Lab experiment · 2008

The cost of interrupted work: more speed and stress

Mark G, Gudith D, Klocke U

What it found

Interrupted people finished their tasks faster and just as well, but paid for it: more stress, frustration, time pressure and effort. They seem to make up for interruptions by speeding up.

Where the evidence stops

A short lab task. It does not measure how long it takes to get back on track, and gives no minutes figure.

How it shapes Pursue

Pursue

Getting through the day is not the same as being fine. Pursue looks at the cost of the day, not only the output.

A design input, not evidence that Pursue works.

Cited in

  1. 01Why is it so hard to get back to work after an interruption?Because part of your attention stays with the task you left. Sophie Leroy's 2009 experiments at the University of Minnesota call this attention residue: people who switched before finishing did worse on the next task, and a 2008 study by UC Irvine and Humboldt University researchers found interrupted people sped up to compensate, at the cost of more stress and frustration.Interruptions and attention

Tre-Up is built on this research.

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