Multitasking: Why It Doesn't Work

You're replying to a message, listening in on a call, finishing a document, and glancing at your messenger. It feels like you're getting more done this way. By evening it turns out: a lot was touched, almost nothing was finished.

Multitasking isn't the ability to do several things at once. Attention doesn't work that way: it switches between tasks, and every switch costs time and energy.

Below — what happens in this mode, why it feels productive, and how to step out of it at least partially.