Monday Reset: Why you can't get back to what you were doing

This week’s focus: Stop losing hours to task switching

You’re finally in the zone. Making progress. Getting things done.

Then your phone buzzes. Or someone asks you a quick question. Or you remember you need to send that email.

“I’ll just do this real quick,” you tell yourself. It’ll only take two minutes.

But it never takes two minutes. You handle the interruption, and now you’re staring at your screen with no idea where you were. The momentum is gone. Your brain can’t find its way back. And somehow, that “quick” thing just cost you an hour of your day.

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Your Brain This Week

Task switching is harder for us. When you switch from one task to another, your brain has to let go of the first task, reorient to the new one, and then if you’re trying to go back, rebuild all the context you had before. For our brains, that rebuilding process takes longer and uses more mental energy. Each switch creates what researchers call “switching cost,” and those costs add up fast.

That’s why “I’ll just do this real quick” is a lie your brain tells you. It’s never quick. And the cost isn’t just the two minutes. It’s the hour you lose trying to get back to where you were.

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This Week’s Strategy: The “Not Right Now” Rule

Stop switching tasks the moment something pops up. Create a barrier between the interruption and your response.

How it works:

The goal is to finish what you’re doing FIRST, then handle the interruption. Your brain needs permission to not switch immediately.

Here’s what to do:

1. Pick ONE time block this week where you won’t switch tasks (start small, even 20 minutes counts)

2. Before you start, remove the temptation to switch:

   • Turn off notifications (or put phone face-down in another room)

   • Close your email tab

   • Put on headphones (even if you’re not listening to anything, it’s a visual signal to others)

   • If you work with others, say: “I’m heads-down for the next 20 minutes, I’ll check in with you after”

3. When something pops into your head (”I need to text her back” / “I should check that email” / “I’ll just look this up real quick”):

   • Write it down in one place (piece of paper, phone note, whatever’s closest)

   • Tell yourself: “Not right now. I’ll do it after.”

   • Keep going with your original task

4. When your time block ends, THEN handle the things you wrote down

5. Notice how much you actually got done when you didn’t switch

Why this works: You’re not relying on willpower to resist switching. You’re removing the triggers that make you want to switch in the first place. And when something does pop up, you’re not fighting it. You’re just postponing it. Your brain can handle “not right now” better than “never.”

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The 2-Minute Worksheet

Two reflection prompts. Three planning prompts. All anonymous, nothing to download.

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