Interruptions

NYT: New data on the problems of "multitasking"

Merlin Mann — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 07:01:24 -0400

Slow Down, Multitaskers, and Don’t Read in Traffic - New York Times

Yesterday’s New York Times front page ran an article pulling together the results of several recent studies looking at how interruptions and attempts to multitask can affect the quality of work as well as the length of recovery time.

Here’s one bit that really grabbed me:

In a recent study, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment Web sites.

“I was surprised by how easily people were distracted and how long it took them to get back to the task,” said Eric Horvitz, a Microsoft research scientist and co-author, with Shamsi Iqbal of the University of Illinois, of a paper on the study that will be presented next month.

And, from a PDF of another of the studies cited (“Isolation of a Central Bottleneck of Information Processing with Time-Resolved fMRI”), here’s a telling snippet from the article’s abstract (yes, most of the rest of it is well over my head):

When humans attempt to perform two tasks at once, execution of the first task usually leads to postponement of the second one. This task delay is thought to result from a bottleneck occurring at a central, amodal stage of information processing that precludes two response selection or decision-making operations from being concurrently executed…These results suggest that a neural network of frontal lobe areas acts as a central bottleneck of information processing that severely limits our ability to multitask.

My own feelings on the myth of multi-tasking are well-documented, but it’s fascinating to see research interest focused in this area — although it’s certainly not surprising, given its potential impact on knowledge workers and the industries that employ them. Again, from yesterday’s NYT article:

The productivity lost by overtaxed multitaskers cannot be measured precisely, but it is probably a lot. Jonathan B. Spira, chief analyst at Basex, a business-research firm, estimates the cost of interruptions to the American economy at nearly $650 billion a year…

The information age is really only a decade or two old in the sense of most people working and communicating on digital devices all day, Mr. Spira said. In the industrial era, it took roughly a century until Frederick Winslow Taylor in 1911 published his principles of “scientific management” for increasing worker productivity.

“We don’t have any equivalent yet for the knowledge economy,” Mr. Spira said.

”NYT: New data on the problems of "multitasking"” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on March 26, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Dave Cheong on staying focused at work

Merlin Mann — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 05:10:38 -0500

18 Ways to Stay Focused at Work

In this post from last August, Dave Cheong pointed out some of the hazards of working in a cube farm, and he proposes some handy tips for wresting back your attention from a room full of interruptions and distractions. I think a few of these tips are big winners.

Allocate time slots colleagues can interrupt you…Instead of having people stop by your desk every 10 mins and asking you questions, let them know of a time in the day, say between 2-4pm you can be interrupted. At all other times, you can really get some work done…

Apply time boxing…Instead of working at something till it is done, try working on it for a limited period, say 30 mins. By that time, the task is either completed or you allocate another time slot, perhaps in another day, to pick it up again…

Find the best time to do repetitive and boring tasks…For example, I’m more alert at the start of the day, so it’s better to work on things which require brain power early. Working on boring tasks that can be done via auto-pilot are better left towards the end of the day when I’m usually tired.

I realize that many of these ideas assume a lot of autonomy and control over your work day as well as how you conduct it — obviously not every career is conducive to the enforcement of what amounts to “office hours” — but I think that’s kind of the point as well as the irony and the big, bottom-line challenge.

If the typical knowledge worker were removing shrapnel, driving a fire truck, or piloting a shrimp boat, people would know to leave him or her alone; clearly that person is “working.” But if someone is “just typing with headphones on,” there’s a seemingly small disincentive to, say, just ask a quick question or even conduct the equivalent of a 5-minute meeting.

It’s really up to each of us to learn these tricks and (one hopes) to eventually develop some structures — bulwarks against interruption and attention larceny — and to encourage an atmosphere where all our colleagues can know, respect, and support one another’s need to minimize unnecessary distraction.

For now, we’ve got headphones and an icy stare, and I guess that’s better than nothing.

”Dave Cheong on staying focused at work” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on January 08, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

43f Podcast: David Allen on interruptions

Merlin Mann — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 11:34:19 -0500

Productive Talk #06: Interruptions

43 Folders and The David Allen Company present the sixth in a series of conversations that David and Merlin recently had about Getting Things Done.

Summary

In this episode David and I talked about interruptions. How you can minimize the bad interruptions and make the best of the good ones.

(Running time: 10:17)

Grab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen here (after the cut).

Merlin’s comments

In this episode, David makes the excellent point that if interruptions are a baked-in part of your job, they shouldn’t necessarily be seen as a Bad Thing. It’s just something you need to prepare for by “clearing the decks” in a way that opens you up for the opportunities and game-time input that new information can bring into your world.

