"Why You Shouldn't Be Multitasking" looks at the negative impact of trying to perform multiple tasks at one time. Many of us take pride in our ability to multitask—or juggle multiple jobs and priorities at once. We check our emails during meetings. We field customer phone calls while simultaneously taking care of administrative duties. And we open multiple browser tabs and windows on our computers so that we can rotate between a handful of tasks as rapidly as possible.

Multitasking seems like the silver bullet to meeting increasingly high demands and time pressures. You get two things done for the time and attention span of one. When you get bored with one task, you can immediately shift your focus to another. What’s not to like? As appealing as multitasking may seem, studies tell a different story. Learn the truth about multitasking and a more productive way to work.