43 Folders

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Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

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”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

43F Podcast: The Myth of Multi-tasking

The Myth of Multi-tasking (mp3)

43Folders.com - "Multi-taskers" are really just splitting their time and attention into smaller slices than you; no one can really do more than one thing at a time. (2:34)


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Gabriel's picture

I'm with flaneuse on the...

I'm with flaneuse on the transcripts, listening to a podcast is way more time consuming and productivity-sapping than reading the equivalent post.

I once met a researcher who got subjects to do tricky mental calculations with very sensitive motion detectors strapped to their heads. It turns out that even staying balanced standing up requires miniscule bits of our attention and thus we start to sway if concentrating too hard on something else. He asked me to add a few numbers up while standing on one leg; it's surprisingly hard. This is also the reason that people close their eyes or look to one side when trying to remember something.

 
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