Something not to miss — David is just truly a whiz at changing gears based on his own system. If new stuff interrupts what he’s currently working on, he scoops all the current work back into “pending,” and basically says “Bring it on!”

As I mentioned in the interview, watching David work like this took me back to Martin Ternouth’s paper-based system, which turns on a couple key, GTD-esque ideas: 1) you’re only ever working on one thing at a time, and 2) everything current gets emptied and re-evaluated daily.

I think it’s that jog between in-the-moment work and frequent review that really makes a system like GTD work. When (not if) interruptions arise, you trust the system to hold your work in situ, and then your reviews ensure you never miss a beat.

And, finally, although we didn’t get into it as much as I’d like, I really think it’s important to understand and distinguish between interruptions as opposed to distractions. In other words, there are those things that immediately need our attention in life (poopy babies, family emergencies, buildings on fire) versus those notifications, pings, and existential shovelware that we’ve chosen to accept (*waves at RSS feeds and AIM*).

So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by interruptions, make sure you’ve done everything you can to reduce the noise. In other words, consider clearing your own decks today for the serendipity and kismet that might be coming your way this week.

To paraphrase Thomas Edison, sometimes interesting opportunities arrive dressed as a huge pain in the ass.

Listen to Episode #06 of Productive Talk

Grab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen from here:

”43f Podcast: David Allen on interruptions” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on November 06, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Managing around interruptions

Merlin Mann — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 05:30:55 -0400

Being organized means marshalling resources - The Boston Globe

Cindy Krischer Goodman’s recent article on time management for the overcommitted and overwhelmed contains a gem from Stephanie Winston, who points out how senior executives learn to manage around the interruptions in their lives:

To do this, she says, start by blocking an hour or half-hour each day as power time to accomplish priorities. That may mean coming in early or hiding in the cafeteria to escape interruptions.

Break tasks into 10-minute segments; when you get interrupted, jot a phrase or cue to bring you back into the task later. When people drop in or call, give them your full attention, she suggests.

I think this is one reason why I like getting up early; time like that is so much easier to claim and defend before the world’s demands start banging down your door.

”Managing around interruptions” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on August 10, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

SBJ: Filtering interruptions to enhance focus

Merlin Mann — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 06:06:51 -0500

Emerging Technology - Discover Magazine - E-mail Making You Crazy?

Steven Johnson on battling the email and interruption avalanches with smarter technology. He also cites the King’s College study suggesting that “multitasking” makes you less productive than if you’d been doing bong hits.

But full-screen mode is limited. You may not want to eliminate the outside world entirely. If there’s an urgent staff meeting called, you don’t want to miss the e-mail. On the other hand, you don’t want to be distracted by 15 other e-mail messages that could be read later. People already prioritize by thresholds of concentration. That’s why you may say to an assistant: “Please, don’t bother me with calls—unless it’s my spouse.”

Computers should be better at this kind of filtering, but they’re not programmed to anticipate how your attention shifts from one minute to the next. Your e-mail client doesn’t know that you’re trying to focus on another, more pressing problem. But it would be easy enough to create protocols that define different modes of concentration. Many laptops have location settings that allow you to switch from office mode to home mode and thus change a whole host of settings. Why not offer a comparable option for defining different mental states?

I do not disagree.

[ thanks, David Kuykendall ]

”SBJ: Filtering interruptions to enhance focus” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 31, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

43F Podcast: The Myth of Multi-tasking

Merlin Mann — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 14:49:45 -0400

The Myth of Multi-tasking (mp3)

43Folders.com - “Multi-taskers” are really just splitting their time and attention into smaller slices than you; no one can really do more than one thing at a time. (2:34)

”43F Podcast: The Myth of Multi-tasking” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 20, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

NPR: Clive on "Interruption Science"

Merlin Mann — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 11:16:37 -0400

NPR : ‘Interruption Science’: Costly Distractions at Work

Good recap of Clive’s article in which he expands on a couple important points.

Technology forces us to juggle competing demands on our attention over the course of our workdays. Alex Chadwick speaks with New York Times Magazine contributor Clive Thompson about “interruption science,” the study of the effect of disruptions on job performance.

I really like that Clive stresses the distinction between actual productivity (which so often refers obliquely to the number of widgets you can generate) vs. happiness, or even just the absence of non-stop stress.

Personally? I don’t do this stuff so that I can make more;I do it so I can freak out less.

