© 2026 WFAE

Mailing Address:
WFAE 90.7
P.O. Box 896890
Charlotte, NC 28289-6890
Tax ID: 56-1803808
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Why we should be monotasking, not multitasking, at work

A person working on a laptop in North Andover, Massachusetts. (Elise Amendola/AP)
Elise Amendola/AP
A person working on a laptop in North Andover, Massachusetts. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Modern workplace culture pressures us to multitask even though research shows multitasking makes most people less productive, more stressed out and worse at their jobs.

Rather than trying to multitask, we need to start monotasking, said David Epstein, a journalist and author who writes about human productivity and performance. His latest book is called “Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR