Investigating the Origin of the 23-Minute Interruption Recovery Time Claim
By
_vaporwave_
A good honest bake. Not flashy, but you'll finish the whole bagel.
Summary
The article investigates the origin of the commonly cited statistic that it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to recover from work interruptions. The author attempts to verify this claim by searching for the original research paper but discovers that finding the actual source is more challenging than expected, turning what should be a quick reference check into a 20-minute research adventure.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledYou've likely read lots of blog posts stating that it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to work after an interruption, context switch, or meeting
"do you have five minutes" ends up not only costing those few minutes, but instead about half an hour
I just wanted to quickly reference this fact to a colleague. Quick search for the reference, copy'n'paste it, in and out, 20 minutes adventure
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