Task switching: what it is and what it means

Task switching is the phenomenon in which a knowledge worker alternates between tasks, application windows or different people, sometimes dozens of times an hour, producing a cumulative cognitive cost. No switch is neutral: each one leaves attention residue on the abandoned task and a delay in getting back into the resumed one. It differs from multitasking (simultaneous parallel execution) because task switching is serial execution with a high frequency of interruption.

Distinctive: serial execution with a high frequency of interruption
Distinctive: cumulative cognitive cost
Essential: alternates between tasks, application windows
Essential: attention residue
Constant: delay in getting back

Glossary

Task switching

High-frequency switching between different tasks, application windows or people that produces a cumulative cognitive cost.