BEING INTERRUPTED ALL DAY
ADHD, Concentration, Task Switching and Cognitive Exhaustion
A “quick question” may only take a minute to ask — but getting your brain back to the original task can take much longer.
This Workplace Wellbeing resource explores the hidden cognitive cost of being interrupted repeatedly throughout the working day.
The three-page downloadable guide looks at working memory, concentration, ADHD, autism, executive functioning, task switching and the exhaustion that can develop when somebody is constantly moving between emails, conversations, notifications, meetings and unexpected requests.
It also explores why a person can look busy all day while the work requiring sustained thought remains unfinished — and why this is not always a time-management problem.
Practical ideas include protected focus periods, clearer definitions of what is genuinely urgent, reducing unnecessary notifications, grouping questions, visible focus signals and simple ways to preserve the thread of a task before switching away.
There is also an important message for managers: the true cost of an interruption is not measured by how long the question takes to ask.
Protecting concentration is not giving somebody an easier working day. It may be what allows them to do their most demanding work well.
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