Focus on This Time Wasters Stealing Your Focus
Nov 17, 2025
Explore the science behind interruptions that hit every 3–11 minutes, costing you valuable focus time. Discover the crucial difference between external interruptions and internal distractions. Learn practical tips like cutting nonessential notifications and setting up 'Do Not Disturb' modes. Understand the value of deep work windows and how to communicate them with your team. Finally, embrace focused work sprints paired with intentional breaks to enhance productivity and combat temptations that derail your progress.
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Interruptions Blow Apart Your Cognitive Frame
- Interruptions occur every 3–11 minutes and fragment your cognitive frame, making refocus take 20–30 minutes.
- That fragmentation means a single interruption can cost you up to ~23–41 minutes of effective work time.
Interruption vs. Distraction Distinction
- Interruptions are external events while distractions are internal choices to switch tasks or seek a dopamine hit.
- You can’t stop every ping, but you can control whether you take the bait and turn an interruption into a distraction.
Quitting Smoking Removed Built-In Breaks
- Marissa describes quitting smoking and missing the built-in ritual that gave permission to take breaks.
- She notes that stepping outside for a few minutes provided sunlight, air, and a real mental reset.
