Why Multitasking is a Myth…Especially When it Comes to Workouts - Coach Tip Tuesday

I know that you probably won’t read this entire article.

If I’m lucky, you might skim the headers and read a few sentences of it.  If I’m really lucky, you might skim it in a single sitting.  If I’m super lucky, you’ll read it in its entirety via chunks in between checking your email, texts, or social media threads.  And if I’ve hit the jackpot, you’ll sit through and read this all in one sitting without a single distraction.

Why is this?  People are increasingly busy and are often seeking to get more things done in a single day and/or in as little time as possible.  People are also increasingly distracted.  Combine these things with the human tendency to at least ignore - if not completely - overlook how subtractive changes can generate positive results and you have a whole swath of people who attempt to multitask to complete all the things they want to get done.

I use the phrase “attempt to multitask” quite intentionally and deliberately here.  Why?  Because research has continually shown that multitasking is, in fact, a myth.  As humans, our minds are often lying to us and rationalizing, justifying, and creating stories that align with the narratives that we want to be true.  (Humans truly are excellent rationalizers and can justify just about anything.)  But just because we want something to be true does not automatically make it so, and that is the case here with multitasking.

What is Multitasking?

While most of us have probably heard of multitasking, I think it’s worth spelling out that the definition of multitasking is “the performance of more than one task at the same time.”  When we multitask, the brain effectively divides and conquers.  It dedicates half of the brain to one task and dedicates the other half of the brain to the other task at-hand.  In many situations and for many tasks, the brain can handle this level of multitasking because it has two hemispheres - left and right - and it can fully dedicate one hemisphere to each task.  

This works as long as the two tasks are not too similar or in conflict with each other.  (For instance, you cannot read a book while also responding to an email, but you can respond to an email while listening to music.)  Each side of the brain works independently of the other to accomplish the two different tasks or goals at-hand.  However, when people attempt to do more than two tasks simultaneously, they generally fail miserably.  They forget one or more of their tasks and they make three times as many mistakes. 

Conversely, when we focus on a single task, the brain allocates both hemispheres - aka the entirety of the brain - to the task at-hand.  This allows for more depth and focus, which leads to fewer mistakes and a more productive use of our time.  

One of the reasons for this is that multitasking - and especially attempting to accomplish more than two tasks at once - requires context switching.  Context switching is a concept often applied to software and computers and how they run multiple processes from the same central processing unit (CPU), but it applies to us, too.  In humans, context switching is the process of stopping work on one project or task and then picking it back up later after performing a different task.  If you’ve switched to Instagram or to respond to a text message while you’ve been reading this article, you’ve just context switched at least twice in the time it took you to get to this point in the article.

The True Cost of Multitasking

Computers can handle context switching.  They are able to put something completely on hold, reallocate processing power to another task while holding the other one dormant and waiting in the background, and then immediately switch back.  Humans, on the other hand, are not so lucky.  When we are interrupted mid-task - either by ourselves or by outside forces or people - we pay a price in the form of our time and attention.

As mentioned earlier, we can multitask up to two tasks at once if those two tasks do not compete for the same resources.  For instance, we are extremely well-adapted to eating while doing other things (such as reading, watching TV, walking, etc.).  But we cannot read something and write something else simultaneously; those two tasks require too much of the same resources in our brains.  Thus, multitasking almost always requires humans to context switch, and this is where it becomes costly for us.

Context switches - even if they are relatively short - significantly impact how well the brain functions and they impede cognitive function for a long time after the context switch is made. In fact, researchers have determined that a lot of context switches are very short indeed, sometimes only a few tenths of a second per switch.  While this doesn’t seem like a lot, when done repeatedly (which is what happens when people are trying to multitask), it can quickly add up to become a lot of time.  This is thanks to something called attention residue, which is the term used to describe the amount of attention (however seemingly small) that remains on the prior task you were focusing on and impairs your cognitive performance on your new or current task.

Research has shown that we can lose up to 40% of our productive time by attempting to multitask.  When people say they are multitasking, they are imagining that they are getting 200% done instead of the 100% they would have gotten done by doing a single task.  In reality, they are probably getting closer to 50% done…aka not even the full 100% of one task, let alone that mythical 200% they were imagining.  This is absolutely a case of where we are telling ourselves a story that isn’t actually true.

Researchers have determined that the prefrontal cortex of the brain is critical for humans when it comes to task management.  The anterior (front) part of the prefrontal cortex region in the brain forms our goal or intention - for example, “I want to do this workout.”  And then, the anterior (rear) part of the prefrontal cortex talks to the rest of the brain so that your body starts to engage in the movements necessary to complete the workout.

In addition, we have “executive control” processes in the brain that contain two distinct stages.  The first stage is “goal shifting” (aka “I want to do this thing now instead of this other thing”).  The second stage is “rule activation” (aka “I’m turning off the rules for that task and turning on the rules for this other task.”)  Both the first and the second stage help people seamlessly switch between two different tasks, which is a useful thing.  The problems arise when the cost of switching conflicts with each other (as described earlier when two tasks are too similar to each other) and if/when the switching conflicts with our safety.  (For instance, trying to read a text while riding your bike outside has a much higher potential safety cost than trying to read that same text while riding on an indoor cycling trainer).

