Task Switching and Stress Reduction

Taking breaks is part of the job. If you plough straight from task to task, stress builds and focus drops. I'm often guilty of this. I get absorbed by a challenge or an opportunity, dive in and find that three hours have passed before I know it. Microsoft ran EEG tests on people in back-to-back 30-minute meetings. measuring what happens in their brains. They found that short pauses prevented stress from accumulating, boosted engagement, and smoothed the stressful “gear-change” between meetings. In other words, breathers help you do better work. Here are three ways I make breaks count: 1. The pre-task pause Before a tricky task, I go out and take a five-minute walk - even if it's pouring! - then start. Beginning with a breath of fresh air calms the transition and stops me white-knuckling through the first half hour. 2. The one-song reset I turn up the volume on a three-minute track (currently something by Post Malone) stand up, stretch my wrists, look at something out of the window very far away. Then I refill my glass with cold water, and sit back down as the song ends. The music is my timer, so there’s no alarm faff - and I always come back on cue. 3. The park-it technique I end a deep-work stint by writing two lines on the notepad by my keyboard: “what I did” and “what I’ll do next”. Then I step away. Writing down the next step eases my fear of losing momentum, so I can pick it up again the next day. If, like me, you get absorbed and let hours disappear, try one of these this week. What’s your most reliable reset?

After two decades of leading teams, I discovered that traditional to-do lists were holding back my productivity. Here's what I have found working well for me in 2025 - 'interstitial journaling'. Outlined by Tony Stubblebine, this approach is a unified workflow that combines note-taking, task management, and time tracking in one seamless system. Rather than saving all your journaling for the beginning or end of the day, interstitial journaling happens in the interstices (the spaces between tasks). After completing a task, take brief pauses to document three things ... 👉 the current time 👉 thoughts about what you just completed 👉 your next focused action I found this approach particularly valuable because it addresses a fundamental challenge in modern work - the constant context-switching that fragments our attention, particularly mine! And it also helps me course correct, cut back on 'guilt', and send myself positive reinforcement. Here's what I discovered works particularly well ... ➞ I record timestamps to track patterns in my peak performance hours ➞ I catch distractions and build greater self-awareness ➞ It makes breaks more mindful and purposeful ➞ It increases awareness of procrastination patterns and helps reduce them ➞ It creates a natural system for tracking well-being and focus throughout the day With January 10th this year, known as ‘Quitter's Day,’ when many people abandon their New Year's resolutions - this could be the simple yet powerful system you need to stay on track with your goals for 2025. I'm curious - what methods have you found effective for managing transitions between complex tasks? #Productivity #SelfAwareness #Journaling

This is the No. 1 productivity killer at work: Context switching. — You know how it goes. 9:00am - 9:30am: meeting 9:30am - 10:00am: break/emails/Teams/Slack 10:00am - 11:00am: meeting 11:00am - 11:30am: break/emails/starting working on that deck 11:30am - 12:00pm: meeting 12:00pm - 12:30pm: meeting 12:30pm - 1:00pm: lunch (hopefully/maybe) 1:30pm - 2:30pm: meeting 2:30pm - 3:30pm: break/emails/Teams/Slack/opening that spreadsheet and so on… — Most of us have been culprits of work schedules like that. Schedules that constantly force us to switch between different tasks. Schedules that leave very little room for us to get actual work done, engage in focused work for extended periods of time, or do some much needed creative thinking. The result: Overwhelm, stress, multitasking on Zoom calls, productivity guilt, working late hours and/or on weekends. — A study highlighted in Harvard Business Review coined the term “toggling tax” which describes the cost associated with frequently switching context and applications throughout the work day. They found that the average employee in their sample toggled between different apps and websites nearly 1,200 times each day. That resulted in employees spending just under four hours a week reorienting themselves after toggling to a new application. Over the course of a year, that adds up to five working weeks, or 9% of their annual time at work. And these numbers don't even account for the time it takes for people’s brains to properly adjust. According to a University of California Irvine study, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to a task after being distracted (or interrupted by yet another meeting). — So now that we know that context switching is bad, what can be done? ✅ Limit the number of meetings that could have been an email instead → Last year, Shopify made headlines for introducing a Chrome extension that allowed their employees to see how much pointless meetings are costing them. (Spoiler: it ain’t pretty) ✅ Consider asynchronous catch-ups or knowledge exchange → This gives people the opportunity to provide more thoughtful input at their own pace at a time that works best for them. ✅ Dedicate either ~3-hour time blocks, mornings/afternoons or even entire days to specific activity types (meetings/focused work/problem solving/creative thinking/email) → Do you even remember the last time you had 3 hours of uninterrupted focused work? Do you remember how much sh*t you can get done in 3 hours when you have tunnel vision? ✅ Instead of constantly checking your emails & Teams/Slack, designate 3 times a day (morning/mid-day/late afternoon) to these activities. → Don't let other people's urgency become your emergency. Most of us sitting in front of computers all day are not saving lives. — What are you doing to protect your time and productivity? I’m always looking to add new tools to my toolbox! #productivity #contextswitching 📸: Fast Company

