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Life is busy. For all of us.
We’re all juggling relationships, work, hobbies, and more. Often, in our attempts to save time, we end up wasting much of it on things that aren’t efficient – like multitasking. It’s ironic. We do our best to save time, and the result is the complete opposite.
In fact, I’m doing that exact thing right now as I write this article. It’s taking a long time just to get that first paragraph down, so I suppose I should turn off my music and settle into a writing flow.
In the words of a definitely-not-famous philosopher, poet, and Pulitzer winner of the 21st Century, “We ain't got time to waste time.”
Kendrick Lamar said that, in case you were wondering. And in case you’ve been living under a rock, this is Kendrick Lamar.
So, with those words ringing in our ears, let’s dive in and discuss how we inadvertently waste our working hours, despite our best intentions.
While these two phrases sound like something a wannabe thought leader would talk about on LinkedIn or a fake video podcast, they are real and an actual time-suck for the majority of people.
But, what are they and what’s the difference between them?
When you switch from one activity to another, you're task-switching. Think about:
You might decide to switch tasks because you want to, or sometimes you have to because something pops up. Oftentimes, task-switching is just part of the gig. But the more you do it, the less efficient you’ll be in accomplishing your daily work.
Context-switching, however, goes a level deeper than task-switching. It involves changing the setting or “rules” of your work. For example:
Context-switching isn’t healthy in large doses, but can be a catalyst for creativity and efficiency when used wisely. Sometimes your daily work doesn’t allow for healthy amounts of context-switching, but the more you can control it, the better results you’ll have.
When you're juggling multiple tasks, it's easy to think you're getting more done at once, but the truth is, task-switching can have some real downsides. Here's what you might experience as a habitual task-switcher:
Your brain's got a warm-up routine, just like your muscles. Every time you jump to a new task, your brain has to do a miniature reset, eating into your productivity.
Ever notice how mixing tasks can make you slip up more? That's task-set inertia for you—your brain's still playing by the old task's rules.
Those little "switch costs" you pay every time you change tasks add up, making it take way longer to actually finish one thing, let alone two or three.
Keep flipping tasks and your noggin is going to get tired. You push too hard and the brain starts to lose steam, dropping your mental game.
A scattered focus means you're probably not giving each task the TLC it deserves, so the end result might not be your best work.
Trying to do it all at once? That's a Michelin-starred recipe for stress soup. Stress leads to poor execution, while feeling overwhelmed makes it hard to start or finish your work.
You might find your brain juggling different sets of rules and environments when you switch contexts, which ramps up the mental effort required. It also increases frustration.
If you're hopping between contexts often, settling into that zone of intense focus becomes tough, messing with any chance of churning out high quality stuff.
Every time you jump into a new context, there's this lag as your brain gears up with the right rules and goals. Add those minutes up, and you've got a lot less time on your hands.
Constantly shifting gears to adapt can really wear on your nerves, possibly cranking up your stress and worry meters.
Darting from one context to another can muddle your learning and make it hard for new info to stick.
If you're bouncing around teams or projects at work, keeping your lines of communication open and your relationships solid gets tricky. Sometimes this can lead to strained relationships and unnecessary drama.
Problems can be particular beasts needing tailored strategies. If you're not sticking around long enough in one context, understanding and solving these issues can get dicey.
The long haul of dealing with the mental, emotional, and time drain context-switching brings might leave you feeling wiped, cynical, and like you're not getting anywhere.
Frequent interruptions can yank you out of really getting into or liking what you're doing, which can make you frustrated with your job.
When you're busy adapting instead of diving deep, you could be passing up chances to hone a skill or wrap up jobs that require intense spans of focus.
How ‘bout that alliteration?
Task-switching and context-switching are kind of like pooping. Do it too much, and you might have a serious problem. Don’t do it enough, and you feel uncomfortable. But if you do it the right amount, you feel great.
Pretend that you're someone who does freelance audio engineering and podcast editing. Here are some suggestions to avoid switching too often. (If this scenario doesn’t relate to you… sorry. I only have the cognitive capacity to write for one group. The irony of writing for more than one audience as I write about context-switching would be too much for me to handle.)
Task and context-switching can eat up your time and energy without you even realizing it. Each time you switch tasks, your brain has to reset and refocus. This mental reshuffle isn't free—it costs you in terms of time, concentration, and productivity.
Being mindful of how often you switch tasks and contexts could save you some of these costs. Stay aware and try to minimize unnecessary switches to keep your brain in the zone and your work on point. Your brain will thank you with sanity, and your body will thank you with less stress.
Chipper Whatcott is the founder of Whelm, a free suite of software tools, built specifically for freelancers. He has a background in marketing and design, is married to “best woman in the world” (his words), has “the cutest baby boy in the world” (again, his words), and a failed podcast (who doesn’t).
