Multitasking means trying to do several things at the same time. When you attempt to complete your math homework while texting a friend and listening to music, you're multitasking.

Here's something surprising: most people aren't actually good at multitasking, even though it feels like they are. When you think you're doing two things at once, your brain is usually just switching back and forth very quickly between them. This rapid switching makes both tasks take longer and increases mistakes. A student who multitasks while studying might spend an hour on homework that should take thirty minutes, and still make careless errors they'd normally catch.

Some activities pair well together because one doesn't require much focus. You can walk and talk simultaneously, or listen to music while drawing. But activities that both demand serious concentration, like writing an essay while watching a movie, work against each other.

Computers, however, can genuinely multitask by running multiple programs simultaneously. Your computer can download a file, play music, and display this definition all at the same time without breaking a sweat. That's true multitasking, something human brains simply can't match, though we often try anyway.