Wellbeing 

Multitasking, focus and concentration 

“Your brain can only produce one or two thoughts in your conscious mind at once. That’s it. We’re very, very single-minded.” (Prof Earl Miller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jan/02/attention-span-focus-screens-apps-smartphones-social-media).  

In the Well Being space it is very common to hear students discuss challenges and worry about their focus and concentration and also to discuss their own and their parents skills at multitasking when using their phones and laptops at night, reporting that they can follow social media, check their phone messages and do their homework all at the same time and/or watch Netflix. However research shows that when people believe they are doing several things at once, they are actually juggling. Rather than multi-tasking they’re switching back and forth. And it is actually exhausting and not very productive.  

For example, say you are doing your homework, and you receive a text, and you look at it (even just a glance) and then you go back to your homework. In order to refocus on your homework, you have to remember what you were doing before, and you have to remember what you thought about it. All of this takes time and effort. It means you haven’t just lost the time that it takes to check the text but also the time it takes to refocus. It can take up to 30 minutes to recover the focus that you had when working on your homework.  

So in sum, the next time we sit down to work or study, we should remember that we are most effective when we mindfully focus on ONE task with intent. We are less effective when we try and do two things at once or are in an environment with distractions (e.g. technology) because our mind is full or cluttered. 

IMPROVING FOCUS AND ATTENTION- what can you do to support your child?   

As a parent or family member, how can you help support your child at home and their ability to maintain focus and attention?  

Here are some strategies to try as a family:  

• Model avoiding multitasking by not watching TV and scrolling on your phone at the same time 

• Talk with your child about the article and the myths associated with multitasking. Empathise with your child how difficult this must be when trying to study.  

• Demonstrate things that you do to maintain focus and avoid multitasking e.g. show them that you will put your phone on silent when having conversation with someone or that you will put your phone away when paying at the shops  

• Encourage your child to set up a study space with limited distractions – get rid of clutter and mess 

• Encourage your child to get rid of numerous tabs open on a computer  

• Try putting phones away at dinner time or other important times  

• Talk with your child about how listening to music when you are doing homework tasks that don’t require much concentration (e.g. rote learning, copying notes etc.) can be useful, BUT, listening to music when you are doing a task that requires you to remember and pay attention can be distracting. You can also remind your child that they do not get to listen to music in their tests and exams.