Task Switching & Your Brain
The hidden cost of changing gears
Every time you change tasks, your brain pays a small price called the switch cost. Switch cost is that fraction of a second (or more) where you're still partially running the old task while trying to start the new one. It's why interruptions feel so disorienting, and why "getting back into it" takes longer than you'd expect. The good news: this system is genuinely trainable. With practice, you can reduce how much each switch costs you.
In real life...
Batch similar tasks when you can. Answering all your emails at once costs far less than toggling back and forth between writing and replying. Fewer switches = less overhead = more of your mental budget for the actual work.
Connected games
Ebb and Flow
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Brain Shift
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Disillusion
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