Multitasking: I do it, you do it, we all do it. It's pretty universal, whether you're flipping through browser tabs, scrolling your phone while watching TV, or sifting through your calendar when you meant to send a text.
At first glance, multitasking seems efficient, even aspirational. Things need to get done, and there are only 24 hours in a day. But multitasking is actually bad for us, and that's not exactly breaking news. One groundbreaking study from 2001, before the smartphone era, found that switching between tasks can cost you time. Others have found that it can drain your mental energy and lead to mistakes.
That's why I've been focusing on monotasking, or doing one thing at a time. It's not that monotasking is beneficial in itself. Rather, as plenty of research shows, shifting attention can quietly work against you. With that in mind, here are a few evidence-backed strategies that can keep you from switching attention in the first place.
The first is to batch your notifications. I've disliked notifications for years. My loved ones know that to reach me in an emergency, they need to call, because my text notifications are off.
That changed when my kids' daycare started using an app that tells me the minutiae of their daily schedules. Now I can drop whatever I'm doing to learn that my toddler counted to 28, or that my baby drank five ounces of milk an hour ago.
I could turn off the app's notifications, and that alone would help. Research has found that disabling notifications for a single day led to better performance and less strain. But I don't want to be a completely checked-out parent, so I've started batching my notifications. I check them all at once, usually on the hour, instead of reacting to every ping. I've missed calls, yes, but I've also been able to focus for longer stretches, which feels like a novelty these days.
The second strategy is to create if-then rules. In a perfect world, I could batch my email notifications too, but much of my work depends on email. Batching may not work here, but an "implementation intention" might. Research shows it can help close the gap between wanting to do something and actually doing it.
An implementation intention turns the action that reaches your goal into an if-then statement. If your goal is to read a book without checking your phone, your intention could be: "If I finish this chapter, then I can see whether I missed any texts." It sounds painfully obvious, but try getting through a few pages without absentmindedly unlocking your phone.
For my inbox, I could set this rule: "If I finish writing an outline for this story, then I can open a tab to check my email." It sounds granular, but for someone who tends to have more than 10 tabs open, it's specific enough to work.
Finally, practice. Batching notifications and making if-then plans can keep you on track without much effort. But some effort is still involved, and that means willpower.
Willpower tends to be in short supply. It might seem easy to listen to a whole song or read 10 pages uninterrupted through sheer determination, but it's much harder in real life. As a parent, I haven't listened to a song uninterrupted since 2023.
Research has found, though, that tasks demanding your undivided attention can strengthen the brain's control processes. Over time, paying attention feels easier and relies less on willpower. I've been practicing this at home, whether I'm lying on a playmat next to my baby or reading a book to my toddler. We get good time together, and I get to exercise the part of my brain that helps me focus.
Monotasking seems so simple that it's almost boring, which may explain why we feel pulled toward multitasking. But once you notice how much time and mental energy you save by not jumping from task to task, monotasking becomes a practical way to make life more efficient and more enjoyable.