The only form of multitasking which does not degrade performance in all involved tasks.
The one true exception to the guidance “Never Multitask” is multichannel multitasking.
Multichannel multitasking involves doing two or three things at once that genuinely take up different parts of the brain. It’s been shown experimentally that people cannot truly process two streams of language at once. You cannot hear two people talking and understand both of them. However, it is possible to have an in-depth conversation with someone as you toss a ball back and forth between each other. You’re utilizing two different processing areas of the brain.
Multitasking that Works
- Cleaning the house while listening to a book
- Any task that involves waiting in a line + any other task which may be done from that line
- Exercising while thinking about a problem you’re trying to solve