I just tried it, watching Java Geek Tech’s homemade SpringBoot video on my iPad (1.2x) while replying to readers’ comments on my blog on my iMac. After a while, I had no idea what the video was about; And the reply was a mess.
For a long time, I lied to myself: I was blogging and listening to music, thinking I could multitask and “multitask” like a computer. But by the time one of the music crescendo starts, I can’t help but get into the music world and completely forget what the blog is supposed to be about next. Turn off the music, reread the planned outline, and look for new ideas to write about.
There are probably a lot of smart alecks like me, but in reality we just switch quickly between several different tasks. When the frequency of switching is too high, the faster our creativity declines, the more time we waste, and the less effective we learn.
If you want to argue that you are killing time, be my guest.
01. Why are we obsessed with multi-threaded work
“Life is short, I love multithreading” — this is probably the main reason why we love multithreading. Considering that there are so many things to do at hand, and we are not in two places at once. We can’t just pull out a monkey’s hair like Sun Wukong and copy ourselves with full combat effectiveness, so we can only stick to new Thread().start().
As for us programmers, I turn on my phone, and the nuggets community pamphlets are beckoning, geek XX’s classes are winking, GitChat’s classes are giving me the eye, and even planet XX is calling me over. While we were hesitating, the wonder list reminded me that the project was due, so we could only shake our heads and sigh.
Well, life is short, but there are too many things to do. And multitasking can be addictive, because “when we complete a small task, we get a rush of dopamine, our reward hormone. “The brain loves dopamine, so we’re encouraged to keep switching between small tasks that give us instant gratification.”
But multithreading has a negative effect on us in most cases. When a computer is dealing with multithreaded tasks, it can increase the running efficiency of the program by adding CPU cores. But we are not computers.
02. Multithreading seriously affects productivity
When a programmer is at full speed, he or she has in mind an infinite number of things at the same time, including variable names, method names, important interfaces, data structures, and his or her own library of commonly used components. Send this programmer on a vacation to Jurassic Park for a month, and you’re sure he’ll forget all about it.
When programming efficiency, the head of those things as if stored in the computer’s RAM, wait for the other task switching came in, these things have to transfer to other places (such as computer disk backup, etc to cut back to the original task, it takes great effort again.
I don’t know if you feel this way, but I do. I especially hate to concentrate on coding, suddenly kill a phone call, let you off guard, especially advertising marketing, can not help but scold them a few words, and then join the blacklist. Sometimes, unfortunately, the caller id is the boss and you have to stifle the anger you want to explode. But the anger is dead, and so is the pleasure of typing code.
A 2011 study published at the University of California showed how “switching quickly from one task to another” affects our memory. Researchers say multithreading can have a negative effect on working memory. Working memory refers to the ability to hold and process information in the brain over a period of time. It is the basis of all thinking activities and the first step in learning.
When we are able to focus on a task, working memory is less affected. But confined to the workplace, Internet companies especially love open-plan offices, where people come together and feel truly loved. But a large number of noisy sound, seriously affecting our work efficiency, so late night overtime, work efficiency is the highest.
03. Multithreading kills creativity
Neuroscientist Earl Miller says multithreading kills creativity. “Innovative ideas come down to deep concentration. When we try multithreading, we rarely get far enough down any path to find something original, because we’re constantly switching and backtracking.”
When I ride my bike on my way to and from work, I find it wonderful to listen to music with noise-canceling headphones. Not only can it block out the noise on the road, but it can also kill time.
When I was blogging, listening to music backfired. That’s because riding a bike isn’t something that requires creativity in itself, whereas blogging requires concentration to sort out what’s going on in your head.
That said, when we need creativity, it’s best to remove distractions, put our phones on airplane mode, disable app notifications, close doors and Windows, etc. Try to concentrate on the task at hand.
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
04, finally
I need to warn everyone: when one task we are doing is not finished, when the next task comes, we must be brave to say “no”, frankly tell the leader of the assignment, so that he can keep awake.
If you can’t say it, you should do it one by one. Remember not to overestimate our own abilities, after all, we are human, not computers, and can’t make our brains multicore. Bottom line: programmers, get over the multithreaded job bullshit.
05, thanks
Well, readers, that’s all for this article. Can see here are the most excellent programmers, two elder brother must extend a thumb for you to point a thumbs-up 👍. If you don’t like it and want to see more, I’ll recommend a few more.
Programmer’s FIG leaf: this requirement is technically impossible @ programmer, please take great care of your first job @ programmer, please master these core survival skills
Here comes the routine! If you think this article is useful, please like it and collect it. I like this feeling of being spoiled by big guys.
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