Why Everything You Know About Focus is Wrong (And How to Finally Fix It)

Multitasking is killing your productivity—here’s why.

Let’s be honest—most of us treat focus like a side hustle.

We dip in and out, hoping we can muscle through tasks while juggling 15 different things at once.

Multitasking feels productive, but by 3 PM, we’re toast—our brains fried like an egg on a summer sidewalk.

I used to think the key to getting more done was doing everything at once: emails while on Zoom; texting while working out; and writing while watching Netflix—yeah, I used to do that, don’t you?

I felt like a badass productivity machine.

The truth? I was a walking, talking burnout waiting to happen.

And I know I’m not alone.

Here’s the wake-up call: Multitasking isn’t a superpower. It’s a productivity killer disguised as efficiency.

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The Multitasking Myth (And How It’s Breaking Your Brain)

You may wear multitasking like a badge of honour, but research says otherwise.

Studies show that multitasking can slash your productivity by up to 40%—yes, forty percent. Imagine wasting almost half your day because your brain is switching gears like a rusty manual transmission.

But here’s the kicker—it feels like you’re being productive, and that’s what makes it dangerous.

Your brain gets tiny dopamine hits every time you switch tasks, which creates the illusion of getting things done. Meanwhile, important work sits half-finished in the background.

Think of multitasking as junk food for your brain. It tastes good but leaves you feeling sluggish and unsatisfied.

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The Real Problem? Attention Residue

Do you ever close one tab just to open another and realize you can’t remember what you were doing 30 seconds ago? You know you do.

That’s attention residue.

Every time you switch tasks, a part of your brain stays on the old task, lingering like a ghost. Even after you move on, your mental energy is leaking.

This is why switching from writing an email to scrolling TikTok leaves you feeling mentally foggy.

Focus isn’t about doing more. It’s about managing that leak.

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So… What Actually Works?

I stumbled onto the solution by accident.

One day, I was overwhelmed—too many tabs, too many deadlines. So I slammed my laptop shut and decided to finish one thing. Just one. I gave myself 45 minutes.

By the end, I felt ... good. No mental haze. No burnout. I finished the task faster than usual. That’s when I realized:

Single-tasking is the cheat code we’ve been ignoring.

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