Multitasking, a necessary evil!

Published by 3C Style

Scientific journalist, author and fashion blogger from Montreal - Journaliste scientifique, auteure et blogueuse mode de Montréal View all posts by 3C Style

Of course, I can do many things at the same time. I’m a working mom and a blogger!

 

Answering the phone, sending a text message and preparing a meal, we do that every day when we are a professional family mother. And it is without counting the demands of a blog that you have to feed several times a week with new ideas, photos, texts. “Multitasking is a reality in our lives today, so we better get used to this; it will go on increasing with the technologies of all kinds that invade us, “comments the neuropsychological researcher Jocelyn Faubert of the University of Montreal, who has studied phenomena for 15 years.

The good news is that you can train your brain at any age to improve your performance when you expose yourself to what scientists call combined tasks. Professor Faubert knows something about this because he has plunged professional athletes into a simulator of his invention where the subject must follow the movement of bullets that go faster and faster to recognize them when the movement ceases. An extremely difficult game when you are not gifted. High-level athletes (such as National Hockey League players, NCAA and Premier League players) score well after a few sessions. “The surprise is that even the elderly can improve. When measured their performance improvement, the growth curve is similar to that of young adults.”

Grandma does not want to hear about new technologies ? She is wrong because computers, tablets and smart phones would be within her reach if she made the effort. “Even older people who do the tasks with more difficulty a priori can acquire amazing skills after only a few workouts. This is the great surprise to which my work gave rise, “says Bianca Bier, who recently submitted a doctoral thesis to the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal. For several years, she had subjected research subjects of all ages to tests where they had to direct their attention to two or even three tasks at the same time. Their first results were weak but their improvement was constant and could go very far.

Multitasking is not new, says Jocelyn Faubert. When driving a car, we are totally in multitasking mode. You drive your car while chatting with the passenger and take a look in the rear-view mirror to monitor the children, which does not stop you from slowing down at the traffic light or braking suddenly if a bike pops up. “The problem is not to do several things at the same time, but to choose which one is the most important,” he said. But be carrefull. There are tasks that require our full attention and can not be combined.

Writing a text message while driving is not a good idea. Doing a selfie while riding a bike either.

Here’s an example of how sport’s trainers use Jocelyn Faubert’s invention to improve multitasking in professional athletes.

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaBP75dH4Hg/?taken-by=3cstyle_fashion

Original idea and storyboard: Dominique Nancy of 3C Style – Illustration: Angie Ordonez

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Have a Great week everyone. Stay strong, stay stylish ! 

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