The power of effective context switching

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Hey marketers!

It’s another beautiful Fall Wednesday here in Colorado Springs.

Speaking of Fall. I’m not much of a PSL guy, but I do have a trenta salted caramel cold brew (don’t judge, it’s only $.30 more! Also, only one pump of vanilla - way too much sugar otherwise) in hand as I write this.

Alright, today I want to cover what might just be the ultimate superpower of a modern day marketer.

Effective context switching.

It’s something I’ve found incredibly difficult to truly master and it takes immense amounts of discipline.

Let’s jump in and discuss why it’s so important, how remote/hybrid work has made this even more important, and a few tips for setting yourself up for success.

The importance of effective context switching as a skill

I don’t need to beat this dead horse any more than the next person on LinkedIn. But… budgets have evaporated, teams are shrinking, and the mantra from execs is “do the same (or more) with less.”

Somehow we have to squeeze even more productivity out of our finite energy everyday to:

• Launch that campaign

• Hit the pipeline number

• Follow-up with vendors

• Keep reports up to date

• Build a strategy

• Create content

• Host that event

• Market internally

…I could continue but I need to land this thing before I’m out of coffee.

Feel stressed?

Well, you’re not alone. Studies show that after 20 minutes of repeating interruptions (AKA Slack pings, email notifications, etc) people reported significantly higher stress, frustration, and pressure.

Heck, most of us (myself included) struggle to stay present on a Zoom call - we feel the need to “multi-task” in order to keep up with everything going on.

And in reality, it takes anywhere from 9.5 minutes to 25 minutes to regain focus after an interruption or switching between tasks.

It’s clear, interruptions and switching context can be detrimental to productivity. Which is a bummer because it’s a requirement in most professional careers.

But you can do it in an effective way.

And when done in an effective way, this skill will help you in a few critical areas:

1. Wearing multiple hats: As a marketer, you're no stranger to multitasking. One moment you're deep into content creation, the next you're deciphering analytics, followed by a brainstorming session with your team. The ability to transition smoothly between these diverse tasks is what context switching is all about.

2. Driving impact: Whether you're a solo marketer or a team member in a vast marketing machine, mastering context switching allows you to adapt swiftly, embrace changing trends, and craft campaigns that truly resonate with your audience.

3. Career advancement: In a world where everyone is vying for attention, being proficient in context switching can elevate your productivity, making you an indispensable asset. It's a skill that can propel you to leadership roles and set you apart from the crowd.

4. Achieving and exceeding goals: With adept context switching, every task, regardless of its magnitude, is approached with unparalleled focus and precision. This not only ensures the achievement of set goals but often surpasses them.

Remote and hybrid work has only made this skillset even more crucial.

Blurred boundaries. Working from home often means juggling professional tasks with home life. Chores, children, the solar panel sales guy (ugh!). The ability to switch contexts helps in maintaining a balance, ensuring neither sphere is neglected.

Virtual collaboration. In a hybrid work environment, you might be collaborating with team members spread across different time zones. Context switching ensures you can adapt to their schedules, ensuring seamless collaboration.

Overcoming isolation. Remote work can sometimes feel isolating. Being able to switch between work tasks and taking short breaks for personal activities can help in maintaining mental well-being.

Setting yourself up for success

Okay, JK the horse is dead!

Great, so let’s talk about how to set yourself up for success. I’ll cover some of my own strategies and tactics as well as link out to other articles I’ve found that cover more - just in case you want to go deeper.

Dedicated workspace. Even if you're working from home, having a dedicated workspace can help in mentally preparing you for work. I know this isn’t feasible for everyone. But I’d encourage you to make it happen if you can.

For most of 2020 post lockdown I was working from my bedroom. This meant I was spending roughly 2/3 of my life in one room. I was going crazy. It took a serious toll on my mental health.

Once I set up a dedicated space outside of my bedroom I was able to focus better and separate sleep/rest from work.

Time management. Use tools like calendars and to-do lists to allocate specific time slots for tasks. This structured approach can aid in efficient context switching. I personally use ClickUp and Google Calendar - it’s simple and cheap/free.

Time blocking and actually doing what you say you’ll do during that time block will immediately set you apart from the vast majority of marketers.

I’ve also used the Pomodoro technique in the past. You set a 25 minute timer and go into deep work and then you take a 5 minute break before your next productivity cycle. You can check out tomato timer if you want to try it out.

Prioritization. We’ve all heard it, if everything is important, then nothing is important. Take the time to breakdown what you have in front of you and prioritize it from highest to lowest impact and then highest to lowest effort. From there, you can time block what you need to get done and make every day move you closer to your goals.

Do not disturb mode. I set times on my computer and phone where I will not be notified of an email, Slack, text, literally anything. This allows me to remove any and all digital distractions for a set period of time.

The trough shower. Sometimes I’ll take a mid-day shower. Weird? Maybe. But there is something magical that happens when you’re in the shower. Thoughts, ideas, inspiration seem to come easily. If I need to think through a problem, I’ve found this can help me get some breakthroughs before getting back to the task at hand. An overlooked perk to remote work.

If a mid-day shower isn’t your thing, then go for a walk or at least step away from your desk for 10 minutes.

Bonus: brain.fm. I’ve been using this product for years. It allows you to jump into focus mode - backed by science. And it really works. I pop on my headphones, turn on brainfm and before I know it I’m in a flow of deep work.

Interruptions and unstructured context switching are mostly bad. They typically cause stress and kill productivity. But you have the ability to unlock effective context switching. I hope you’re able to implement some of these things and get more work done while feeling less stress.

Did I miss anything? Let me know!

Cheers,

JK Sparks

P.S. If you’ve found The Lonely Marketer to be valuable would you mind sharing it with one person in your network? Thanks so much!

Here are a couple articles to check out to go a bit deeper on context switching:

• ClickUp - Context Switching: What Does Switching Tasks Cost Your Team?

• TechSmith - Meet Context Switching, the No. 1 Productivity Killer in the Workplace