Feeling overloaded at your small nonprofit organization? And your day looks like this? One minute you’re finalizing a donor email. Next, you’re answering a board question, before meeting with a partner organization, and then prepping for tonight’s event. If so, you likely have a "switching costs" problem rather than a "not enough time" problem. The constant gear-shifting drains your focus. The fix? Organize your time to minimize switching back and forth between unlike tasks as much as possible. It's why time blocking works so nicely. Also, try to stack like work with like work. Schedule all your meetings within 2 to 3 days and reserve the remaining 2 days for more in-depth work. If you think of your week like this (yours might have some adds/edits): • 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 = 𝟮𝟬-𝟮𝟱% 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 • 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 = 𝟮𝟬-𝟮𝟱% 𝘛𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 • 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 = 𝟭𝟱-𝟮𝟬% 𝘛𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 • 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 = 𝟭𝟱-𝟮𝟬% 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 • 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 & 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻 = 𝟭𝟬-𝟭𝟱% 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩, 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 • 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 & 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 = 𝟱-𝟭𝟬% 𝘛𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 It makes it easier to see where you can batch and match. Nonprofit life will intrude and make that difficult. But if you start with a clear view of what an effective week looks like for you, you can more easily make corrections as you go. How might you batch and match the needed work to give you the time and focus each needs?  

Have you ever found yourself scrolling through social media, only to realize hours have passed and you've accomplished nothing? This phenomenon is called the "Attention Residue Effect." When you switch between tasks or get distracted, your brain takes a while to adjust. This residual attention can linger, making it harder to focus on what's truly important. Missing this effect can lead to: - Decreased productivity - Increased stress - Poor time management - Missed deadlines - Lost opportunities Here are some interesting ways to avoid this happening to you. 1. Stop, Drop, and Refocus: When you catch yourself mindlessly scrolling, stop immediately, drop what you're doing, and refocus on your priority task. 2. The 2-Minute Warning: Set a timer for 2 minutes before switching tasks. This buffer helps your brain adjust and reduces attention residue. 3. Task-Stacking: Group similar tasks together and complete them in one session. This reduces switching costs and minimizes attention residue. 4. Attention Anchors: Use a physical object, like a rubber band or a small stone, as a tactile reminder to stay focused on your priority task. 5. The '3-Then-Me' Rule: Complete three important tasks before checking social media or email. This helps you prioritize and reduces distractions. 6. Focus Sprints: Work in focused 25-minute increments, followed by a 5-minute break. This technique is called the Pomodoro Technique. 7. The 'Eisenhower Matrix' Hack: Use the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize tasks into urgent vs. important and focus on the most critical ones first. 8. Schedule 'White Space: Leave intentional gaps in your calendar for relaxation and rejuvenation. This helps reduce mental fatigue and attention residue. I have often found that when I am stressed about something, I happen to do it a lot. So, before you start with the solution, make sure you find your "why" first.

