Switch slowly and strategically

No matter how much you reduce the causes of switching, some switching will always be inevitable. So the final step in improving focus and productivity is to reduce the costs of switching. With a little awareness and planning, you can ensure that when you do have to switch gears, you’re able to resume your primary task with as little effort as possible.

You have two key tactics when it comes to switching. First, take your time when switching. Instead of flitting from task to task, spend a moment or two saving your state. The second is to do what you can to group related tasks into blocks so that you minimize the amount of context-switching you have to do to perform a given task.

Let’s dive deeper into taking your time when switching. When you unavoidably need to switch tasks, you want to take your time to reach a good stopping point with your current task. That could mean taking 10 minutes to finish what you’re working on, or it could mean taking a minute or two to make notes and save your mental state. Write some comments in your code. Write a sticky note about what you were working on and what your next step is when you resume your work. Then take a moment to think about where you are at.

At first glance, this may seem like it would slow down your switching, but the benefits of this extra time pay dividends when you return to the interrupted task. A 2003 study found that taking even a moment to save your state can make it easier to resume a task after an interruption. Since the average resumption time for software development tasks can be on the order of 15 minutes, saving 5-10 minutes when resuming a task makes a big difference.

This switching process can also serve as a sort of habit or ritual to create just enough friction that you have to make a more deliberate decision to leave one task behind and start on a new one. That little bit of extra friction can help you recognize when a task isn’t urgent and can wait for you to finish what you’re working on.

The second facet of better switching revolves around grouping cognitively-related tasks. For instance, writing code and reviewing code require two subtly different mindsets. Or switching between coding work and administrative work requires significant context-switching overhead. So, instead, try to group tasks with similar contexts and thought process into blocks of focused time.

For example, instead of rushing to do a code review as soon as you receive a notification, save code reviews for a specific time of day or even a specific day of the week if possible. That way, with each task, even though you’re still switching between multiple code reviews or multiple administrative tasks, you’re able to maintain some shared context and mental state for a given group of tasks so that you can move between them more efficiently.

Alternatively, if you’re due to work on multiple different components of an application, try to group the work based on commonalities. Maybe it’s a matter of working on tasks related to one repository first. Or maybe you can group the work by the development language used to build it. As developers, we tend to do this more naturally based on the tools we need for a given task, but making it a deliberate part of how you organize your work can go a long way.

Finally, when grouping your work, save lower-focus tasks for the time of the day that you know you regularly start to lose focus. That way, you’re more likely to be able to recognize when your concentration may be waining and switch to something simpler. For instance, save administrative tasks like expense reports, time tracking, or other similar tasks for the end of the day. Instead of trying to finish strong, use the end of the day to wind down on necessary but less strenuous tasks. This can also help create a natural transition off of work and on to your recovery time.

Even though you can reduce distractions and interruptions, task switching isn’t entirely avoidable. So while proactively reducing the need to switch tasks is the best solution, you need to compliment it by improving your ability to switch with consideration. Don’t let your tasks control you. Instead, take time to switch deliberately and ensure that you can more easily return to a given task later with less effort.

Your next steps

1. Get in the habit of saving your mental state before switching tasks.
2. Leave yourself virtual or physical bread crumbs to help with resumption of tasks.
3. Try to switch to tasks strategically based on energy and focus levels.