Context Switching

The mental cost of shifting focus between different types of tasks, which disrupts concentration, reduces output quality, and increases the likelihood of errors.

Studies show it can take 23 minutes to fully regain focus after an interruption. Minimising context switching, through time blocking and task batching, dramatically improves output.

A founder who answers Slack messages between writing emails, then jumps to a podcast recording, then back to emails, is context switching constantly and doing all tasks worse than she would in focused blocks.