Context Switching Is Your Worst Enemy

I like to work on one task at a time. It is not efficient when I’m constantly diverted from the task at hand for something else. But recently there are many things going on with me… and I constantly find myself switching context throughout the day.

At the end of the day, I lose precious time and results take a long time to show up.

But then I started following a technique that helped me save time from context switching.

I started dividing my time into segments. I’ve already written something about it before and it is working very well for me.

I find the longest slot in my day to do my focus work. My focus work mostly involves designing or coding.

And I try to push all the small but important tasks into the small gap between the meetings.

Check these stats,

But what about the ad-hoc tasks or requests from teammates?

Well, I don’t make those anymore.

I use slack and there is a sweet feature called snooze or set myself away. I’ve started making use of that feature finally. When I need focus time, I hit on the snooze and set myself away and then concentrate on work undivided.

I won’t lie – this is not 100% effective… but this has helped me to get my work done every day. Also, I started finding more time to reflect on that work.

If you are finding yourself switching context continuously then this is a perfect way to get your work done.

Try it and let me know about it.

Until next time.