Revision 7T · Full Tutorial Edition · Updated 1 September 2026
PWR-099 · SELF GUIDED full tutorial
Measure the cost of two harmless desk tasks without pretending multitasking is free
Divided attention is performance when two demands overlap. People usually incur a cost, and practice may improve only the exact pairing or priority policy. This lesson uses a low-stakes card sort plus neutral tone count. The learner measures each task alone, declares which task has priority, performs them together, calculates each task's speed and accuracy cost, and stops if one task is sacrificed. Never transfer this drill to driving, road crossing, cooking heat, tools, medication, caregiving, work surveillance or any other consequential context.
What you will produceThe learner produces separate single-task and dual-task speed/accuracy results for card sorting and tone counting, with dual-task cost correctly calculated for both.
Full step-by-step individual tutorial · TLU-PWR-099
The learner produces separate single-task and dual-task speed/accuracy results for card sorting and tone counting, with dual-task cost correctly calculated for both.
Practise only seated, reversible paper-and-tone tasks with no real-world consequence.
Choose a clear priority rule and measure both tasks against their own single-task baselines.
Stop, simplify or sequence the tasks when accuracy or comfort falls.
Qualified help is required for
Any assessment involving gait, falls, driving, work performance, caregiving, medication, clinical diagnosis or rehabilitation.
Adaptation for significant sensory overload, neurological injury, cognitive decline or a regulated testing context.
Interpretation of dual-task findings as clinical or occupational capacity.
Never do this from the page alone
Dual-task while driving, cycling in traffic, crossing a road, using tools or heat, climbing, swimming, carrying a child or managing medication.
Use another person's alerts, messages or private information as the secondary task.
Call a smaller lab cost proof of unlimited attention or real-world safety.
2 · Get ready
Gather what you need and check the starting conditions
What you need
Twenty-four cards: 12 red and 12 blue, shuffled
Two labelled trays for the colour sort
A 60-second neutral tone track with exactly 10 clearly spaced target tones and an answer key
Timer and score sheet for time, card errors, tone hits, misses and false counts
Quiet seated table with notifications off
Before you start
Remove all safety-critical and real responsibilities; this is a desk exercise only.
Check tone volume is comfortable and provide a visual-flash alternative as a different configuration if needed.
Choose the priority rule: keep card-sort accuracy at baseline before trying to improve tone count.
Stop for headache, dizziness, distress, sensory overload, confusion or rapidly increasing errors.
3 · The method
Follow these steps in order
Set the two rules
Sort red cards left and blue cards right; count only the target tone, not distractor sounds. Repeat both rules aloud.
Why: Clear rules prevent task confusion from masquerading as divided-attention cost.
Check: The learner correctly classifies two sample cards and two sample sounds.
Measure card sorting alone
Shuffle all 24 cards, start the timer, sort by colour and stop after the last card. Record time and wrong-tray cards.
Why: Each component needs its own baseline.
Check: A complete time and accuracy result is recorded.
Measure tone counting alone
Play the tone track while hands rest. Write the target count only when the track ends and record error against the answer key.
Why: The secondary task also needs a baseline.
Check: Hits/count error is recorded without card sorting.
Rest and restate priority
Pause for at least two minutes, then state: card accuracy has priority; if it falls beyond the declared rule, stop the pair.
Why: A declared priority prevents hidden sacrifice.
Check: The priority and stop rule are written before pairing.
Run both tasks together
Start the tone track and card timer together. Sort at a controlled pace while silently counting tones; finish the sort, then write the tone count.
Why: This creates one declared dual-task fixture.
Check: Both raw results are captured without an added phone or conversation.
Calculate both costs
For card time, calculate (dual time minus single time) divided by single time times 100. For each accuracy, subtract dual accuracy from single accuracy.
Why: One aggregate can hide that one task was sacrificed.
Check: The score sheet shows separate time and percentage-point accuracy costs.
Diagnose the trade-off
Check whether card priority was protected and where tone misses occurred. If priority accuracy fell, sequence the tasks or slow/simplify; do not celebrate the combined speed.
Why: Improvement must not come from neglecting the priority task.
Check: The decision names which task paid the cost.
