F·01
Focus & Deep Work
Attention Residue
Part of your attention stays on the previous task — unless you left it with a written plan for resuming.
- Evidence
- solid
- Topic
- Focus
- Things to do
- 3
- Read
- 1 min
solidHow strong is the evidence?
Good evidence behind it, but fewer people have checked it independently.
- Sophie Leroy, OBHDP, 2009
- “Why is it so hard to do my work?”
Why it works
An unfinished task under time pressure leaves cognitive residue that measurably degrades the next task. A concrete ready-to-resume plan removes most of it.
What to do about it
- Before switching, spend 60 seconds writing where you are and what comes next.
- Batch the same kind of work together so switches are fewer and cheaper.
- Do not check mail “quickly” between two blocks of hard work. That is the most expensive minute of the day.
Where people go wrong
Believing you switch cleanly. Nobody does; the cost is just invisible from the inside.
Read next
- Multitasking Is Just SwitchingYou never do two things at once. You alternate, and every alternation is paid for.proven
- The Phone Doesn't Have to BuzzA smartphone within reach reduces available working memory even when it is face-down, silent and switched off.solid
- Give the Peak to the Hard ThingAnalytic performance peaks in the first hours after waking for most people; protect that window, and spend the trough on admin.solid
- Brief Deactivation Restores AttentionVigilance decays over a long task. Short, complete breaks restore it; “breaks” spent on a screen do not.solid