How Context Switching Could Be Slowing Your Business Growth
Ever feel like you start one job, then spot ten more — and it takes an age to finish that first task?
That spin-out feeling — when you’re doing so much but nothing really moves forward — isn’t chaos. It’s context switching, and it’s quietly stealing 10–15 hours a week from your business.
If your business growth feels slower than it should be, this is often one of the biggest hidden reasons why.
I’m Moira Fuller, a Business Strategist & Coach, and I help established solopreneurs and small business owners step out of the day-to-day admin and lead their business with more capacity, and clarity.
Let’s look at what context switching is, why it happens, and five practical ways to stop it from draining your time, energy, and growth.
What Is Context Switching?
Context switching is the mental shift your brain makes when you jump between different tasks — replying to a client, checking your inbox, posting on social media, then back to emails again.
Every time you switch, your brain has to readjust — what psychologists call “attention residue.”
It means part of your focus is still stuck on the last thing you were doing, even while you’re trying to do the next. That mental buffering builds up fast.
Research from the American Psychological Association and the University of California, Irvine shows that context switching can cost up to 20–40% of your productive time — roughly 10–15 hours every week.
So if you’re working flat-out but still not making progress on those bigger, strategic projects, this might be why.
Why We Do It
Context switching isn’t about lack of focus or discipline — it’s actually your brain trying to protect you.
When you’re doing work that stretches you — creating strategy, mapping content, writing proposals — it feels harder. So your brain looks for a safer, easier task:
- “Just check the inbox.”
- “Reply to that DM.”
- “See if anyone commented on that post.”
It’s a quick dopamine hit — but it pulls you straight back into admin and busywork.
That’s how business owners can get caught in the ‘admin weeds’ rather than those bigger projects you’d love to do.
5 Practical Fixes to Stop Context Switching
If you want to reclaim focus and stop losing hours each week, try these five simple but powerful changes.
1. Schedule Your Day (and Stick to It)
I know, groan! … The time it took me from first hearing this was a good idea, to actually doing it was about 10 years, but it does work!
By having a clear plan for your day – and following it, you remove the mental fatigue of constantly deciding what’s next.
Here’s my top tip. Start by scheduling your breaks first, your lunch break, any walks you wanna go on, time to go and make a cup of coffee. Get those in your calendar. Be realistic about the time you need to move between tasks.
Then, around any planned calls, block time for deeper, focused work.
Finally, add lighter “admin” time for the smaller tasks that crop up (I usually do this towards the end of the day).
When you pre-decide what you’re doing, you don’t waste energy debating it in the moment.
Most of my clients think they need to get more done, but the real shift comes from finishing what’s a priority for them – with focus.
2. Keep a Capture List
As ideas pop into your head mid-task, you don’t need to act on them there and then.
Instead, jot them down in a capture list — your notebook or a sheet of paper, ready for you to come back to later.
This tells your brain: “It’s safe, it’s saved — we’ll handle it later.”
3. Create a Switching Ritual
Give your brain a short reset between tasks.
When you finish one type of work and move to another, take 5–10 minutes to mark the transition — stretch, make a cup of tea, or pop out into the garden.
These small rituals signal to your brain that one phase is complete and it’s time to focus on something new.
4. Group Your Browser Tabs by Context
Let’s be honest — most of us have dozens of tabs open!
But instead of one long chaotic list, group your tabs by context.
For example, have one window for your current marketing tasks, another for client projects, and another for admin.
That way, when you’re focusing on one area, you’re not being distracted by everything else you could be doing.
5. Anchor Your Focused Work
Create rituals that cue your brain for deep work.
For me, it’s lighting a candle, playing instrumental music, and making a hot drink.
Think of it as a Pavlov’s dog response for productivity — a signal that says, “It’s time to focus.”
The Bottom Line: Focus Creates Growth
If your business growth has felt slow, check in if your focus is being pulled in too many directions.
Context switching quietly drains your time, energy, and clarity.
But… with a few simple systems, you can reclaim hours every week and create the mental space to lead and grow.
Ready to Take Action?
If you want to see exactly where your time and energy are going, grab my free Simplify Operations Guide — it’s the same process I use with clients to spot their biggest time drains and create quick, practical fixes.
