How to Avoid Context Switching

In today’s dynamic work environments, the ability to multitask and switch between different projects quickly is often seen as a valuable characteristic of a person. The dark reality, however, is that a regular shifting between tasks also called context switching, is productivity-degrading and something employees should avoid rather than embrace.

What is Context-Switching?

Context switching is when you shift focus from one task to another. This may include checking an email, scrolling through social media, or having a quick call with someone. While we might not notice it, each context switch comes with a cognitive cost, which leads to a longer task completion time, a higher probability of errors, and lowered overall productivity. For example, Gloria Mark, a Professor from the University of California, in 2005 found that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task after context switching.

Besides lost productivity, some individuals could also experience increased mental fatigue and reduced creativity due to regular context switching. In the same study by Mark et al. (2005), a test was performed where workers were asked to answer a set of e-mails. One group was left unbothered while the other was constantly interrupted by phone calls and messages from colleagues. They found that people had higher levels of stress, frustration, mental effort, feelings of time pressure, and mental workload when interrupted.

Strategies to Prevent Context Switching

1. Identify context switches

This might sound a bit too obvious but to combat context switching you have to first understand what’s causing it and when you are most likely to switch between tasks. Take a day or two to write down every time you switch between a certain task, whether it’s a phone call, an email, or your talkative colleague complaining about some politician. This will allow you to start defending yourself against these interruptions.

2. Setting priorities

One of the main reasons individuals usually multitask is because multiple important tasks have to be completed. And to feel like we are addressing them all, we usually try to do a little of each one at once. However, due to the switching costs, in reality, we complete all the tasks slower than if we had focused on each one sequentially. Eisenhower Matrix is one of the tools that can help you identify which tasks you should do first.

3. Setting aside time for non-essential tasks

Instead of letting yourself be interrupted every ten to fifteen minutes, set specific time slots for non-essential tasks such as checking Slack, e-mail, or having a quick scroll-through on social media. This will minimize the amount of context switches within the workday. You can, for example, set a 15-20 minute “social check” break in the morning, before lunch, and in the afternoon.

4. Do not disturb

“Do not disturb” should become your favorite Slack and mobile phone function. Regular notifications or phone-buzzing will only tempt you to quickly check the message, even if you already have a specific time set aside for checking the messages.

5. Productivity tools

Nowadays it is easy to leverage technology to boost your productivity significantly. There’s a plethora of different kinds of tools now available to help you automate manual tasks. For example, our tool – RivalSense – can significantly reduce the time you spend on competitor monitoring by sending you weekly curated updates. Rather than checking every day what your competitors are up to, you would receive crisp, actionable insights that would take you only 15 minutes per week to read.

At the same time, you have to be careful not to use too many tools. Like switching between tasks, a shift between tools also takes a mental toll and reduces productivity. If you can integrate some apps into one, that would significantly increase not only your but the whole team’s productivity.

6. No-meeting days

One of the unlucky consequences of the pandemic was that middle managers fell in love with regular meetings. Furthermore, most of these meetings were completely pointless, boring, and lacked a clear agenda. If you’re a manager reading this now, know that your team would appreciate no-meeting days when they can fully focus on the tasks at hand.

Embracing Productivity

In today’s dynamic environments, those able to focus without unnecessary distractions will have a competitive advantage over multi-taskers. This is largely a mental problem everyone has to embrace, but one that can be easily overcome with the tools available today.