Superpower: How to Think, Act, and Perform with Less Effort and Better Results

Chapter 11

Multitasking or Delusion?

You still hear a lot of people talking about how good they are at multitasking. Unfortunately, what they're really good at is deluding themselves. We are human beings, and human beings, whether they realize it or not, are built to do only one complicated thing at a time. That's just how we're wired. When we forget about that, all we really end up doing is distracting ourselves…and making ourselves less effective and productive than we could be.

This kind of distraction is a big problem today, and I think a lot of it connects to the way we choose to use our tools. Don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of technology…when it's used properly. Sometimes, though, we use our technology in ways that just don't support us.

Are you really multitasking or just delusional about the amount of things you're accomplishing, and doing well?

Learned “ADD”

We are in a world right now where faster is associated with better. Many think that if you're not texting, typing, tweeting, reading, driving, eating, and watching TV all at the same time, you're not getting things done, or you might miss out on something important! In reality, you're much less effective when you're not totally focused on the task at hand.

Look at us: We've got iPads, we've got iPhones, we've got laptops, and we've got GPS. We really have some amazing tools. All of this technology was supposed to make us more focused and more effective. In reality, what it's done for a lot of us is give us what ...