Repeat only the same harmless pair
After rest, run at most one more paired trial with the same cards, track and priority. A new task pairing is a new test.
Why: Repeated exposure should stay bounded and comparable.
Check: No unsafe or consequential context is added.
4 · Worked example
See the whole method used once
Scenario
A learner sorts 24 red/blue cards and counts 10 target tones. Card accuracy is the declared priority.
Walkthrough
Card-only baseline is 24/24 correct in 40 seconds.
Tone-only baseline is 10/10 correct.
Together, the card sort is 22/24 correct in 48 seconds and the tone count is 8/10.
Card time cost is (48-40)/40 = 20%; card accuracy falls from 100% to 91.7%, an 8.3-point cost; tone accuracy falls 20 points.
Because priority card accuracy fell, the learner does not call the pair successful and chooses to slow the pair or sequence the tasks next time.
Result
Both tasks show measurable dual-task cost, including sacrifice of the declared priority. The result describes this exact card-and-tone pairing only and cannot certify safe multitasking elsewhere.
5 · Right and wrong
Compare correct or safer execution with the common wrong version
Right and wrong comparison
Moment
Right / safer
Wrong / riskier
Why it matters
Baselines: Divided attention checkpoint
Measure each task alone first. It is correct when the learner correctly classifies two sample cards and two sample sounds.
Compare the pair with memory of usual performance.
Resources and consequences are not automatically equal.
Scoring: Divided attention checkpoint
Report each task's speed and accuracy.
Use one combined score; it breaks the 'Measure tone counting alone' execution rule.
A composite can hide sacrifice. That changes each task's speed and accuracy relative to its own single-task baseline. It is no longer the same test.
Response to cost
Slow, simplify or sequence when priority errors rise.
Push faster to get used to overload.
Extra speed can worsen the important task.
Transfer: Divided attention checkpoint
Keep practice at the seated desk.
Try the drill while walking or driving.
Real-world consequence makes this unsafe and unvalidated.
6 · Common mistakes
Spot the error and apply the correction
Common mistakes and corrections
Mistake
Fix
Tone counting has no single-task baseline.
Run and score the tone track alone before pairing.
The tone track changes between conditions.
Use the same duration, target count and volume for the declared fixture.
Only card-sort time is reported.
Record card errors and tone accuracy as separate outcomes.
Faster pair performance hides lower accuracy.
Apply the priority accuracy rule before interpreting speed.
The learner practises with notifications from real people.
Use a neutral prerecorded track and keep private/urgent channels off.
7 · Practice
Turn the steps into a usable skill
First session
Learn both rules with two samples.
Complete one card-only baseline and one tone-only baseline.
Rest, declare card-accuracy priority and its stop rule.
Complete one paired trial and calculate all four costs.
After two minutes, repeat the identical pair once only if comfortable and compare trade-offs.
Repeat plan
Use the identical harmless pairing for two short sessions per week for two weeks, no more than two paired trials per session. Re-measure single-task baselines at the start of each session. In week three, test a new neutral card set but keep rules/tone/priority fixed and label it near transfer.
Progress when
Priority-task accuracy stays within the declared baseline tolerance.
Both tasks' separate costs fall across two sessions without greater burden.
The learner voluntarily sequences tasks when the cost remains high.
Do not progress when
Priority errors, false tone counts or response time worsen across trials.
Headache, overload, anxiety, confusion or fatigue appears.
The proposed practice involves gait, driving, tools, medication, caregiving or real work consequences.
8 · Check the result
Measure what changed
Each task's speed and accuracy relative to its own single-task baseline
How: Use identical card and tone fixtures; calculate time cost as relative slowing and accuracy cost as percentage-point loss for each task, retaining raw results.
Good result: Across two sessions, priority accuracy remains at baseline while the other costs decline without higher burden; otherwise sequence the tasks.
This does not prove: It does not prove general multitasking capacity, real-world safety, clinical recovery or transfer to another pairing.
Self-check
Do both tasks have speed and accuracy baselines?
What task has priority and what exact error stops the pair?
Can you calculate cost for each task separately?
Did any improvement come from sacrificing priority accuracy?
Can you name five contexts where dual-task practice is prohibited?