Your Team Isn't Failing—Their Brains 🧠 Are Feeling Mentally Drained Before Noon! (Because your employee's brain isn’t a storage unit.) Ever wonder why smart, capable people suddenly struggle with simple tasks? Why do deadlines slip, decisions take forever, and meetings feel like mental quicksand? It’s not a motivation issue. It’s 𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱—the invisible bottleneck draining your team’s productivity. 🔥 The worst part? It’s happening right now, and you might not even notice it. You see it in: ➡️ Employees forgetting key details. ➡️ Slow decision-making despite endless discussions. ➡️ Constant “busyness” without real progress. (Chances are, you're already doing some of these without realizing their full impact.) 9 Ways to Reduce Cognitive Overload in Your Team. 1️⃣ The ‘No-Meeting’ Filter 🗓️ → Every meeting should have a clear purpose—or an email alternative. Impact: Fewer unnecessary meetings = more deep work & faster decision-making. 2️⃣ The Deep Work Shield 🔕 → Protect focus time by minimizing interruptions & Slack pings. Impact: Continuous task-switching can lower productivity by 40%. 3️⃣ The Simplicity Rule 🎯 → Too many options = mental fatigue. Reduce choices where possible. Impact: Decision fatigue leads to slower responses & poor judgment. 4️⃣ The Priority Clarity Test ✅ → Not everything is urgent. Make it easy to see what truly matters. Impact: Teams that prioritize effectively are 31% more productive. 5️⃣ The Workload Reality Check 📊 → Burnout happens when expectations don’t match capacity. Keep it balanced. Impact: Overloaded employees experience 56% higher stress levels. 6️⃣ The 5-Minute Mental Reset 🧘♂️ → Encourage short, intentional breaks to reset the brain & boost efficiency. Impact: Even a 5-minute break boosts focus and prevents mental exhaustion. 7️⃣ The AI & Automation Advantage 🤖 → Free up mental space by automating repetitive tasks. Impact: AI can save up to 30% of time spent on manual tasks. 8️⃣ The ‘Single Tab’ Hack 🖥️ → Keep only one work-related tab open at a time. Context-switching kills focus. Impact: Reducing multitasking can improve efficiency by 50%. 9️⃣ The Evening ‘Brain Dump’ 📝 → Before bed, jot down tomorrow’s top priorities to free up mental space. Impact: Writing things down can improve recall by 40% and lead to better sleep. 💡 Small shifts = big impact. A clear mind is a productive mind. 🔄 Which of these do you need to improve in your team? Let’s discuss in the comments! ------------------- I’m Jayant Ghosh. Follow me in raising awareness for mental health that inspires growth and well-being.

Multitasking is setting you up for failure and burnout. But what should you do instead? Start Time batching. Take your productivity from reactive to proactive by time batching – the antidote to multitasking. Time batching reimagines how you are able to approach productivity by focusing on concentration, efficiency, and reducing the cognitive load that comes with constant task-switching (read: “multitasking”). When we multitask, our brain doesn't actually perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Instead, it rapidly switches between them, creating what some call "switching costs." Each time you shift your attention, your brain requires time to recalibrate, refocus, and remember the context of the new task. This constant context-switching dramatically reduces productivity and increases mental fatigue. What does time batching look like? Putting smaller, similar tasks together and tackling them at a set time. Then, moving on to something else. For example: → Instead of checking emails sporadically throughout the day (which interrupts your other work), you might batch all email-related tasks into a 45-minute block in the morning and another in the late afternoon. During those specific times, you're fully focused on communication, and during other blocks, you're uninterrupted while working on creative or analytical tasks. The key is to design your day around focused, intentional blocks of work that align with your natural energy levels and the types of tasks you need to accomplish. Time batching transforms productivity from a scattered, reactive approach to a strategic, proactive experience. Convinced yet? #ProductivityHacks #Mindset #Performance #Leadership

