La ciencia de lo cotidiano #12. La mentira de la multitarea. [Esp/Eng]
馃嚜馃嚫 En Espa帽ol
隆Hola, querida comunidad de Holos-Lotus!
Hoy quiero compartir una consulta que, aunque parec铆a hablar de cansancio, termin贸 haci茅ndome pensar en una costumbre que muchos hemos convertido en algo normal. Vivimos convencidos de que hacer varias cosas al mismo tiempo nos vuelve m谩s productivos, cuando en realidad nuestro cerebro suele pagar un precio mucho mayor de lo que imaginamos.
Fuente Pixabay
La ciencia de lo cotidiano #12
La mentira de la multitarea
Hace unos d铆as lleg贸 a consulta una mujer de poco m谩s de treinta a帽os.
No ven铆a por un dolor espec铆fico.
Tampoco por una enfermedad evidente.
Su principal preocupaci贸n era otra.
Sent铆a que cada d铆a olvidaba m谩s cosas.
Mientras convers谩bamos comenz贸 a describirme c贸mo transcurr铆an sus ma帽anas.
Preparaba el desayuno.
Revisaba los mensajes del trabajo.
Ayudaba a su hijo con la mochila para la escuela.
Contestaba una llamada.
Miraba una notificaci贸n en el tel茅fono.
Pon铆a caf茅 a colar.
Respond铆a un correo.
Y, antes de salir de casa, ya ten铆a la sensaci贸n de ir atrasada.
Le pregunt茅 si aquellas jornadas eran una excepci贸n.
Sonri贸 con resignaci贸n.
鈥擭o, doctora... todos los d铆as son as铆.
Aquella respuesta me hizo pensar que, probablemente, el problema no era su memoria.
Era la cantidad de veces que su atenci贸n cambiaba de un lugar a otro.
Durante mucho tiempo hemos escuchado que la multitarea es una habilidad.
Incluso hay quienes la consideran una virtud.
Parece admirable responder un mensaje mientras hablamos con alguien, revisar el tel茅fono durante una reuni贸n o contestar un correo mientras intentamos escuchar una conversaci贸n.
Sin embargo, nuestro cerebro no funciona exactamente de esa manera.
En realidad, cuando creemos estar haciendo varias cosas a la vez, la mayor parte del tiempo estamos cambiando muy r谩pido de una tarea a otra.
Es un proceso tan veloz que apenas lo notamos.
Pero cada cambio obliga al cerebro a detener una actividad, recordar d贸nde estaba y volver a concentrarse en la siguiente.
Ese peque帽o esfuerzo se repite una y otra vez durante el d铆a.
Es como intentar leer un libro mientras alguien cambia la p谩gina cada pocos segundos.
Al final no solo avanzamos m谩s despacio.
Tambi茅n comprendemos menos.
Algo parecido ocurre con nuestra atenci贸n.
Cada interrupci贸n deja una peque帽a parte de nuestra mente todav铆a pensando en lo que acabamos de abandonar.
Por eso, a veces abrimos una aplicaci贸n y olvidamos qu茅 铆bamos a hacer.
O entramos en una habitaci贸n sin recordar por qu茅.
No siempre es un problema de memoria.
Muchas veces es simplemente una atenci贸n que nunca tuvo tiempo de asentarse.
Las pantallas han hecho que estos cambios sean cada vez m谩s frecuentes.
Una notificaci贸n.
Un mensaje.
Una llamada.
Una red social.
Un correo.
Otro mensaje.
Sin darnos cuenta, el d铆a termina convertido en una larga cadena de interrupciones.
No significa que la tecnolog铆a sea el enemigo.
Gracias a ella trabajamos, aprendemos y mantenemos el contacto con personas que est谩n lejos.
El problema aparece cuando dejamos que cada sonido o cada aviso decida por nosotros d贸nde debe estar nuestra atenci贸n.
Al terminar la consulta le propuse algo muy sencillo.
No un medicamento.
No un an谩lisis nuevo.
Solo intentar dedicar algunos momentos del d铆a a una sola tarea.
