It takes 15 minutes to fully recover from conversational interruptions
I’ve known about this study for about 6 years. When you are working, it takes 15 minutes to fully engage your mind into a single task. When you are interrupted, even for a moment, it takes 15 more minutes to be fully engaged again.
So, 4 interruptions an hour can nearly cause zero productivity for that hour.
Relationships matter, so this might not always be bad, but this is something to be aware of.
A company I worked at used to have a policy called, “the cone of solitude”. This was a period of time where our phones are turned off, email is shut down, and we committed to not interrupting each other.
I’m thinking about instituting this for myself at work for 2 hours a day. I think it will be a shock to my co-workers, because I'm as chatty as the next person, so I’ll go easy on them but I also believe it’s a good practice.
I’ve known about this study for about 6 years. When you are working, it takes 15 minutes to fully engage your mind into a single task. When you are interrupted, even for a moment, it takes 15 more minutes to be fully engaged again.
So, 4 interruptions an hour can nearly cause zero productivity for that hour.
Relationships matter, so this might not always be bad, but this is something to be aware of.
A company I worked at used to have a policy called, “the cone of solitude”. This was a period of time where our phones are turned off, email is shut down, and we committed to not interrupting each other.
I’m thinking about instituting this for myself at work for 2 hours a day. I think it will be a shock to my co-workers, because I'm as chatty as the next person, so I’ll go easy on them but I also believe it’s a good practice.
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