9 · Stop, adapt or get help
Keep the safety boundary practical
Stop and get help
Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
Do not begin or immediately stop if any task becomes safety-critical, clinical, private or consequential for another person.
Seek qualified assessment rather than self-testing when divided attention is linked to falls, driving concerns, neurological symptoms or loss of daily function.
Accessibility and adaptations
Use larger high-contrast cards, a comfortable visual-flash track or tactile targets as separate declared configurations.
Use a scribe or large-button timer so motor speed does not dominate, while recording the assistance.
Reduce card count or track duration to preserve the same two-rule cost calculation, not to compare directly with the original fixture.
10 · Evidence and limits
Why these instructions are here
primary research
Dual-task training produced task-specific attentional-control changes with age-related differences, so the exact pairing and population must remain visible.
Adrian M Owen; Adam Hampshire; Jessica A Grahn; Robert Stenton; Said Dajani; Alistair S Burns; Robert J Howard; Clive G Ballard · 2010 · Primary research
Progress is saved only in this browser on this device.
Step-by-step learner mode
Each activity includes its success check, a nearby accessible alternative and an “I’m stuck” correction path. Alternatives preserve the target where possible; when they change the task, Titan labels them as related rather than equivalent.
01
Set the two rules
Sort red cards left and blue cards right; count only the target tone, not distractor sounds. Repeat both rules aloud.
Why this step exists
Clear rules prevent task confusion from masquerading as divided-attention cost.
Success check
The learner correctly classifies two sample cards and two sample sounds.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Sort red cards left and blue cards right; count only the target tone, not distractor sounds. Repeat both rules aloud.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The result from “Sort red cards left and blue cards right; count only the target tone, not distractor sounds. Repeat both rules aloud.” does not yet meet this declared check: The learner correctly classifies two sample cards and two sample sounds.
Correction: Return to the start of “Set the two rules”, reduce complexity or pace, and repeat only the part needed to satisfy: “The learner correctly classifies two sample cards and two sample sounds.”
Stop / get help: Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
02
Measure card sorting alone
Shuffle all 24 cards, start the timer, sort by colour and stop after the last card. Record time and wrong-tray cards.
Why this step exists
Each component needs its own baseline.
Success check
A complete time and accuracy result is recorded.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Shuffle all 24 cards, start the timer, sort by colour and stop after the last card. Record time and wrong-tray cards.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: Only card-sort time is reported.
Correction: Record card errors and tone accuracy as separate outcomes.
Stop / get help: Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
03
Measure tone counting alone
Play the tone track while hands rest. Write the target count only when the track ends and record error against the answer key.
Why this step exists
The secondary task also needs a baseline.
Success check
Hits/count error is recorded without card sorting.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Play the tone track while hands rest. Write the target count only when the track ends and record error against the answer key.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: Tone counting has no single-task baseline.
Correction: Run and score the tone track alone before pairing.
Possible snag: The tone track changes between conditions.
Correction: Use the same duration, target count and volume for the declared fixture.
Stop / get help: Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
04
Rest and restate priority
Pause for at least two minutes, then state: card accuracy has priority; if it falls beyond the declared rule, stop the pair.
Why this step exists
A declared priority prevents hidden sacrifice.
Success check
The priority and stop rule are written before pairing.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Pause for at least two minutes, then state: card accuracy has priority; if it falls beyond the declared rule, stop the pair.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: Faster pair performance hides lower accuracy.
Correction: Apply the priority accuracy rule before interpreting speed.
Stop / get help: Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
05
Run both tasks together
Start the tone track and card timer together. Sort at a controlled pace while silently counting tones; finish the sort, then write the tone count.
Why this step exists
This creates one declared dual-task fixture.
Success check
Both raw results are captured without an added phone or conversation.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Start the tone track and card timer together. Sort at a controlled pace while silently counting tones; finish the sort, then write the tone count.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The result from “Start the tone track and card timer together. Sort at a controlled pace while silently counting tones; finish the sort, then write the tone count.” does not yet meet this declared check: Both raw results are captured without an added phone or conversation.
Correction: Return to the start of “Run both tasks together”, reduce complexity or pace, and repeat only the part needed to satisfy: “Both raw results are captured without an added phone or conversation.”