Aunque fueran quince minutos.
Sin mirar el tel茅fono.
Sin responder mensajes.
Sin cambiar constantemente de actividad.
Semanas despu茅s volvi贸 para otra revisi贸n.
Lo primero que me dijo fue que segu铆a teniendo mucho trabajo.
Nada de eso hab铆a cambiado.
Pero ahora terminaba menos agotada.
Y, curiosamente, tambi茅n sent铆a que olvidaba menos cosas.
Aquella conversaci贸n me record贸 que nuestro cerebro nunca fue dise帽ado para vivir saltando de un pensamiento a otro sin descanso.
Quiz谩s ser realmente productivos no signifique hacer m谩s cosas al mismo tiempo.
Tal vez signifique estar completamente presentes en la que tenemos delante.
Las im谩genes son de Pixabay y la traducci贸n al ingl茅s fue realizada usando DeepL Translate.
馃嚞馃嚙 English Version
Hello, dear Holos-Lotus community!
Today I would like to share a consultation that, although it seemed to be about exhaustion, ended up making me reflect on a habit many of us have come to see as perfectly normal. We often believe that doing several things at once makes us more productive, when in reality our brains usually pay a much higher price than we realize.
Source Pixabay
The Science of Everyday Life #12
The Myth of Multitasking
A few days ago, a woman in her early thirties came to my office.
She was not suffering from any particular pain.
Nor was there any obvious illness.
Her main concern was something else.
She felt that she was becoming increasingly forgetful.
As we talked, she began describing what a typical morning looked like.
She prepared breakfast.
Checked work messages.
Helped her son get ready for school.
Answered a phone call.
Looked at a notification on her phone.
Made coffee.
Replied to an email.
And before leaving the house, she already felt she was running behind.
I asked if those mornings were unusual.
She smiled with resignation.
"No, Doctor... every day is like that."
Her answer made me think that perhaps the problem was not her memory.
It was the number of times her attention was forced to jump from one task to another.
For many years we have been told that multitasking is a valuable skill.
Some people even consider it a strength.
It seems impressive to reply to a message while talking to someone, check a phone during a meeting, or answer an email while listening to a conversation.
Yet our brains do not really work that way.
In reality, when we think we are multitasking, our brains are usually switching rapidly from one activity to another.
The process happens so quickly that we hardly notice it.
But every switch requires the brain to stop one task, remember where it left off, and focus on the next one.
That small effort is repeated over and over again throughout the day.
It is like trying to read a book while someone turns the page every few seconds.
In the end, not only do we make slower progress.
We also understand much less.
Something similar happens with our attention.
Each interruption leaves a small part of our mind still occupied with the previous task.
That is why we sometimes open an app and immediately forget what we intended to do.
Or walk into a room without remembering why we went there in the first place.
It is not always a memory problem.
Very often, it is simply an attention span that never had the chance to settle.
Technology has made these interruptions more frequent than ever.
A notification.
A text message.
A phone call.
A social media update.
An email.
Another notification.
Without realizing it, the day becomes a long chain of constant distractions.
That does not mean technology is the enemy.
It helps us work, learn, and stay connected with people we care about.
The problem begins when every sound and every notification decides where our attention should go.
At the end of the consultation, I suggested something surprisingly simple.
Not a medication.
Not another medical test.
Just setting aside a few moments each day to focus on a single task.
Even if it was only fifteen minutes.
Without checking the phone.
Without replying to messages.
Without constantly jumping from one activity to another.
A few weeks later, she returned for another appointment.
The first thing she told me was that she was still just as busy.
Her workload had not changed.
But she no longer ended every day feeling completely drained.
And, interestingly enough, she also felt she was forgetting fewer things.
That conversation reminded me that the human brain was never designed to spend the entire day switching endlessly from one thought to another.
Perhaps being truly productive does not mean doing more things at the same time.
Perhaps it simply means giving our full attention to the one that is right in front of us.
The images are from Pixabay and the English translation was done using DeepL Translate.
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