What is Divided Attention?

Handling more than one thing at once

Divided attention is your brain's ability to monitor and respond to multiple streams of information at the same time. True multitasking is mostly a myth. What your brain actually does is rapidly switch between tasks. But with practice, those switches get faster and smoother, so it feels seamless.

Source

Corbetta, M., & Shulman, G. L. (2002). Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3(3), 201–215.

In real life...

When you need to juggle multiple demands, try prioritizing rather than equalizing. Give your primary task about 80% of your focus and do periodic 'check-ins' on the secondary task. Your brain handles this kind of structured switching much better than trying to split attention evenly.

Connected games

Trouble Brewing

Attention

Assist Ants

Attention

Playing Koi

Attention

Train of Thought

Attention