Stop / get help: Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
06
Calculate both costs
For card time, calculate (dual time minus single time) divided by single time times 100. For each accuracy, subtract dual accuracy from single accuracy.
Why this step exists
One aggregate can hide that one task was sacrificed.
Success check
The score sheet shows separate time and percentage-point accuracy costs.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “For card time, calculate (dual time minus single time) divided by single time times 100. For each accuracy, subtract dual accuracy from single accuracy.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The result from “For card time, calculate (dual time minus single time) divided by single time times 100. For each accuracy, subtract dual accuracy from single accuracy.” does not yet meet this declared check: The score sheet shows separate time and percentage-point accuracy costs.
Correction: Return to the start of “Calculate both costs”, reduce complexity or pace, and repeat only the part needed to satisfy: “The score sheet shows separate time and percentage-point accuracy costs.”
Stop / get help: Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
07
Diagnose the trade-off
Check whether card priority was protected and where tone misses occurred. If priority accuracy fell, sequence the tasks or slow/simplify; do not celebrate the combined speed.
Why this step exists
Improvement must not come from neglecting the priority task.
Success check
The decision names which task paid the cost.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Check whether card priority was protected and where tone misses occurred. If priority accuracy fell, sequence the tasks or slow/simplify; do not celebrate the combined speed.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The result from “Check whether card priority was protected and where tone misses occurred. If priority accuracy fell, sequence the tasks or slow/simplify; do not celebrate the combined speed.” does not yet meet this declared check: The decision names which task paid the cost.
Correction: Return to the start of “Diagnose the trade-off”, reduce complexity or pace, and repeat only the part needed to satisfy: “The decision names which task paid the cost.”
Stop / get help: Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
08
Repeat only the same harmless pair
After rest, run at most one more paired trial with the same cards, track and priority. A new task pairing is a new test.
Why this step exists
Repeated exposure should stay bounded and comparable.
Success check
No unsafe or consequential context is added.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “After rest, run at most one more paired trial with the same cards, track and priority. A new task pairing is a new test.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The learner practises with notifications from real people.
Correction: Use a neutral prerecorded track and keep private/urgent channels off.
Stop / get help: Stop for headache, dizziness, sensory overload, panic, confusion or errors that keep rising after rest.
Correct versus incorrect execution
These accessible process diagrams are built from the tutorial’s own right/wrong teaching. They are not anatomical illustrations and do not add technique beyond the canonical tutorial.
Measure each task alone first. It is correct when the learner correctly classifies two sample cards and two sample sounds.
Wrong / riskier
Compare the pair with memory of usual performance.
Priority: Divided attention checkpoint — Resources and consequences are not automatically equal.
Correct / safer
Declare which outcome must be protected.
Wrong / riskier
Say both tasks receive equal attention.
Scoring: Divided attention checkpoint — A composite can hide sacrifice. That changes each task's speed and accuracy relative to its own single-task baseline. It is no longer the same test.
Correct / safer
Report each task's speed and accuracy.
Wrong / riskier
Use one combined score; it breaks the 'Measure tone counting alone' execution rule.
Response to cost — Extra speed can worsen the important task.
Correct / safer
Slow, simplify or sequence when priority errors rise.
Wrong / riskier
Push faster to get used to overload.
Transfer: Divided attention checkpoint — Real-world consequence makes this unsafe and unvalidated.
Correct / safer
Keep practice at the seated desk.
Wrong / riskier
Try the drill while walking or driving.
Method-structure checklist
10 of 10 structural checks present
✓ Ordered, Power-specific instructions — present
✓ Every activity has a success check — present
✓ Materials or supplied records are declared — present
✓ Measurement or assessment rule is present — present
✓ Tutorial-specific troubleshooting is present — present
✓ Stopping or escalation boundary is present — present
✓ Every activity has an adjacent alternative — present
✓ Correct-versus-incorrect comparison is present — present
✓ Evidence context is bound to the Power record — present
✓ Planning metadata is present — present
The method-readiness band and presence checklist assess tutorial presentation and are separate from evidence quality for the underlying Power. They are automated editorial aids, not human approval.
Manual editorial sign-off: Pending. This tutorial must not display a human-approved state until an identified editor signs the exact content hash.