The ping takes ten seconds. Getting back takes twenty-three minutes.

@First_Name,

You open Slack to answer one quick question. Ten seconds. Then you check email while you're there. Then a tab you forgot about. Half an hour later you're back at the report, and you have to read the last page again to remember where you were.

Research on office workers found it takes about 23 minutes on average to get fully back into a task after an interruption. The ping is cheap. Getting back is expensive.

And most of the switching isn't even notifications. It's us checking.

This week's one change: pick two or three set times a day for email and chat. Outside them, close the apps. Don't just mute them, close them. Protect one 45 to 90 minute block for the work that actually moves things forward.

The first ten minutes of that block will feel slow. That's you getting back up to speed. Don't bail.

More on why it's getting worse, and how to leave yourself a note that makes getting back cheaper: The notification isn't the problem. Getting back is.

Joe