MEPX
Chapter 4 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Deciding what matters
  2. 2Getting it out of your head
  3. 3Estimating time
  4. 4Attention and interruption
  5. 5Structuring the day
  6. 6Procrastination
  7. 7Meetings
  8. 8Saying no
  9. 9Systems and tools
  10. 10Sustainable pace

Chapter 4 of 10

Attention and interruption

The real scarce resource.

Switching costs

Returning from an interruption is not instant; part of your attention stays on the previous task. A fragmented hour is worth much less than an unbroken one.

  • Batch messages into set times instead of a constant trickle.
  • Silence notifications during deep work; nothing genuinely urgent arrives that way.

Protecting blocks

Defend one or two long blocks a day for work requiring thought, and put shallow work in the gaps around them.