The following is a list of some of the greatest lies of the modern age:
"I have read and agreed to the terms and conditions."
“I hope this email finds you well.”
“Just one more episode.”
“I’m great at multitasking.”
Multitasking is a myth—right up there with Bigfoot, UFOs, and the idea that doctors ever get enough sleep.
People swear they’ve seen it in action, convinced that they (or that one legendary senior consultant) can juggle multiple tasks flawlessly. But just like those blurry photos of Sasquatch, the evidence falls apart under scrutiny.
In a profession where attention to detail is critical, the illusion of multitasking does more harm than good—it leads to mistakes, stress, and inefficiency. It’s time to stop glorifying the chaos and start working smarter.
The illusion of multitasking
Multitasking is defined as the ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously—simultaneous processing. Picture a computer effortlessly running several programs at once: handling emails, streaming music, and keeping a dozen browser tabs open. It sounds efficient, right? But here’s the problem—as advanced as our brains are, they don’t work like computers.
True multitasking is impossible for most people because of one fundamental limitation: attention. Unlike a computer that can allocate processing power to multiple tasks at once, the human brain relies on selective attention, meaning it can only fully focus on one task at a time.
Attention isn’t just about looking at something—it’s about actively engaging with it, processing information, and making decisions. When you try to split your focus between multiple tasks, you’re not actually doing them simultaneously. Instead, your brain is rapidly switching from one task to another, forcing you to constantly reset and readjust.
What we call multitasking is actually task-switching—rapidly bouncing between tasks rather than handling them at the same time. And just like constantly switching between apps drains your phone battery, frequent task-switching depletes your mental resources.
Each time you shift focus, your brain has to pause, reset, and refocus, creating a cognitive “lag” that slows you down rather than making you more efficient.
Attention is a limited resource, and every time we force our brains to split it, we lose efficiency rather than gain it.
Burnout
Multitasking is a fast track to burnout.
The constant pressure to juggle multiple tasks—reviewing labs, writing notes, and seeing patients all at once—keeps you in a state of mental overdrive. By the end of a shift, even simple decisions start to feel overwhelming.
Over time, this accumulated stress leads to mental fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and a sense of detachment from work.
When multitasking becomes the norm, burnout isn’t just a possibility—it’s inevitable.
I can already hear you protesting.
“So what should I do? I have a ton of work and limited time!”
I hear you. Here’s what you should do.
Do One Thing at a Time
Be intentional about focusing on one task and one task only. Give it your full attention, and do it well. Are you worried that this approach will slow you down or make you forget important tasks? It won’t—because you’ll have the right tools to stay on track:
- Structured Workflows
- Checklists (My pick)
- Delegation (My 2nd pick)
- The Eisenhower Matrix (Pretty good)
Let’s retire the word multitasking once and for all. It’s really just rapid task-switching—and maybe, just maybe, you know someone great at that. Big maybe. Most of us aren’t.
Focus on one thing. Do that one thing well. Then move on to the next.
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