People switch tasks every 45 seconds at work, training brains to self-interrupt permanently

What was said

"When she started like she would first she would sit behind people with a stopwatch. You know these days it would be key loggers and cameras and everything. People were switching tasks about every 3 minutes on average. Then by 2012 it was every 75 seconds. Then by 2022 it was every 45 seconds. That's where it stuck for a few years. And that's terrible for your ability to get anything done. The more switches someone does a day, the lower their end of day productivity and the higher their end of day stress that measured by things like heart rate variability and immune function."

Psychologist Gloria Mark's research since 2000 shows task-switching at work has accelerated from every three minutes to every 45 seconds by 2022. Most alarmingly, she found that chronic interruption trains the brain to self-interrupt with intrusive thoughts at the rate to which it's become accustomed, even when notifications are turned off. The switching correlates with lower productivity and measurably higher stress via heart rate variability and immune function.