What is Switch-tasking and Why Do We Need to Know About This?

Switch-tasking is commonly referred to as “multi-tasking,” however this name is misleading as what our brains are actually doing when we “multi-task” is switching back and forth from task to task. Students are probably tired of hearing the refrain, “get off your phone while you do your homework,” as much as parents are tired of saying it. The truth is that homework will take many times longer and include many more errors if the student is distracted by their phone, or alerts on the screen, or any one of the many distractions available today. The switching of tasks that the brain must accomplish to go back and forth between homework and, say, a text on a phone requires a great deal of energy. In layman’s terms, the brain must first halt the firing of synapses along the neural path involved with what it is doing at the moment and find a new neuron with which to start a new path to accomplish the other task. This back-and-forth is a waste of energy and time. As an exercise, time yourself, while you write the following on a piece of paper, first writing SWITCHTASKING IS A THIEF and then writing the numbers below each letter in order. This exercise should be done without looking at this final result while you write.

Then, get a new piece of paper and without looking at the previous paper or the final result above, write the same thing, except this time write each letter followed by a number. For example, write “S” then the number 1 below it, then “W” then the number 2 below it, and so on. Time yourself for this second exercise. This second exercise is switch-tasking, forcing the brain to switch tasks back and forth, mimicking the scenario when a student does homework and checks their phone at the same time.

How did you do the second time around? Were there more mistakes? Did it take more time? If this was done correctly, the answer is a resounding “yes!” It does not pay to switch-task. When you do homework, put the phone on do not disturb in a place where you cannot see it, then take a little break and at that time you can check your phone. When you begin homework again, silence the phone (and any other distractions) and focus on only the homework. You will see that you get your homework done much faster and with fewer errors!

(This game was originally developed by David Crenshaw. Crenshaw, David. “Try the Myth of Multitasking Exercise! | Updated Version of Multitask Test.” YouTube, 19 Jan. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eQyfirx2HA.)