Ko'pchilik o'zini “multitasker” deb hisoblaydi: inshoni yozib turib, Telegramga javob beradi, fonda esa YouTube ochiq. Lekin psixologlar uzoq vaqtdan beri bir narsani ta'kidlaydi: murakkab ishlarda miya ikki vazifani aynan bir vaqtda bajarmaydi. U ular orasida tez almashadi — va har bir almashish “narx”ga ega.

Almashish narxi

2001-yilda Joshua Rubinshteyn, Devid Meyer va Devid Evans tajriba o'tkazishdi: ishtirokchilar matematik masalalar va geometrik shakllarni saralash kabi vazifalar orasida almashib ishlashdi. Natija aniq edi — har safar vazifa almashganda vaqt yo'qotildi, vazifa qanchalik murakkab va notanish bo'lsa, yo'qotish shunchalik katta bo'ldi.

Amerika Psixologiya Assotsiatsiyasi (APA) tushuntirishicha, bitta almashish bir necha o'ndan bir soniya olishi mumkin. Bu oz tuyuladi — lekin bir soatda o'nlab marta telefonga qarasangiz, bu soniyalar daqiqalarga, daqiqalar esa soatlarga aylanadi.

Ikki ishni “birga” qilish — aslida ikkalasini ham yarim kuch bilan qilish.

Miyada nima bo'ladi?

Tadqiqotchilar almashishni ikki bosqichga ajratadi: avval miya maqsadni o'zgartiradi (“endi matematika emas, xabar yozaman”), keyin yangi vazifa qoidalarini “yuklaydi”. Har safar shu ikki bosqich qaytadan bajariladi. Shuning uchun aralash ishlash ko'proq xato va ko'proq charchoq olib keladi.

Nima qilish kerak?

• Bir vaqtda bitta vazifa. Ishni tugatib, keyin keyingisiga o'ting.
• Xabarlarni guruhlang. Telegramni har 5 daqiqada emas, soatda bir marta tekshiring.
• Bildirishnomalarni o'chiring. O'qish paytida “Bezovta qilmang” rejimi.
• Tanaffusni rejalang. 25 daqiqa ish — 5 daqiqa dam: telefonni shu 5 daqiqaga qoldiring.

Insho yozish yoki SAT matematikasi kabi chuqur ish uchun eng yaxshi strategiya oddiy: bitta oyna, bitta vazifa, telefon esa boshqa xonada.

Manba: Rubinstein, Meyer & Evans, “Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching”, Journal of Experimental Psychology: HPP, 2001; APA: Multitasking. Matn — o'zbek tilidagi erkin qisqacha bayon.

Many people think of themselves as good multitaskers: writing an essay while answering Telegram, with YouTube open in the background. Psychologists have long pointed out that for complex work the brain does not perform two tasks at exactly the same moment. It switches rapidly between them, and every switch has a price.

The cost of switching

In 2001, Joshua Rubinstein, David Meyer and David Evans ran an experiment in which participants alternated between tasks such as solving arithmetic problems and sorting geometric shapes. The result was clear: every switch lost time, and the more complex and unfamiliar the task, the bigger the loss.

The American Psychological Association (APA) explains that a single switch may cost only a few tenths of a second. That sounds tiny, but glance at your phone dozens of times an hour and those fractions add up to minutes, and the minutes to hours.

Doing two things “together” really means doing both at half strength.

What happens in the brain?

Researchers split a switch into two stages: first the brain changes its goal (“no more maths, now I reply to a message”), then it loads the rules of the new task. Both stages run again on every switch, which is why mixed work brings more mistakes and more fatigue.

What to do instead

• One task at a time. Finish it, then move on to the next.
• Batch your messages. Check Telegram once an hour, not every five minutes.
• Turn off notifications. Use “Do not disturb” while you study.
• Plan your breaks. 25 minutes of work, 5 minutes of rest: save the phone for those 5.

For deep work such as essay writing or SAT maths, the best strategy is simple: one window, one task, and the phone in another room.

Source: Rubinstein, Meyer & Evans, “Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching”, Journal of Experimental Psychology: HPP, 2001; APA: Multitasking. Text: a free summary.