“Multitasking Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus” Summary-Response

In her essay “Multitasking Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus”, Alina Tugend explains that the
advancements in technology have affected the way we multitask. People think they can talk on the
phone and email at the same time, but she says, “you cannot simultaneously e-mail and talk on the
phone,” (725). Personally, whenever I try to talk on the phone or in person and text at the same time I
begin to either text what I am saying or say what I am texting. When we try to multi-task we think we
are getting more done, and that may be the case, but it isn’t as efficient as it should be; a study was
done, and the result was, “people actually worked faster in conditions where they were interrupted, but
they produced less,” (728). She explains that listening to music while doing a task makes us, “sacrifice
focus,” (725). In the essay it is explained that our attention spans are also affected by multitasking. Part
of the study showed that, “after only 20 minutes of interrupted performance, people reported
significantly higher stress, frustration, workload, effort and pressure,” (728). If our attention spans keep
growing shorter and shorter, we may not get projects or assignments or any sort done on time--or at all
(728). High stress is how people get bad blood pressure and have serious health issues, so that’s one
reason we should try not to multitask as much as we try to.
During my childhood I didn’t read for pleasure at all, in fact, I only read in school or after school
if it was homework. Whenever I got into high school I had to read more on my own because it was an
assignment for the Summer, and I barely did that. It’s just that I don’t enjoy reading and when I tried to
read I had distractions, such as my phone, so I would try to multitask. Reading and multitasking
definitely do not mix. You either spend too much time reading or too much time on your phone. Most of
the time for me it was being on my phone too much.
Similarly, whenever I am doing homework I usually try to have some background noise going
such as music or television. This is helpful because it gets my mind generating ideas of what to type of
it stimulates my brain to help me remember the material. Tugend says that, “reading an article while
listening to music…can be a way of making tasks more fun and energizing, ’you have to keep in mind
that you sacrifice focus when you do this,’, “(725). While I was typing this essay, I was actually listening
to music, and there were times when I wanted to type what was playing but I was able to keep my focus
well enough to not do that. I also listen to music while I workout to help get my adrenaline pumping,
and I know many other people who do this. This is a good way to workout, if you don’t get too distracted
by the music. However, if you do get too distracted by the music you can cause a major accident, and
you could possibly hurt yourself in a serious way.
Health is another issue with multitasking. The essay mentions a study that was done that shows
the connection between multitasking and elevated levels of stress. It also puts more pressure on people
than is needed. High stress levels can cause other health issues such as insomnia, headaches, upset
stomach, and etcetera. People would have better health if they didn’t try to multitask for work, school, or
just time management, but that is unlikely because schools and jobs like for students or employees to
have tasks completed in a timely manner and in an efficient way, which makes the stress even worse. If
you are stressing to get more than one task done you may begin to multitask which causes you to
stress more. Consequently, all of the added stress forces people to multitask, which make them to
stress more.
When multitasking you lose time. According to The Journal of Experimental Psychology, “for all
types of tasks, the participants lost time when they had to move back and forth from one undertaking to
another…” (727). Our brains take time to switch from task to task consistently, even though some of
our brains may not take as much time to switch modes. “If we’re talking about doing two jobs that can
require real concentration, like text-messaging and driving, it can fatal” (727).

The essay, “Multitasking Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus” by Alina Tugend explains how
multitasking has grown to affect people more and more. Technology is a main contributor to
multitasking. While reading online we have the internet to distract us from reading. Stress is a symptom
of multitasking but also, in a way, can be a contributor as well. Some people like listening to music
while multitasking and that’s fine, if people don’t get too distracted by the music, which is hard not to do,
but isn’t impossible. Health can be and often is affected by multitasking by us being stressed. Health
problems such as insomnia, headaches, upset stomach, and the list goes on. When we multitask we
don’t get tasks done as efficiently as we probably should. We also lose time from multitasking when we
keep trying to go from one task to another, these tasks can include texting while driving or reading and
eating. Often, we find ourselves doing the one that is the more distracting such as texting when we are
driving. So, this is how multitasking has affected and still is affecting our lives, personally and
professionally.
 Works Cited
Tugend, Alina. “Multitask Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus.” The Norton Field Guide
To Writing With Readings, edited by Richard Bullock, Maureen Goggin, 2016. Pp 725-729.