Yo-Yoing Between Tasks? Why Switch When You Can Batch? A study of Microsoft employees found that when they were interrupted by an email, they needed fifteen minutes to fully regain their train of thought. Switching back and forth between tasks is costly in time and energy. To see this switching cost in action, try this basic exercise: Say “abcdefgh” then immediately after that say “12345678”. Notice how long it takes you to do this. Now mix the two: say “a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8”. It takes more time and mental energy while switching between letters and numbers. A useful tool to combat our switching habits at work is “batching “. You can work fewer hours, and work less hard during those hours, by batching your tasks more effectively. Batching means grouping together similar tasks, so you spend less time and energy switching between different types of activity. In the “a1b2c3 . . .” exercise, it’s like handling all the letters first, in one batch, then handling the numbers together, in a se
