这么多年，难道我们都错了

人事招聘常常把能否同时处理多项任务作为应聘对象工作能力的一个考验指标，不过最近有研究人员表示了完全不同观点。难道这么多年我们都错了？ The Canadian paper Globe and Mail says for people today, many distractions are lined up, hourly, to sap your productivity and balance, from colleagues and customers to your own wandering mind. Facing the problem, most people grasp for one possible solution: Multitasking. 我们每人每天生活中都会遇到这样那样影响我们工作效率或分散我们注意力的人或事，有时候是同事，有时候是自己四处游荡的大脑。遇到这种情况，我们大多数人会选择一心多用，更好听点可以叫做多重任务处理。 But Washington leadership development consultant Devora Zack says multitasking is a myth and a mirage. The myth, she says, is that we can do more than one thing at one time. In fact, neuroscience shows that we can't. Essentially, when we think we're multitasking we're task switching, alternating between duties. 不过华盛顿一位领导力培养顾问却认为，多任务处理其实就是个传说和自我欺骗的幻象。传说是我们同时可以做好几件事。而事实上，神经学家表示我们是做不来的。基本上，当我们认为我们在多重任务处理时，其实我们只是换另一样任务干干，属于交叉完成不同任务。 And the mirage is that we can be more productive through task switching. In fact, she says studies suggest we're 40 per cent less effective than when we focus on one task. We are facing an epidemic of what she calls "scattered brain syndrome," and as well, she notes, studies show the grey matter shrinks under too many stimuli. 说它是幻象是因为我们认为可以通过交叉完成多重任务而提高效率。这位顾问表示，事实是，比起一直专注于完成一件任务来，多重任务处理会将我们的效率拉低40%。她认为，我们现在面临的是一个叫做“大脑涣散综合症”的情况。她还说，研究表明我们的大脑灰质都可能会因此萎缩。 The answer is single tasking, which happens to be the title of her new book. 她的解决办法就是——我们应该专注于单一一件任务。