The cost of context switching

Over the past 6 weeks, my capacity has been pulled on across relationships, professional life and fitness, in pursuit of a few big goals.

These are all significantly different contexts, and each one requires time and effort. But I’ve realised it’s not only the goals that consume resources; the switching from one context to the next does as well.

In short, context switching is “the process of stopping work in one project and picking it back up after performing a different task on a different project”.

Here’s a quick example: Think about the software that runs your PC. Every time the system is required to move from one project to another, it has to save the status and progress of that project so that it can recall that later. Also, more communication is required between projects as instructions need to be given around what to stop and start and what the statuses are. Both of these cause the system to be stressed.

The same is true in our lives and organisations. The cost of switching comes in two forms:

1. We need to hold more data in our working memory.
2. There are more back-and-forth communications (emails, conversations, etc.) clogging our inboxes.

Both of these cause stress and a reduction in productivity.

Here is what the cost of context switching looks like:

Imagine three projects that need to be completed, each with three steps.

With no context switching cost, it looks like this:

We complete the three steps in one project, and move on to the next, with no interruptions.

But life usually doesn’t work this way – we don’t start and finish one project, and then move on. Rather, we try progress them bit by bit, leading to this picture:

Implication: It took three times longer to finish one project. Think about that – if value is only added after a project is finished, it takes three times longer to add any value.

However, it still took the same amount of time to finish three projects.

If we now bring in the cost of context switching, our first picture becomes somewhat stretched out:

Implication: We take longer to finish all three projects. But it’s inevitable, because context switching has a cost.

But the second picture is where the real problems arise:

Implication: The time-to-market becomes even longer, with more stress, and less opportunities for iteration and implementing learnings.

So what can we do about it? Here are 10 practical ideas:

01. Batch your work:

Organise your week to “batch” your work – set aside specific timeslots for emails, for phonecalls, or for deep work. (This is essentially the difference between picture 1 and picture 2, which becomes more accentuated when you take the cost of context switching into account.)

02. Timebox your work

Set aside a specific amount of time to work on a project. When the time is up, move on. So instead of accidentally switching contexts, you will now be intentional about switching contexts. (Sometimes referred to as the Pomodoro Technique.)

03. Define ‘done’ upfront

Defining what “done” looks like will give you an endpoint to work towards. It’s really tough to keep energy to work on a goal if the goal isn’t clear. Defining the goal increases the chances of keeping your attention on that project.

04. Use shippable products

Break a big project into small, shippable deliverables. This allows you to meet those goals faster, after which you have a legitimate reason to switch contexts – we can’t be working on the same project for weeks on end.

05. Prioritise non-stop

Something as simple as a prioritisation method will help – I’m constantly surprised by how few people have a consistent way of prioritising projects and tasks in their day. Being deliberate about prioritisation will give you peace of mind that you’re working on the right thing.

06. Delegate to focus

Another skill that we can all learn to do better is delegation. When we delegate, it means one person (or team) can commit to one project. Now, because a team doesn’t have to switch context, it will get delivered faster (even in cases where there might be a better-skilled team to deliver on it).

07. Manage ‘depth’ switching

By “depth”, we mean diving from long-term strategy to detailed tasks. It’s often easier to work on only tasks, even if those tasks are across projects. When you move from tasks in one project to strategy in another, it creates significant cognitive strain.

08. Capture it ALL

Write everything down. If it stays in your head, it will keep on spinning, and come around again and again. Ensure you have a system to capture thoughts as they arise (because thoughts come up at the most random times, and you don’t want to lose them), and then stick with your current project.

09. Go dark

Use airplane mode and do-not-disturb on your devices and apps. It might feel intimidating, but by switching off the push communications to you, as well as the pull communications every time you quickly open Slack, LinkedIn or Teams, you increase the chances of sticking to your current project.

10. Drive asynchronous comms

Where going dark is about managing yourself, asynchronous communications is about managing a team. Create a communication policy to ensure everyone is aware of which channels to use for urgent messages, and which can be used for asynchronous information sharing.

Give it a try and let me know what works for you.

(Credit to Henrik Kniberg for his simple explanation of WIP and context switching.)

Paul