If you believe working on twenty goals at once makes you productive, think again. Recent research shows that your brain can’t focus on more than two goals at a time.  Indeed, it works most efficiently when you only have one goal in mind. This is because your brain  allocates resources to every goal you’re working on. The more you take on, the less resources can be assigned  to each goal. Here’s how neuroscientists found this out.

They tracked the brain activity of 32 people who were working on complex tasks. In the first stage of the experiment,  participants were given a letter-matching task. All the letters were in lowercase at this stage.  MRI scans showed that both sides of the volunteers’ brains were working in harmony to get the job done during this phase of the experiment.

Next, the researchers added more complexity to the sorting task. The participants now had to deal with both uppercase and lowercase letters. Now the volunteers’ brains split the work, with each task being processed by a separate side of the brain. Put simply, each hemisphere was chasing its own goal and reward.

Finally, a third task was thrown into the mix. Now the participants consistently forgot one of their tasks and made three times as many errors. So, it seems that human brains can’t effectively juggle more than two tasks. As one of the researchers put it when you work on more than two goals, “Your prefrontal cortex will always discard one.”

So, what does this mean for you? One obvious  lesson is to limit the number of goals you work on at any one time. Having a long list of tasks might feel productive, but it’s not sustainable in the long run. Instead, try focusing on just one or two goals at a time, and give them your undivided attention until they are complete. If you’re a professional, this means prioritising your projects and deadlines and not taking on more than you can handle. If you’re a manager, it means changing your expectations and considering the brain’s limits  when assigning tasks to your team.

The bottom line is this. Multitasking may seem like a great idea, but in reality, it can decrease efficiency and lead to more errors. It is wiser to single-task.  By focusing on one goal at a time, your brain can allocate all of its resources to that task, leading to better results and less stress. So next time you feel tempted to take on multiple goals at once, remember the research and focus on one thing at a time for optimal productivity. Your brain will thank you.

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This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference.