In an era of constant connectivity, toxic multitasking — the habit of juggling several tasks simultaneously in ways that undermine rather than enhance performance — has become one of the most damaging yet widely accepted behaviours in modern life. Experts in brain health, neuroscience and workplace wellbeing are now sounding the alarm, warning that what feels like productivity is often anything but.
The Multitasking Myth: Why Your Brain Can't Keep Up
From checking emails during video calls to scrolling social media while watching television, the urge to do more than one thing at once has become a default mode for millions of people. But according to Sandi Chapman, chief director at the Centre for BrainHealth in the United States and a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas, the brain simply isn't built for it.
"Toxic multitasking is the illusion of productivity," Chapman says. "Multitasking is often seen as a sign of high productivity. Unfortunately, your brain experiences it as a performance bottleneck. We think we're getting two complex things done at once, but our brains simply aren't wired for it."
Chapman likens the experience to trying to read two books simultaneously — rather than absorbing twice the information, you simply keep losing your place in both. Each time you switch between tasks, she explains, your brain burns through mental energy and ultimately produces less output, not more.
Ashish Kothari, founder and chief executive of Happiness Squad — a consulting group focused on employee engagement — agrees, noting that constant "context switching" between tasks, without adequate breaks, is actively detrimental to performance and wellbeing.
Digital Habits Are Making the Problem Worse
Neuroscientist Kay Linker draws a critical distinction between beneficial and harmful forms of multitasking. Once a task becomes automatic, she explains, the brain transfers it to a different processing region, allowing for genuine parallel activity. Walking while listening to a podcast, or calling a friend during a commute, are examples of this kind of healthy pairing.
But digital multitasking — such as watching television while simultaneously scrolling through a social media feed — is a different matter entirely. "These types of inputs actually reduce your ability to handle multiple inputs at once," Linker warns, noting that heavy digital multitasking erodes the very attentional capacity people assume they are exercising.
The problem doesn't clock off at the end of the workday. Kothari points out that the compulsion to multitask bleeds into personal time, with screens accompanying people through meals, leisure and even the hours before sleep. "We're on phones all the time," he says. "As a result our sleep is affected and, combined, creates a heavy toxic effect on our holistic well-being, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually."
The Real Cost: Burnout, Brain Fog and Broken Relationships
The consequences of chronic toxic multitasking extend well beyond reduced work output. Experts identify a cascade of effects that touch nearly every dimension of health and life satisfaction:
- Cognitive: Mental exhaustion, difficulty thinking clearly, and persistent brain fog
- Emotional: Heightened irritability and a diminished capacity for genuine connection with others
- Professional: Reduced quality of work and declining satisfaction on the job
- Physical: Disrupted sleep and compounding stress that can tip into burnout
Chapman argues that toxic multitasking is a natural extension of hustle culture — a world that prizes output and quantity over quality. The pressure, she says, comes from both professional environments and personal expectations, driving people to equate busyness with worth.
Recognising the Difference — and Reclaiming Focus
The good news, according to the experts, is that not all multitasking is created equal. The key lies in recognising when task-switching is draining focus rather than supporting it, and building in deliberate recovery time. Taking a short walk, rather than reaching for a phone, is one example of a break that genuinely allows the brain to reset.
As conversations about technology's role in attention and cognition continue to grow — touching on everything from smartphone design to Artificial intelligence-driven notification systems — the case for reclaiming single-tasking as a skill has never been stronger. If your focus feels fractured, the first step may simply be choosing to do one thing at a time. Share your story if toxic multitasking has affected your work or wellbeing.
