文章来源: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201608/the-perils-multitasking
We live in the age of multitasking. Though a phenomenon of the young, older folks are being dragged into the age by the digital revolution in mobile electronic devices. Youngsters, as digital natives, are wired to multitask, but they don't realize how multitasking impairs their thinking skills. We call our phones "smart," but they can actually make us dumb. This may be one of the reasons that underperformance in schools is so common.
我们生活在多任务时代。 虽然年轻人，老年人的现象正被移动电子设备的数字革命拖入时代。 作为数字原生代的青少年被连接到多任务，但他们没有意识到多任务如何损害他们的思维技能。 我们称我们的手机“聪明”，但它们实际上可以让我们愚蠢。 这可能是学校表现不佳的原因之一。
Older folks tend to be amazed and awed by the multitasking ability of the young. But those in all generations should realize that multitasking does not make you smarter or more productive.
老年人往往对年轻人的多任务处理能力感到惊讶和敬畏。 但是，所有世代的人都应该意识到，多任务处理并不会让你变得更聪明或更富有成效。
In school, multitasking interferes with learning. In the workplace, multitasking interferes with productivity and promotes stress and fatigue. Multitasking creates an illusion of parallel activity, but actually it requires mental switching from one task to another. This drains the glucose fuel needed by the brain, making the brain less efficient and creating the feeling of being tired.
在学校，多任务干扰学习。 在工作场所，多任务处理会干扰生产力并促进压力和疲劳。 多任务创建了并行活动的幻觉，但实际上它需要从一个任务到另一个任务的心理转换。 这会消耗大脑所需的葡萄糖燃料，使大脑效率降低并产生疲劳感。
Neuroscientist, Dan Levitan, reminds us that multitasking is stressful, as indicated by increased secretion of cortisol and adrenalin. He cites work showing that IQ can temporarily drop 10 points during multitasking. A brain-scan study showed that new information gets processed in the wrong parts of the brain and not in the hippocampus where it should go in order to be remembered. The most insidious aspect of multitasking is that it programs the brain to operate in this mode, creating a debilitating thinking habit that is permanent.
神经科学家Dan Levitan提醒我们，多任务是一种压力，正如皮质醇和肾上腺素分泌增加所表明的那样。 他引用的工作表明智商可以在多任务处理期间暂时下降10点。 脑扫描研究表明，新信息会在大脑的错误部位进行处理，而不是在应该记住的海马区进行处理。 多任务处理中最阴险的方面是它将大脑编程为以这种模式运行，从而创造一种永久性的虚弱思维习惯。
Constant switching creates a distractible state of never being fully present. It trains the brain to have a short attention span and shrinks working memory capacity. This is especially pernicious in young people, who are most likely to multitask and whose brains are the most susceptible to programming of bad habits.
不断切换会产生一种永不完全存在的可分散状态。 它训练大脑注意力短，缩小工作记忆容量。 这对年轻人尤其有害，他们最有可能进行多项任务，而且他们的大脑最容易受到不良习惯的编程。
Multitasking not only becomes a habit, it is addictive. I see many youngsters who seem to have withdrawal symptoms if they can't check their phone messages every few minutes. Mail messages send an associated signal that someone thinks you are important enough to contact. This provides powerfully reward personal affirmation. Worse yet, like slot-machine payoffs, the reinforcement occurs randomly, which is the most effective way to condition behavior. It turns us into trained seals.
多任务不仅成为习惯，而且令人上瘾。 我看到许多年轻人如果不能每隔几分钟检查一次手机短信，就会出现戒断症状。 邮件消息会发送一个人认为您足够重要的联系信号。 这提供了强有力的奖励个人肯定。 更糟糕的是，像老虎机的收益一样，强化是随机发生的，这是调节行为的最有效方式。 它把我们变成训练有素的海豹。
Why does anybody engage in behaviors that can turn them into a trained seal? One study indicates that susceptibility to task switching depends on the existing mental state. The researchers monitored 32 information workers, of near-equal gender, in the work environment for five days. Workers were more likely to switch off-task to Facebook or face-to-face conversations when they were doing rote tasks, which were presumably boring. When they were focused, they were more likely to switch to e-mail. Time wasting in Facebook and e-mail increased in proportion to the amount of task switching. Overall, the workers witched to Facebook an average of 21 times per day and to e-mail 74 times. Though the total time spent off-task was small (about 10 minutes on Facebook and 35 min on e-mail, the excessive task switching must surely have degraded the productivity of the primary work tasks. Why does anybody need to check Facebook 21 times a day or e-mail 74 times a day? This is compulsive behavior that has affected the entire workforce like an infectious disease.
为什么有人参与可以将他们变成训练有素的印章的行为？一项研究表明，对任务转换的敏感性取决于现有的精神状态。研究人员在工作环境中监测了32名性别接近平等的信息工作者，为期5天。当工作人员做死记硬背任务时，工人们更有可能将关闭任务转移到Facebook或面对面的对话，这可能是无聊的。当他们专注时，他们更有可能转向电子邮件。在Facebook和电子邮件中浪费的时间与任务切换量成比例增加。总的来说，工作人员平均每天向Facebook发送21次电子邮件，并发送电子邮件74次。虽然离开任务的总时间很短（Facebook上大约10分钟，电子邮件大约35分钟，但过多的任务切换肯定会降低主要工作任务的生产力。为什么有人需要检查Facebook 21次每天或每天发送电子邮件74次？这是一种强迫行为，像传染病一样影响了整个劳动力。
How does one break the multitasking habit? The most obvious way is to reduce the opportunity. Turn off the cell phone. You do not have to be accessible to everyone at every instant. Don't launch the mail app, and when it is on, turn off the feature that notifies you about the arrival of each new message. If you don't need to use a computer or the Internet for the task you are working on, don't turn on your electronic devices. If a computer is needed, don't launch the browser until you actually need it.
如何打破多任务习惯？ 最明显的方法是减少机会。 关掉手机。 您不必每时每刻都可以访问。 不要启动邮件应用程序，当它打开时，请关闭通知您每条新邮件到达的功能。 如果您不需要使用计算机或Internet来完成正在进行的任务，请不要打开电子设备。 如果需要计算机，请在实际需要之前不要启动浏览器。
Be more aware of your current mental state, because it affects your distractibility. If doing boring work, find ways to make it less boring and thus less tempting to switch tasks. If you are doing work that is engaging, make it a goal to stay focused for longer and longer times on such work. Set goals for increasing the time spent on task. You should at least be able to sustain focus for 30 minutes. Just as multitasking can condition bad habits, mental discipline can condition good attentiveness and thinking habits.
更加了解你当前的精神状态，因为它会影响你的注意力分散。 如果做无聊的工作，找到方法让它变得不那么无聊，从而减少切换任务的诱惑力。 如果您正在从事具有吸引力的工作，请将其作为目标，以便在此类工作中保持更长时间的关注。 设定增加任务花费时间的目标。 你应该至少能够保持焦点30分钟。 正如多任务可以调节不良习惯一样，心理训练可以调节良好的注意力和思维习惯。
