Attention and switching between tasks

Give one task enough attention to reach a useful stopping point. When you need to switch, leave a short note about where to resume so you do not have to reconstruct your progress.

What to do

1. Batch similar small tasks. Emails, calls, quick approvals – one block, not scattered across the day.
2. Close the loop before switching. Write one sentence: where you stopped and what the next action is. It's a cheap way to quiet thoughts about unfinished work.
3. Give demanding work a single context. Close extra tabs and notifications for a stretch you choose.
4. Negotiate, don't just endure. If interruptions are systemic, agree on quiet hours or a dedicated channel for genuinely urgent issues.

Example

Andriy, an analyst, writes a report while answering the team chat. He notices he rereads the last paragraph after every reply. He decides to check chat at 11:00 and 15:00 and tells colleagues to call if something is truly urgent. Before each break, he jots down the report's next step.

In Plynno

Leave your next step in the task comment. Capture unrelated thoughts in the scratchpad, then return to the task at hand.

Try this now

Before moving on to your next task, write one sentence: "The next step here is…".

Sources

• Monsell, S. (2003). Task switching. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(3), 134–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(03)00028-7
• Leroy, S. (2009). Why is it so hard to do my work? The challenge of attention residue when switching between work tasks. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109(2), 168–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.04.002