[ via Jon Udell ]

”NPR: Clive on "Interruption Science"” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 19, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Recap: Overload and the interrupt-driven lifestyle

Merlin Mann — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 06:29:38 -0400

Clive’s excellent article from Sunday’s New York Times Magazine (previously) has brought us a lot of new folks looking for ways to adapt to the overloaded, always-on, interrupt-driven world in which most of us are living. So, I’ve bubbled up a few older entries on these topics that you might find useful:

Five fast email productivity tips - Five no-brainers that I’ve seen help a lot of folks. #1: Set your email program’s auto check to no more often than once per hour. That’s right, Mr. Indispensable, you heard me: one hour.
Harnessing your interstitial time - Capitalize on change by planning small and watching for unexpected bits of time that you can liberate and put to good use. What tasks can fit through the narrow windows of time that are available to you?
Impressive paper-based project management workflow - This fascinating “kanban“-inspired system includes built-in stops to ensure 1) we only work on one task at a time and that, 2) only so much can be “current” at a given time.
Incomplete tasks and the Zeigarnik Effect - The Zeigarnik effect states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.
Want to keep surfing? Pay the Webolodeon - Danny’s Greasemonkey script bugs you every few minutes to see if you really still need to be surfing the web.
Mental dialogues, yak-shaving & the triumph of the “mini-review”? - Give yourself 10 or 15 minutes to review your work and see if it really squares with your goals. Are you shaving an unnecessary yak?
On the culture of distraction; one pipe for all interruptions? - Pointing to a really good article on the problems and implications of the interruption-driven lifestyle. Full of good bits. Also an idea for an API that lets us decide the when and what of breaking our attention.
Tips on maintaining concentration - Tips that are useful way beyond studying—really for any kind of work that requires your mind not to wander off on its own.
Stever Robbins on email overload - Article on dealing with high email volume that focuses on what you can do to craft email messages that are easy to process, read, and answer.

”Recap: Overload and the interrupt-driven lifestyle” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 18, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

On the culture of distraction; one pipe for all interruptions?

Merlin Mann — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 08:02:35 -0400

Driven to distraction by technology | CNET News.com

Really good article on the problems and implications of the interruption-driven lifestyle. Full of great bits, including this:

Businesses could benefit from introducing a collective effort to switch off, Honore said. He points to the marketing department at Veritas Software, which last year instituted “E-mail-free Fridays” for its marketing department. The move came at the behest of Jeremy Burton, an executive vice president who was finding his in-box stuffed with 400 messages a day, many from his own department.

In Burton’s department, employees can’t e-mail one another on Friday, but they are allowed to e-mail customers or other parts of the storage company if they have to. The result? Workers spend more time connecting face to face, and Burton finds his in-box is only half as full.

And when it comes to finishing up a big project, many workers are unplugging altogether—something that Microsoft’s [Chris] Capossela says should not have to be the answer.

Well-written software could offer a better solution, he said. It should help employees stay connected but enable them to receive only messages they want to get—from a boss or family member, say.

Also, Carl Honore, the author of In Praise of Slowness (Amazon.com: US | UK | CA | FR | DE | JP) offers great tips like this, among others:

Before using any time-saving technology, ask yourself if you could perform the task…more efficiently using an old-fashioned method such as walking across the office and talking face to face.

I really do encourage you to read the whole article, because it gets to the heart of a problem that’s contributing to most everyone’s stress and feeling of being constantly overwhelmed. And you might want to follow it up with seeing how Billy G. reportedly carves out a “Think Week” each year.

The piece of technology we could really use

Danny and I (as well as many other folks, obviously) have been thinking about this stuff a lot lately. Seems like most of our problems today don’t stem from a dearth of technology or a lack of access to the tools we need; we have faster, bigger, and more powerful crap than most of us can ever hope to fully use, plus it’s available everywhere. We’re drinking from a freakin’ fire hose. The real trick will be figuring out how to get all these devices’ copious output delivered in a way that’s meaningful, contextual, and timely.

I’m starting to think that devices and applications should share a standard—like an API, I suppose—that can pipe to something like Growl (or what Quicksilver calls its “Notification Hub”). That way, we could each adapt all the streams of data, alarms, and updates in our lives into our own logic-based system. That way you’re not beholden to how Outlook, iCal, Bloglines, AIM, or what have you chooses to tap you on the shoulder.

Add Bayesian filtering and rules-based behaviors to the mix and there’s at least a hope that we could only be notified (read: “interrupted”) when something truly important is happening within the froth of information that’s sprayed at our heads all day. Here’s hoping, anyhow.

The standard part would be a relative breeze; I’m guessing the tricky part would be to get adoption from a bunch of competing companies. Still, everybody would benefit from having a product that “plugged in” to a popular notifications protocol. Standards worked for light sockets, headphone plugs, sewer lids, and railroad tracks. Maybe it’s time to demand our “productivity” products play a little nicer together, too. Pipe dream? You tell me.

”On the culture of distraction; one pipe for all interruptions?” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on July 25, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"