"Why Is It So Hard to Reply to a Chat While Coding?"

Ever been deep into coding or thinking about system architecture, someone tries to talk to you, and your brain just blanks out? Relax, that’s normal, bro. As guys, we are just not built for multitasking. If we force ourselves to do many things at once, our performance drops, and we just end up messing everything up.

Not an Excuse, It's Science

Here, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania published in the PNAS journal, the "wiring" in male and female brains is literally structured differently.

A guy's brain has wiring that runs straight from front to back on the same side. The effect? We are incredibly good at having maximum focus on a single task until it's finished. Once we enter the work zone, we are hard to distract.

On the other hand, a woman's brain has wiring that connects across the left and right hemispheres. That's why they are biologically much more flexible at multitasking, as their brains can quickly shuttle information between different tasks at the same time.

Just Focus on One Thing

The point is, stop trying to multitask if it just leads to stress. Our superpower is focus, also known as deep work. Fix one system bug, then reply to the client's chat. Finish the business report, then move on to other matters.

Valid Sources:

• PNAS Journal: Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain

• Here, according to another study from BMC Psychology that directly tested men vs. women: Are women better than men at multi-tasking?