The Truth About Multitasking: Benefits, Drawbacks, and Strategies for School
You’re sitting at your desk, homework in front of you, your phone buzzing with texts, and maybe a YouTube video playing in the background. It feels like you’re getting so much done at the same time. Right?
I’ve been there, trying to get everything done at the same time, but it doesn’t work. You think multitasking gives you an edge, but your brain doesn’t agree.
Why does this matter to you? Understanding the effects of multitasking changes the way you study, helps you get better grades, and saves you extra stress.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- What multitasking is and why it matters
- Benefits and drawbacks of multitasking in an academic environment
- Effective multitasking strategies and when to use them
- Developing personalized study patterns
What Is Multitasking and How Does It Affect Students?
Multitasking might sound faster, but your brain doesn’t work like that. Instead, you actually switch super fast from one thing to another.
Students do this all the time, especially with their phones and laptops. Most don’t realize how much this habit affects their focus and learning.
Definition of Multitasking and Task Switching
Multitasking means doing two or more tasks at the same time, at least in theory. In reality, it’s mostly just task switching: rapidly shifting your focus from one thing to another.
According to the bottleneck theory of attention, your mind can only process one thing at a time.
This constant switching drains your limited focus. Every time you switch, your brain has to:
- Stop what you were doing
- Remember where you left off
- Refocus on the new thing
- Block out the last task
This scattered focus chips away at your ability to concentrate. The scattered attention hypothesis says that long-term media multitasking messes with your cognitive control.
You end up doing what’s fun more often than what is important.
Common Examples in School Settings
Research on student media use found that 90% of university students multitask with media, and more than half of their media time involves doing other things at the same time.
In-Class Multitasking:
- Texting during lectures (69% of students admit it)
- Scrolling through Facebook or email in class (28%)
- Checking social media for non-class stuff (21%)
- Taking notes while notifications pop up
Study Time Multitasking:
- Listening to music while reading
- Flipping between homework and group chats
- Watching videos while working on assignments
- Peeking at social media between study sessions
One study analyzed over 3,000 computer sessions from 1,200+ students and found that 99% involved multitasking.
Students get more than 7.5 hours of day-to-day media use. However, because of overlap, they actually take in almost 11 hours of content a day.
| Activity Type | Percentage of Students |
|---|---|
| Text messaging in class | 69% |
| Facebook/email in class | 28% |
| Off-task media use | 21% |
| Computer session multitasking | 99% |
Sources: Tindell & Bohlander (2012) via Communication Research; computer session data from Judd (2014), Computers & Education.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Multitasking in Academic Environments
Most students believe that multitasking only brings benefits, but fail to consider the many drawbacks it has in the long term.
Cognitive and Academic Costs
When you try to multitask while studying, your brain doesn’t actually split its attention. It just hops between tasks, draining your mental energy by focusing on only one thing at a time.
Working memory only holds so much. Multitasking forces your brain to push large amounts of information through a bottleneck, and only one thing gets through at a time.
Students who text during lectures score around 10.6% lower on tests than those who don’t. Multitasking not only affects your cognitive state but your academics as well, leading to two losses at once.
- It gets harder to filter out distractions
- Your attention span shrinks
- You remember fewer details
- Your working memory gets overloaded
Students who stay focused during video lectures write down around 62% more information and score a letter grade and a half higher than those who multitask.
When your attention is stretched over many things, your memory won’t properly store all of it.
Impact on Productivity and Learning Outcomes
Your academic performance also takes a hit from multitasking. Students who multitask in class regularly report lower GPAs than those who focus on one thing at a time.
| Multitasking Behavior | Academic Impact |
|---|---|
| Texting during lectures | 10.6% lower test scores |
| High in-class phone use | One full letter grade drop |
| Heavy media multitasking | More likely to get C’s or lower |
Sources: Kuznekoff & Titsworth (2013) via Communication Research; GPA impact from Burak (2018), International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education.
Research suggests that texting in class is associated with meaningfully lower final grades compared to peers who stay focused during lectures. If you text about unrelated topics, your grades can drop by around 10–17% compared to peers who only send messages about learning.
The effects of multitasking go even beyond test scores. When you switch between tasks, you dig less deeply into the material and remember less as well.
Heavy media multitaskers also report feeling sad or bored more often than those who use media in a more balanced way.
Effective Multitasking Strategies and When to Avoid Them
Does multitasking ever work? Sometimes, but it depends on what you’re doing. Knowing when to avoid it and when to use it makes a huge difference in your grades and your stress.
When Multitasking Can Be Beneficial
Multitasking isn’t always to blame. If you pair tasks that use different parts of your brain, it can work. For example, listening to instrumental music while doing homework usually won’t affect you in a significant way.
Pairing low-stakes tasks with something else is usually safe, for example:
- Listening to recorded lectures while tidying your desk
- Reviewing flashcards on a stationary bike
- Thinking up ideas while you walk
The most important thing is matching task difficulty. Research suggests that students who practice multitasking are able to handle some combinations without any significant side effects.
| Effective Combination | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Background music + writing | Uses different mental channels |
| Walking + memorizing | Physical movement boosts memory |
| Audio lessons + chores | Routine tasks need less focus |
If you try to do two things that both need deep thinking or reading, your performance drops on both. The effects of multitasking aren’t worth it in those moments.
Time Management and Task Prioritization
Strong time management helps you figure out when single-tasking is the right move. You can start by labeling your tasks based on how much brainpower they require.
