Interruptions are the enemy of focus, but are you the culprit?

A study from the University of California (The Cost of Interrupted Work, 2008) looked at the cost of interruptions in the workplace. We all know the feeling. We’re quite often interrupted in the middle of important work, and if you’re like many people, it has probably increased over the past two years, when so many of us have had to work together at a distance through digital tools.

The researchers placed observers in workplaces to follow employees’ activities through the day, in minute detail. First and foremost, the study showed that some interruptions are better than others. If an interruption matches the task at hand, it can actually turn out to be useful, and perhaps bring exactly the input that was needed. But if you’re working on something that needs deep focus and get interrupted by a completely different subject, your attention leaves the task completely. In those situations, the study found that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task.

But is it always other people who cause the interruptions?

We often find that we’re the ones interrupting our own work. We get distracted by notifications on our phones, suddenly have an impulsive idea and switch tasks, or procrastinate without noticing, like reading the news. And it seems we’re far from the only ones guilty of it. The study showed that half of the interruptions it measured were self-interruptions.

We have to learn to find our way in the hybrid workplace

Most companies report a decline in mental health and a rise in employee burnout. Our own research among clients points to this as one of the underlying problems. Growing digitalisation leaves us more exposed to constant interruptions, and if we want to tackle stress and poor wellbeing, we have to help each other find our way through the digital working day. We need to strike a balance where we can work together and help colleagues when they need it, while respecting the time that has been booked for focused work.

We’ll go first: we’ll cut down on self-interruptions, resist the urge to put things off, and remember to respect other people’s time. Often it simply comes down to asking whether we really need an answer right now, or whether it can easily wait a few hours.