Multi-tasking is an easy habit to get hooked on, but — ironically — it means you end up doing less, not more.

"If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it," goes the saying. Being perpetually busy — a type A personality who can check e-mail, fold laundry, send a text message, and cook dinner, all at once — is a state that modern technology supports and that society encourages as something of a status symbol. In fact, the opposite may be true: multitasking causes the brain to make more mistakes.

According to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doing two or more things at once is a recipe for inefficiency; plus, the more you multitask, the worse you are at it.

In the study, Stanford University researchers compared university students who did a lot of multitasking — constantly switching between different media and messages, such as reading e-mail while also writing essays, surfing the Internet, and watching TV — with those who did very little. The two groups were given tests which assessed them on memory, the ability to focus, and how easily they moved from one task to another.

In all three tests, the students who did the most multitasking had the worst results, in terms of being easily distracted, being unable to organise facts in their short-term memory, and having poor concentration. What's more, the researchers suggest multitasking may lead to a type of self-perpetuating behaviour, where a person has difficulty differentiating the worthwhile from the pointless, and compulsively seeks more information - more Tweets, more text messages, more news feeds.

To quote researcher Eval Ophir, "High multitaskers can't keep things separate in their minds. They just love more and more information, their greatest thrill is to get more."

If this description of multitasking has hit a little too close to home, take steps to reduce your media exposure – when you're working on your laptop, turn off your phone and close your e-mail. Use a kitchen timer to spend 45 minutes on a particular task, with no distractions – you will be surprised at how much you achieve. Same goes for watching a TV program with your family or having an uninterrupted conversation. If you are struggling, ground yourself with a few minutes of deep breathing or a walk, and then redirect your mind to the designated activity.

YOUR SAY: Are you an incessant multi-tasker? Tell us below if it works for you...