Scrolling through your phone for a few minutes while in the bathroom, listening to podcasts all day to avoid boredom, or replying to WhatsApp messages while cooking—these are things you might do in your daily life, thinking they’re harmless. In reality, they are far from it; they are, in fact, terribly damaging to your brain.
We do these things every single day—"multitasking" being one of them. We often believe we’re capable of it—and women, in particular, are frequently told they excel at it—but that’s not actually true; our brains simply aren't wired for it. This myth likely stems from the idea that the male brain tends toward "focused awareness," while the female brain leans toward "expanded awareness." For instance, when entering an unfamiliar space, a man might focus primarily on his friends—he sees them, and that’s that. A woman, by contrast, takes in the entire environment: who is present, whether there’s someone in the corner acting suspiciously or looking at her in an unsettling way, where the restrooms are, whether the music is too loud, or if it’s too cold—all while still keeping track of her friends. In short, she perceives a far greater number of connections than the "focused awareness" typical of the male brain.
However, even though my female brain might be able to take in more information simultaneously, that doesn’t mean it can sustain attention on two important tasks at the same time—or at least, not for very long. You might wonder: "What do you mean my brain can't do that?" Well, sure—you can certainly listen to music while ironing your clothes, or talk to someone sitting next to you while driving. But that’s only because one of those activities doesn’t require your conscious attention. Driving, for instance, has become an unconscious process—it’s already ingrained in your muscle memory—and listening to music doesn’t necessarily demand your active focus. That is precisely why you cannot perform two tasks that both require your conscious attention at the same time.
When you focus on something, your prefrontal cortex lights up; when you shift your focus to something else, that activity changes. Essentially, your brain is constantly switching on and off, redirecting its energy and shifting its focus. In reality, you aren’t truly focused on either task—and certainly not on both simultaneously. How can you resolve this? By allowing your brain to enter a state of "flow." How do you reach this state? Through deep, undistracted focus. Set aside one or two-hour blocks for "deep work" or intensive activities. For example, if you’re cleaning the house, commit to cleaning the entire space over those two hours—without interruptions, without checking your phone, and without listening to anything else; stay completely focused. The same principle applies to your professional work and other areas of your life. This approach also allows your nervous system to relax and concentrate more effectively, ultimately making you far more productive.
The second thing you should avoid is taking your phone to the bathroom. In general, constantly seeking dopamine hits by scrolling through social media—even in situations where you have no reason to be on your phone—has become a hallmark of this generation: we’ve forgotten how to be bored. Boredom has effectively ceased to exist; people even bring their phones to the bathroom to watch videos or reels. The problem is that your brain becomes overloaded with information—a relentless stream of data that you can’t truly integrate or process. This isn’t just about the 15-second clips found in reels; it applies to YouTube videos, Twitter, and any other content-heavy medium. It’s like constantly feeding yourself without ever taking the time to digest what you’ve consumed.
How can you fix this? I’d like to suggest a way to detach from these technologies. There’s a mobile app—this isn’t a paid promotion; it’s just something I personally use and love—called “one sec.” Essentially, it prompts you to take a breath before accessing your favorite social media apps, allowing you to enter them with greater awareness.
It can also prompt you to ask yourself: “Why am I opening this—to create or to consume?” You can also set time-based blocks; for instance, I’ve set mine so that I can’t access social media between 9:00 PM and 7:00 AM. Even if you uninstall the app, the restrictions remain in place once you reinstall it—it’s truly impressive, and I really like it.
I hope these tips help you during the epidemic that our society is currently facing.
