Photo by totalAldo / Aldo Gonzalez
Divided attention is the highest form of attention. It is the ability to complete multiple tasks simultaneously. This should be something you are always working towards. According to recent studies, people who often multi-task believe that they are excellent at using their divided attention skills. However, when tested on their performance with cognitive and memory tasks, the results are poor compared to those who believe they are good at focused attention. This can be seen in our everyday lives.
Have you taken the no phone zone pledge with Oprah? Have you vowed not to let anyone, including yourself, use their cell phone while in your car? Why is it that texting while driving or talking while driving has become a huge issue in our country recently? It seems that every night on the 10 o’clock news a new story is presented to us of a car accident occurring because the driver was using their cell phone. Obviously, cell phones have become a danger to the roads. But why is that? What happens to our brains when we are using our cell phones while driving?
According to scientific studies, our brains are better at focusing on one thing than it is at dividing our attention. When your brain is focused, scientists say that neurons in your brain are working together. When signals are being sent to your brain in unison, it helps to avoid distractions. Focusing occurs when signals are sent to different regions of your brain creating high-frequency waves.
When multi-tasking, keep your tasks similar to each other.
Essentially, it is harder for us to multi-task, because the neurons are not working in unison. When you are focused on your driving, you are more attentive and in tune with your surroundings. But when you add in the cell phone, your attention is more focused on your listening rather than watching the road.
Our brains give more concentration to one channel than another – in this case, auditory skills rather than visual skills. It becomes more difficult to divide our attention when different areas of the brain are used to process information. Now, our brains are extremely complicated organs, and by no means does this dumb us down as human beings. However, scientists have noticed a difference between focused attention and divided attention. It’s hard to even completely try to comprehend the technical side of what’s going on in your brain when you are focused, but what’s easy to understand is how to train your brain to multi-task and divide its attention.
You can learn how to divide your attention more successfully. First, when multi-tasking, keep your tasks similar to each other. When you’re exercising at the gym, you’re able to talk to your girlfriend next to you on the treadmill. But try reading and talking at the same time? And I’m not talking about reading aloud, but reading and talking about a different subject. Just as with everything else in life, practice makes perfect. Practice multi-tasking during your daily life, and practice your tasks individually as well. If you are a master at two different tasks, it will be easier to combine them during multi-tasking. Also, try not to overdo yourself. Keep your multi-tasking simple. You can’t do everything simultaneously.
