Some people struggle with multitasking more than others, but nobody is actually good at it: https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking https://www.apa.org

Some people struggle with multitasking more than others, but nobody is actually good at it: https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking That being said, some easy/mindless tasks (such as doodling in this example) can actually improve focus, which might be mistaken for multitasking: https://university-relations.umn.edu/blog/2021/07/16/doodling-listening-pencil https://university-relations.umn.edu/blog/2021/07/16/doodlin... I can imagine that background noise, like a podcast, might not hinder some people's focus; it may even improve it. However, if they are not focusing closely on both the podcast AND on the other task they are performing, I would not call that multitasking. For example, I listen to the radio when I drive long distances because it stops me from feeling bored or fatigued, but I don't consider it multitasking because the driving itself is mindless in this scenario. As soon as I need to focus more actively on driving, I stop paying attention to the radio.