Pay Attention

Last year NPR’s “Morning Edition” ran a series of reports on the myth of multitasking.In part, it deconstructed the entire idea of multitasking, saying that instead of doing everything at once, people really are rapidly shifting from one task to another.

Executive functions governed by the brain’s frontal lobes allow us to prioritize what we want to focus on, and when to make the shift.

But no matter how many task we rotate between, the need to pay attention and focus remains constant. And the effort to multitask undermines the ability to pay attention.

Journalist and author Winifred Gallagher examines research about the brain’s ability to focus consciously and subconsciously in her newest book, Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life.

Gallagher definitely supports the value of intense focus as a way to achieve a higher state of performance (Tiger Woods as one example). She also looks at the function of the subconscious mind, and the value of meditation to heighten that activity.

Gallagher’s book has been reviewed in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among other publications. You can read the WSJ view here, and the Post's treatment here.

At a time when people are being bombarded with demanding stimuli like Twitter, Facebook, old-fashioned email and a zillion other electronic and printed sources of information, the idea of multitasking goes beyond seductive to downright vital. The value of comparing the reviewers' perspectives presented here is the affirmation that there are multiple points of view to the applications of multitasking. There is no one size fits all.

Think about it. Something to add to your “To Do” list.