Using Interruptions to Increase Productivity
Using Interruptions to Increase Productivity
The phrase ‘quit whilst you’re ahead’ is most commonly used when a task has been done to an acceptable standard and then abandoned, to risk messing it up. However, this is not really something you want to strive to do whilst at work and is also something that induces a threat state mindset rather than a challenge one. But what if we were to look at this phrase from a different angle?
Ernest Hemingway wrote some of the most highly acclaimed works of all time, however, what we’re going to discuss in this pathway is something that Hemingway is less well known for, a little psychological hack he named as the ‘useful interruption’. This little bit of wisdom first emerged when a budding writer asked Hemingway, “How much should you write in a day?” He responded with the following:
At the beginning of this pathway, we mentioned looking at the phrase ‘quit whilst you’re ahead’ from a different angle; here, Hemingway has provided the different angle. When you’re in the middle of a task, it’s going well and you have a plan in place, stop where you are and pick up where you left off tomorrow. A lot of people are guilty of stopping a task when they get stuck, thinking that they will come back to it at a later date. However, this is an ineffective method and often leads to the task being ‘put off’ and moving further and further down the to-do list.
Hemingway’s ‘useful interruption’ hack, is something that, until recently, has slipped through the net, and most probably, only known to the most avid of his ‘fans’. In 2017, Japanese researchers Yoshinori Oyama and Emmanuel Manalo teamed up to carry out some research based on the premise of Hemingway’s useful interruption, and that stopping part way through a task can actually be beneficial to a person’s performance. Their research involved participants copying a piece of text from a newspaper article. Part way through the task, participants were told to stop writing and count how many words they had left to write. Oyama and Manalo found that those who had less text left to copy were significantly more motivated to complete the task than those who had more left to do.
These findings tie in with the a theory known as Gestaltism. Gestaltism simply put, means that the whole picture is more important to us than its individual parts. For example, if you look at the image below, your brain will automatically fill in the gaps between the lines and see a triangle, rather than a picture made up of lots of lines.
The premise is the same for Oyama and Manolo’s findings, if we are close to achieving something or making sense of something, we are more motivated to complete it, if we can see the finished project, we want to fill in the gaps.
To further their research, Oyama and Manolo conducted a second study, introducing an additional condition; planning. This experiment required participants to write about the memories they have from the age of 4 to 18 years old. Participants were split into two groups: one group were given help in structuring their answers, splitting their memories into two time frames; the second group wasn’t given any guidance as to how to structure their answers. Like with the first study, participants were asked to stop before finishing the task and then asked how motivated they felt to go back and complete the task. Those who were the closest to finishing reported higher levels of motivation than those who were further off completing, therefore supporting the findings of the first study. It was also found that the group who were supported in the structuring and planning of their answers, were more motivated than the other group to get back to the task at hand.
So, what can you take away from this and how can you apply it to your work? Unfortunately, with most jobs there comes those monotonous tasks that we don’t really want to do, or we know is going to be very time consuming. Whenever a task such as this appears on your to do list, apply the following:
1. Put a plan in place
Think about what you need to do and how you’re going to do it. Is there a clear way in which you can break it up into sections?
2. Schedule in interruptions
Once you have a plan, schedule in useful interruptions. Place these strategically and ensure you’re not overly ambitious in how much work you think you can do before interrupting the task. It’s better to place one too soon into the task, rather than leaving it too long and risking you interrupting the task when you’re not ‘going good’.
3. Stick to the plan
You’ve taken the time to put a plan in place, so don’t stray from it! When things are ‘going good’ it’s tempting to carry on, even if you have scheduled in an interruption. However, ensure that you interrupt your task when you have planned to do so - Hemingway didn’t call them useful interruptions for nothing!
In Summary: Hemingway’s useful interruption concept is a great one to introduce to the way you approach your work tasks. Putting a plan in place, scheduling in interruptions and sticking to it, is a great way of maintaining task motivation and making the end goal seem closer and more achievable.