by their phones while crossing the road".
Given the dangers and risks, why do we find it so hard to go back to monotasking – that is, giving our undivided attention to doing one thing at a time?
If you're multitasking while reading this article and don't have much time before your attention span is overtaken completely, here's a spoiler: Monotasking is so difficult because it's conditioned by societal expectation.
The modern workplace demands that each of us be reachable across multiple platforms at all times, leading to the entrenchment of habits such as responding to messages while working on an unrelated task, mental health experts said.
Ms Soo See Ann, head psychologist at brain health solutions company Neurowyzr, said: "Over time, individuals become conditioned to this pace."
Ms Daniela Ong, a therapist with therapy platform Talk Your Heart Out, said that this "always-on work culture" became even more pervasive during the COVID-19 pandemic, as work and personal time began spilling over into each other.
"We rarely experience one thing at a time anymore, and the conditions that might have once enforced that separation are largely gone."
After years of conditioning to accept multitasking as a default, many of us may now find monotasking difficult.
"Slowing down to focus on a single task, or even being comfortable with 'doing nothing', can feel unnatural," Ms Soo said.
Consultant clinical psychologist Roy Chan, founder of psychology clinic Cloaks and Mirrors, said that people who perceive monotasking to be too slow for their liking may find themselves easily frustrated with doing one thing at a time.
"Hence, the option to simultaneously do another task – like replying emails during a meeting – takes away the frustration, as they feel that they are doing something useful with their time."
Over time, that conditioning may even give rise to a physiological dependence.
Ms Ong said: "Every time we switch tasks, the brain gets a small hit of dopamine. That's the same reward chemical behind social media, gambling, even eating.
"It makes us feel like we're being productive, even when we're actually not … It feels good, even when it isn't working."
THE ILLUSION OF MULTITASKING – AND ITS COSTS
Multitasking can often create an "illusion of productivity" by giving us a sense of control that we are making progress on our to-do list, Dr Chan said.
However, research has shown that the reality is quite the opposite.
Experimental research shows that performing tasks one after another is more efficient than multitasking due to cognitive load limitations, Ms Soo said.
Multitasking typically involves rapidly toggling between tasks.
Ms Ong explained: "Think of it like restarting an app every few minutes. Each time, there's a lag before it fully loads again. Do that repeatedly and the whole system slows down."
Every time we switch tasks, the brain gets a small hit of dopamine ... It makes us feel like we're being productive, even when we're actually not.
Think you're just sparing a second or two to do a quick notification check? It may end up hampering your concentration for far more than a few moments, Ms Ong added.
There are studies suggesting that it takes around 23 minutes, on average, to regain full focus after an interruption, no matter how brief.
Dr Chan pointed out that after any interruption, we would need to remember to return to the point of the task where it was paused, decide which task to change to and when to do so, and so on.
"Taken together … (it) adds up on the cognitive load, which can slow a person down and cost up to 40 per cent of their productive time."
He also said that prolonged exposure to multitasking could lead to decreased cognitive control, inferior working memory and difficulties in filtering out irrelevant information, for example.
That is not to say that tackling tasks simultaneously always poses a problem.
"When a task is automatic, the cognitive demand is low enough that pairing it with something else is fine," Ms Ong said.
These tasks include walking, doing dishes and folding laundry. Even listening to low-lyric music while doing routine work might be okay, she added, because some evidence suggests that moderate-tempo instrumental music can mildly support focus for certain tasks.
"A practical rule of thumb is, if both tasks need your conscious attention, they probably shouldn't share it."
On the other hand, forcing ourselves to multitask could lead to immediate, familiar costs.
Besides sandbagging our productivity, multitasking opens the door to a higher chance of making mistakes, which could in turn bring on a range of repercussions from getting scolded by a supervisor or injuring oneself – or other people – when operating heavy machinery, for instance.
Apart from the negative effects on our work, we may not be immediately aware of the mounting emotional toll.
Ms Ong said: "When our attention is constantly divided, we lose access to the kind of slow, sustained thinking that helps us make sense of our experiences and regulate how we feel."
Ms Soo the psychologist said: "Constant multitasking keeps the brain in a heightened state of alertness, otherwise known as the fight-or-flight mode."
She noted reports pointing to high levels of burnout in Singapore, where high workload, long working hours and constant connectivity are often the key contributing factors.
People who are engaged in chronic multitasking are also more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety, Dr Chan cautioned.
BABY STEPS TO MONOTASKING
In a culture that rewards busyness, trying to revive the lost art of monotasking can be challenging – but it can be done, the experts said.
Ms Ong's advice: Start small.
"Think of focus like a muscle. You wouldn't walk into a gym and attempt a 100kg squat without (any prior) training," she said.
Another tip: Break things down.
The mental health experts suggested structuring tasks into smaller chunks that can be completed in shorter time blocks of 20 to 30 minutes at a time, focusing only on the task at hand during these blocks.
Where one has no choice but to multitask, limit that to fixed time periods and pencil in breaks in between, rather than leaving it to yourself to "feel" when it's time for a break.
Curating a better environment also helps. Even small measures such as muting less important notifications on your mobile devices, or closing unused internet browser tabs, can help to minimise distractions from the task at hand.
One last tip – and perhaps the most underrated one, Ms Ong said.
Eat one meal a day without a screen. No phone, no TV, no iPad. No podcast, even. Just you and your food.
"It sounds almost too simple, but it's a low-stakes entry point into (practising) being present with one thing."