Thus, the cognitive load imposed on our brains by multitasking is real and complex. In addition to reconfiguring our control settings in our brain to complete the new task at-hand, we also often need to remember where we last got to in the last task when we left it off and when to change back to it from working on a different task. A lot of people want to (and do!) exist in a state of denial that this cognitive load is real and that we are not truly capable of multitasking the way that we imagine we are, but this is where I like to remind folks that some things are true, even if we don’t want them to be or we don’t like them.

Multitasking in Endurance Sports Training

So why go into this deep dive about multitasking?  What could this possibly have to do with endurance sports training for runners, triathletes, cyclists, and swimmers?

Because each and every one of us (and yes, this includes me) has attempted to multitask while we are doing a workout at least once in our lives (and, if we’re being honest, probably more than that).  If you have ever completed a workout indoors, you have definitely done this.  (Friends reruns while riding on the indoor cycling trainer, anyone?)  Some of us have even multitasked during outdoor workouts (when it’s infinitely more dangerous).  (If you’ve ever read a text on your Garmin device while doing a workout, you’re guilty of this.)  And while yes, I have multitasked while doing workouts, I also have seen (both first-hand in my own training and via my work coaching athletes) just how harmful multitasking is for endurance athletes.  And so now I set up my own training so I’m not attempting to multitask during workouts, and I encourage all other athletes to do the same.

Just like it’s easy for us to talk on the phone while putting in a load of laundry or how it’s easy for us to eat a breakfast sandwich while reading the morning news, there are absolutely some circumstances when we can do two things at once - a workout and something else.  A classic example is how we can listen to music or watch a show while we are riding on an indoor cycling trainer or running on an indoor treadmill.

That being said, even these relatively easy multitasking situations can have a higher cost and become detrimental.  Most experienced athletes who have been training indoors for a while will tell you that they do not watch something new while doing an indoor workout because it requires too much attention to pay attention to something new; they are not able to focus on the workout as much as they could (or should!) when they are watching something new.  Instead, they rewatch old favorite shows or movies that they know well so that they can go on a form of “autopilot” and still focus on the workout that they are trying to complete.

The Dangers of Multitasking During Workouts

Outside of these relatively “easy” examples of multitasking while doing workouts, I have seen that attempting to do either more complex tasks or engaging in more detailed thought processes while doing workouts can negatively impact the workout itself.  Working or responding to emails while doing a workout is a common example of this.  It’s worth admitting out loud that in a worst-case scenario, multitasking during a workout is incredibly dangerous and can cause serious injury or even death.  Thankfully, this isn’t the end result of most endurance athletes’ multitasking.  But it is a risk of it.

Most endurance athletes have goals.  And many of those who have goals have performance-oriented goals, meaning that they have some expectation of themselves, whether that expectation is time-based, results-based, or placement-based.  These expectations can be of the workout itself (such as a certain pace that an athlete wants to hit for the workout or for intervals within the workout) or over time (such as a particular result at a race).

When an athlete sets a performance-based goal - either acutely (within a workout or training week) or long-term (such as at a race or the end of a training cycle), there are several things that need to happen in order to give that athlete the highest probability of successfully reaching the goal and meeting their expectations of themselves.  One of these things that must be true is that athletes need to be invested in and (at least) mostly focused on their workouts in training.

Here’s the hard truth: You cannot expect a performance-based outcome from a workout or a series of workouts that you were only half-focused on or distracted during.  If you want a specific outcome, you need to focus specifically on what it will take for you to be successful and achieve that outcome.  This includes managing and setting up the time you allocate for workouts so that you can focus on the intent of the workout and execute it to the best of your ability, which in turn gives you the best chance at reaping the intended and desired adaptations from said workout.  Consistently doing this over time generates a positive snowball effect, all of which adds up to a higher probability of successfully reaching your goals - performance-based or otherwise - down the road.

How to Reduce Multitasking in Endurance Sports Training

What does this look like in practicality?  I’ve already hinted at a few suggestions, but here is a more concrete list of suggestions of habits you can cultivate surrounding your workout execution to reduce the urge to attempt to multitask during workouts.  As always, this list is not comprehensive or all-inclusive of every example of how you could reduce multitasking during workouts:

• Put your smartphone out of reach, sight, and hearing
  • If you can't (or won’t) do this, put it on Airplane Mode and/or Do Not Disturb Mode
• Disable the connected features (such as notifications for texts or phone calls) between your smartphone and your fitness device (such as a Garmin)
• If indoors, watch familiar programs or listen to familiar music
• Don’t try to work, respond to or send emails, or do tasks with a high cognitive demand
• Don’t read during a workout
• Recognize if you are mentally distracted (perhaps by work or life stress) and shift your expectations of the workout (and potentially of your goals if you find yourself in this situation often enough)
  • This may necessitate a change in the structure of a workout.  For instance, you may want to switch the workout from an interval workout with specific targets and goals within each interval to be an endurance, steady-state workout.

‍The Bottom Line

Multitasking costs all of us in many aspects of our lives.  For endurance athletes, if we attempt to multitask during our workouts, it can cost us adaptations and performance gains over time.  Athletes seeking to have the highest chance of successfully reaching their goals would do well to resist the urge to attempt to multitask during workouts.

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Sources:

American Psychological Association. “Multitasking: Switching Costs.” American Psychological Association, 20 Mar. 2006. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

Telis, Gisela. “Multitasking Splits the Brain.” Science | AAAS, 15 Apr. 2010. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

Newport, Cal. “Deep Habits: The Danger of Pseudo-Depth.” Cal Newport, 12 Dec. 2015. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.

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