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Discussion on: I tracked every minute of my time for the last 4 months. Here are 7 totally unexpected results

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destynova profile image
Oisín

Thanks for a wonderfully honest and thoughtful article!
If I could share one idea, we've grown to see frequent task-switching as bad, because the cost of context switching adds up.
However, if you're doing tasks with a significant component of learning, then it's actually better to switch tasks frequently, because that context switching moment forces you to review your memory of what you're doing, rather than grinding away on autopilot.
This idea is called interleaved practice, mostly in research on learning motor skills, but I think it applies to many skills that require procedural learning.
There are some great articles by musician and researcher Christine Carter on interleaved vs blocked practice, and the related idea of contextual interference (where you introduce variations to the task that force you to solve the problem again instead of repeating a solved motor path over and over).

Just wanted to point out that while "flow" is great for creating stuff, you can use context switching to your benefit in some situations. I actually do this at work, setting an 8 minute timer for normal work (coding, dealing with emails and chat), then 4 minutes to learn a little Rust, then 4 minutes for PyTorch, then back to normal work. If things are busy I'll slip in an extra work block between the Rust and PyTorch blocks.
It seems like it should be really inefficient for getting work done, but I somehow focus and get a lot done during each block. It's only been a couple of weeks trying this out though, so too early to say if it was a genius move or a huge mistake.

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dragosbln profile image
Bilaniuc Dragos

Hey Oisín, thanks a lot for your support - and especially for sharing your insights!

It seems quite counterintuitive what you're saying - but I can definitely see how it could work! I think, like all things, context switching isn't just black or white. In some circumstances is clearly bad (and I can give you my personal example of "switching contexts" to instagram when I was in the middle of deeply focused work😅), but on other times, it cam be of great use, just as you pointed out.

I'm really curios what you'll think of it after you do it for a longer while 🤔

Again, thanks a lot for your insights, and best of luck in your journey!