Multitasking is a skill of wild animals. It is a necessary skill for survival - to be able to eat, watch the children, and scan for predators at the same time. This multitasking mode, however, leads to a state of low-attention seeking. We get stuck in it and shirk away from environments that lead to boredom.
But, this is terrible for the human mind. It is the ability to focus on one sole thing that allows a human to separate itself from the animals. Boredom, or to sit with one’s thoughts, is the mental counterpart to sleep. Sleep is the peak of physical relaxation, while boredom is the peak of mental relaxation, where all creative ideas come from.
Connections
Link Explanation: The linked note discusses a concept where the constant switching between tasks, not only pulls the actor away from what they were working on, but also creates a continuous drag on the mind, slowing it down from reentering its focused state. Han would call this the state of boredom. While I prefer thinking about it as a focused state rather than a boredom state, the implication is related: multitasking kills ones ability to be both productive and creative.