The pros and cons of multitasking

Is multitasking a positive attribute? Should you boast about it in during an interview? Does it increase or decrease productivity?

Pros of multitasking

• t’s easy to multitask if you are doing simple chores like – cooking, watching TV and talking over the phone or checking your email, talking over the phone and listening to music. In such case, switching your mental focus from one task to another is easy and does not require much effort.
• Multitasking allows you to include different activities in your daily lives breaking the monotony.
• Moving back and forth between different projects prevents boredom, keeps you inspired and makes you more creative.
• Multitasking helps you learn how to deal with interruptions and distractions
• You develop the ability to cope even when there is chaos around you
• Even if the progress is minimal, you will manage to take more than one project or assignment to the next level, closer to your deadline.

Cons of multitasking

• Studies have shown that multitasking actually slows down progress, because the act of switching between two tasks takes a longer time mentally. Actually, when you begin working on a certain project/chore your brain decides how each thing is to be done. So, switching between tasks means closing one and opening another, which in turn means more time taken.
• When you multitask, you attention is divided between two tasks which means the quality of work suffers. When you focus on one task at a time, the quality of work is definitely much higher.
• Switching between two tasks also means, trying to remind yourself where you left off leading to waste of time. This might result in decrease in overall productivity.
• Multitasking might keep you busy, but at the end of the day, the question is how much have you accomplished. If it’s not much, your management might actually think that there is a drop in your efficiency level.
• Your brain, like any other muscle, can get taxed due to multitasking. Switching between tasks and making multiple decisions might tire your brain to an extent that you might end up being a poor or less-effective decision maker.

So, if you are updating your friend about the latest gossip in your office overphone, and at the same time ironing your clothes, it’s OK. However, if you are talking to your insurance agent about a policy and at the same time helping your kid solve a math problem, it could be very distracting, especially if all of you start quoting numbers!

Can Your Fish Oil Habit Boost Cancer Risks?

New headlines about omega 3s and cancer risk are generating buzz -- no surprise given the startling conclusions that fish oil raises the risk of prostate cancer by a frightening 44% among men with the highest levels of these fats in their blood. Even more alarming: The study found that compared to those with the lowest blood levels of these fats, men with the highest amounts are at a whopping 71% greater risk of the disease. Scary! 

What the headlines don't say is that the study, while important in advancing our knowledge of omega 3s and their impact on the development of cancer, wasn't designed to determine cause. Meaning, it's unclear if the fish oil is at play or if there's something else about fish-oil-eating men that raises their risk. (Maybe men who have high levels of fish fats in their blood also favor another food or supplement that's the real culprit. Or maybe these guys took supplements to make up for a crummy diet.) And since the study didn't consider participants' eating habits, researchers can't put the blame on fish or pills, though they caution against supplements since they're such a concentrated source of the nutrient.

Most health authorities suggest eating two servings of seafood each week -- an amount that protects against heart disease, the leading cause of death among men and women. It's reassuring to me that in the recent study, the difference in blood levels between those with the lowest and highest figures exceeds the amount you'd get from eating salmon twice a week (a notable source of the nutrient).


As a nutritionist, I always favor food forms of nutrients to pill versions. From what I've seen, I still think it's safe, and even wise, to aim for two servings of seafood per week. A number of studies link fish fats to healthy outcomes, like a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, skin cancer, mood disorders, and more. But bear in mind that when it comes to nutrients, more is not necessarily better. Eat fish a couple of times a week and on other nights, have chicken, turkey, or a vegetarian meal that takes advantage of the season's fresh produce. If you're a supplement taker, you may want to talk to your doctor or dietitian about the pros and cons based on your diet and history.

Why Candy Crush Is Insanely Addective Today

It’s not the prettiest video game ever made and certainly not the most clever, but Candy Crush Saga may be the world’s most addictive.

Psychologists and other cognitive experts say the treat-smashing mobile app, a twist on earlier pattern-matching games, from Bejeweled all the way back to Tetris, grabs players by appealing to some of the human brain’s most deeply rooted desires.

But some also say the game’s appeal contains the seeds of its eventual demise -- a candy crash may be coming for Candy Crush. It would be quite a fall. Some 45 million people a month play regularly, according to AppData. Candy Crush has been one of the most downloaded apps in the Google Play and Apple iTunes stores for months. And it's bringing in an estimated $633,000 a day for publisher King.com, ThinkGaming calculates, for a pace of more than $230 million a year.

The rules are simple. Players must shift a variety of brightly colored candies around a grid to line up at least three of the same treat, causing the candies to explode. With almost 400 levels, and more added all the time by its designer, players never run out of new challenges. The game’s bright colors and soothing music obviously add to the appeal.

But what about this makes Candy Crush impossible to quit? First, much like a Las Vegas slot machine, the game features unpredictable rewards. For instance, candies with special powers pop up or a single move leads to a cascade of other explosions across the whole grid, accompanied by silly sounds and cartoon.

Psychologists call the tactic the partial reinforcement effect. “People keep responding in the absence of reinforcement hoping that another reward is just around the corner,” says Mark Griffiths, director of the International Gaming Research Unit at the psychology department of Nottingham Trent University.

Links:http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/candy-crush-insanely-addictive-today-likely-borrowed-time-171103788.html