Recovering From Interruption

The interruption itself is rarely the expensive part. Getting back is.

The resumption problem

When interrupted, the mental state supporting the task — intermediate results, the plan, what you were about to do next — is held in working memory and displaced by the interrupting task. Resuming requires reconstructing it, taking time proportional to how much state was held. Complex tasks with substantial held context are therefore disproportionately expensive to interrupt, which is why the same interruption costs a developer more than a person answering email.

What the research finds

Workplace interruption studies have found substantial resumption lag and, in some conditions, increased error rates on resumed tasks. Interruptions at natural task boundaries are considerably cheaper than mid-step ones, which has experimental support. Being able to complete the current sub-step before switching reduces cost meaningfully — an argument for a brief just a moment rather than an immediate switch.

Reducing it

Leave a re-entry note: one line stating what you were about to do next. This externalises the most important held state and substantially reduces reconstruction time. Defer interruptions to natural boundaries where possible. If you must switch immediately, spend ten seconds capturing state first. On returning, read the note before re-reading everything else. And note that a large share of workplace interruptions are self-generated, which is the easiest category to address.

Cognicept in context

Nothing on this page is a claim about Cognicept specifically. Cognicept is a dietary supplement providing nutritional support for memory and focus; it is not a treatment for memory loss, dementia, anxiety or cognitive decline. Persistent or worsening memory symptoms warrant medical assessment, because several causes are checkable and correctable. For an honest read on the money, our value for money review states both sides.