Spirituality isn’t “woo.” It’s "wow" when you understand the science. 5 Brain Science Behind Intentional Transitions Before switching from one activity to the next ↳ emails → meeting → driving → home), PAUSE. DO THIS: ↳Close your eyes or soften your gaze. ↳Breathe deeply for 20 seconds. Whisper (or think):  ↳ “I bring my whole SELF into what’s next.” Let your energy follow your intention as you begin the next task. 1. It calms the Default Mode Network (DMN) ↳ When you rush between tasks, your DMN gets overactive, causing ↳ mental noise, ↳ anxiety, and ↳ leftover emotions to spill into whatever’s next.  → Pausing interrupts this loop and helps shift from passive rumination to present-moment awareness. 2. It activates the Prefrontal Cortex ↳ Setting an intention activates your prefrontal cortex—the brain’s hub for focus, planning, and emotional regulation.  → This helps you respond thoughtfully instead of reacting automatically to stress or triggers. 3. It regulates the Autonomic Nervous System ↳ Deep breathing for just 20 seconds stimulates the vagus nerve, which shifts the body from sympathetic (fight-or-flight) to parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) mode. → This creates physiological safety, reducing cortisol and helping your body feel grounded and calm before stepping into the next activity. 4. It engages the Reticular Activating System (RAS) ↳ Intentional language trains your RAS to focus on what matters and primes your brain for what’s next. → This boosts attention, motivation, and emotional clarity. 5. It prevents emotional residue and burnout ↳ Micro-moments of transition create emotional boundaries between tasks, which helps prevent emotional spillover. → A major contributor to burnout in high-achievers who move too fast without decompression. Why It Works for Your Busy Mind: You often live in a state of mental multitasking and nervous system overdrive. This exercise acts like a neural reset button, giving your brain permission to close one tab before opening another, conserving energy and increasing presence. >>> Speaking of "The Power of Pause", have you ever been to Costa Rica? Info in the Featured Section. ______________________ ♻️ Repost if you believe slowing down is a strategy, not a setback. ➡️ Follow Josee for more science & soulful insights.

The Silent Productivity Killer No One Talks About: It's not burnout. It's not stress. It's something more subtle. Yet it's draining your energy daily. The silent killer? Constant context switching. ❌ Jumping between tasks without completion ❌ Responding to every notification instantly ❌ Mixing deep work with shallow tasks ❌ Multitasking through important conversations ❌ Starting new work before finishing current What creates sustainable focus: ✅ Blocking similar tasks together ✅ Creating dedicated deep work time ✅ Protecting your peak energy hours ✅ Giving full attention to one thing ✅ Finishing what you start Stop the switch. Start the flow. __ "Your potential lives in moments of sustained attention." - Sherif Sakr P.S. - How will you reduce context switching today?

💡 Do you ever feel like your brain is sprinting from one thing to the next, client calls, emails, meetings, family, and the endless tabs on your browser? That’s my reality as a fractional CMO and professor, and recently I came across a Fast Company article on the hidden cost of “mental switching” that really resonated. The research is eye-opening: switching tasks can eat up nearly 40% of our productive time, and it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully refocus after a distraction. No wonder it sometimes feels like we’re always busy but not always moving forward. What I’ve realized is that the antidote isn’t about doing more, it’s about creating spaciousness. When I give my mind room to breathe, I’m able to connect dots across projects, spark new ideas, and deliver my best work. Here’s what’s been working for me: - Clustering tasks by context instead of bouncing between them. - Taking strategic pauses before shifting gears, even just 60 seconds to reset. - Embracing the built-in breaks from my dogs, who provide me with an important reason to take breaks throughout the day for movement, a little play, and neighborhood walks that double as sacred time for clarity. I’m finding that the juggling act of multiple clients and teaching is powerful because of the cross-pollination of insights, but it only works when I give myself enough space to think deeply. 👉 How do you create space in your own day to slow down, reset, and allow your best ideas to surface?