High-priority tasks that demand deep focus and concentration need dedicated time blocks:
- Writing essays or papers
- Solving math problems
- Reading complex textbooks
- Preparing for exams
Create a daily schedule that protects your most important activities from interruptions. It’s also necessary to implement breaks between sessions, as studies show most of us can only concentrate for so long before needing one.
Try the two-minute rule: if a task takes less than two minutes, do it now. That way, you’re less tempted to multitask on small things later in the day.
Time-blocking strategies:
- Schedule 25–50 minute focused work sessions
- Take 5–10 minute breaks between sessions
- Group similar, low-focus tasks together
- Skip multitasking during your best energy hours
According to research on media multitasking and academic performance, students who set clear priorities tend to outperform those who bounce between tasks.
Reducing Distractions and Improving Focus
Distractions are everywhere. If you want to avoid the downsides of multitasking, you’ll need to control your environment.
You can start by turning off notifications on your phone and computer during study sessions. It sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly effective.
Environmental controls to help you stay on track:
- Put your phone in another room or stash it in a drawer
- Close extra browser tabs and unnecessary apps
- Try website blockers during study time
- Pick a quiet spot, away from high-traffic areas
Give yourself a two-minute brain reset before starting homework. It helps your brain settle into work mode before diving in.
Studies on multitasking behaviors suggest that people who think they’re great at multitasking often run into short-term memory issues.
Build your focus like a muscle; start with 15-minute stretches of single-tasking. Add a few more minutes each week as you improve.
| Week | Focus Time Goal | Break Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 15–20 minutes | 5 minutes |
| 3–4 | 25–30 minutes | 5–10 minutes |
| 5+ | 45–50 minutes | 10–15 minutes |
Multitasking on your laptop in class doesn’t just hurt your learning; it can distract people around you too. Protect your focus time and know which tasks deserve your full attention.
Developing Personalized Study Habits for Academic Success
Building effective study habits means knowing your limits. You’ve got to balance schoolwork within your own capacity.
Assessing Individual Limits
Ask yourself: how much information can I really handle? Research points out that working memory capacity predicts multitasking ability better than anything else. Once you know your brain’s limits, you can personalize your approach.
You can also start tracking your study sessions for a week. Mark down when you check your phone, switch between apps, or lose focus.
Most people overestimate their multitasking abilities. It’s easy to believe you’re getting more done in the moment, but the numbers tell a different story.
Want to test yourself?
- Study for 25 minutes with zero distractions. See how much you remember.
- Then study the same amount while texting or scrolling social media. Compare the results.
- Notice how long you can focus before your brain needs a break.
Your limits also depend on how tough the task is and how motivated you are. If you’ve got a big exam coming up, you’re more likely to avoid multitasking.
Finding Balance Between Tasks and Well-Being
Balance is what keeps you from burning out. Did you know college students consume about 7.5 hours of media a day? And 90% multitask while doing so.
Here’s a trick: separate high-stakes activities from the low-stakes stuff.
| High-Stakes Activities | Low-Stakes Activities |
|---|---|
| Studying for major exams | Checking email |
| Writing research papers | Scrolling social media |
| Completing problem sets | Texting friends |
| Reading difficult textbooks | Watching videos |
Put your full focus on complex tasks. Save multitasking for less demanding activities that won’t affect your grade substantially.
Start setting aside specific times for social media and messaging. Mixing them with your study time increases multitasking’s impact on your performance.
You can also try building a realistic daily schedule that includes breaks. That way, you get work done while giving your brain the rest it needs.
Don’t feel guilty about 10-minute breaks every hour. Use them to check messages, watch something short, or decompress.
Conclusion
Multitasking feels productive. It does. But your brain isn’t actually focusing on multiple things — it’s switching between them, and every switch costs your memory, focus, and retention.
The goal is not to ditch your phone forever. It’s to help you be more intentional about when you use it, so it stops affecting your grades in ways you might not even notice.
Pick one study session this week and go fully distraction-free. No phone, no music with lyrics, no extra tabs. Just you and one task for 25 minutes. See what you retain compared to your usual sessions. Will you put this into action?
If you want to build on this, check out our guides on time management strategies and focused study sessions — they go deeper into building single-tasking habits that actually move your grades.
References
Burak, Lydia. “Multitasking in the University Classroom.” International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, vol. 9, no. 1, 2012. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41239-018-0096-z
Judd, Terry. “Making Sense of Multitasking: The Role of Facebook.” Computers & Education, vol. 70, 2014, pp. 194–202. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273229714000513
Kuznekoff, Jeffrey H., and Scott Titsworth. “The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on Student Learning.” Communication Education, vol. 62, no. 3, 2013, pp. 233–252. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0093650212464560
Tindell, Doreen R., and Robert W. Bohlander. “The Use and Abuse of Cell Phones and Text Messaging in the Classroom.” College Teaching, vol. 60, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1–9. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/87567555.2011.604802
Ophir, Eyal, Clifford Nass, and Anthony D. Wagner. “Cognitive Control in Media Multitaskers.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 106, no. 37, 2009, pp. 15583–15587. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0903620106
Rosen, Larry D., et al. “The Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 29, no. 6, 2013. https://search.proquest.com/openview/58462acaaadc971690d7342bd663e73a
David Publisher. “The Relationship Between Multitasking and Academic Performance.” https://www.davidpublisher.com/Public/uploads/Contribute/6684ac350c950.pdf
