The ability to Multitask is considered a positive trait in a person and usually a mandatory job requirement, however research has now proven that not only does it affect work quality, but may also affect your brain and IQ.

1. Human Brain is Not Built to Multitask.

As Devora Zack point out in her article, “Multitasking is a myth; it simply doesn’t exist.” MIT’s Dr. Earl Miller explains that human brain cannot simultaneously process separate streams of information from multiple tasks because there’s interference between the two tasks. What we have branded as multi-tasking is simply task-switching at a very rapid pace.

2. It Affects Your Memory

Simone Smith writes in her article that “In 2011, the University of California, San Francisco published a research study showing how quickly shifting from one task to another impacts short term memory.” This can have serious damages to your memory as you grow older.

3. It Makes You Less Productive

We all have been assuming that multitasking makes us more productive. Well, that us not true. In reality “multitasking creates mental blocks that can result in as much as a 40 percent loss in production time.” It is better to prioritize your workday and identify your important tasks and get them done one by one.

4. It Lowers Work Quality

Larry Kim mentions in his article that “Multitasking makes it more difficult to organize thoughts and filter out irrelevant information, and it reduces the efficiency and quality of our work.” His argument is backed by a study at the University Of London showing that subjects who multi-tasked while performing cognitive tasks experienced significant IQ drops, which were similar to that of individuals who either skipped a night of sleep or smoked marijuana.

5. It Affects Your Creativity

According to a research done at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Multitasking requires a lo t of what’s known as “working memory,” or temporary brain storage. It can thus affect our ability to think creatively. The researcher concluded that with so much is going on in multitaskers brains, that they often find it hard to daydream and generate spontaneous “a ha moments” as compared to people who do not multitask.