Understanding context switching may change your life

What is Context Switching?

I first came across the concept of context switching through Cal Newport. Cal Newport, known for his work on deep focus and productivity, defines deep work as a state of distraction-free concentration where the brain operates at its full potential. These uninterrupted sessions are crucial for accessing our highest levels of creativity and purpose-driven work.

According to Newport, if you set aside 90 minutes for deep work (whether writing, music production, or another creative task) it takes 20-30 minutes to fully immerse yourself in a focused flow state. This delay occurs because of attention residue - the lingering mental traces of where your focus was directed before starting the session.  

Now, we’ve finally reached that sweet state of flow and focus - here comes the scary part.

If you take your attention off deep work, even for a quick glance at a WhatsApp message, you break your flow and it takes another 20-30 minutes to get it back.

Take a moment to fully understand this. 

This fragile state of focus, which takes ~25 minutes to enter, can be lost in a matter of seconds by context switching.

When I learned this, I realized I was constantly context switching and rarely reaching that deep, immersive state I crave.

Context switching doesn’t just break your flow, it drains mental energy, weakens focus, contributes to fatigue, anxiety, and burnout.

Much of what I learn about productivity and focus is in the context of professional work. I take it a step further and ponder.. how does this effect the rest of my life?

Presence in Conversations

How does this apply to having coffee with a friend?

I’ve noticed that deep, connected, and vulnerable conversations don’t happen instantly. It takes time to settle into a rhythm and feel comfortable enough to fully open up.

But what happens if, mid-conversation, one of us glances at our phone? Does it break the momentum and reset the depth we were building? 

I believe it does.

The fleeting distraction pulls the connected pair out of the moment, shifting the energy, making it a process to return to that deeper state of connection.

On multiple occasions, I’ve been in vulnerable conversations with another man. He’s intently listening to every word, his eyes don’t leave mine. And then a beautiful woman walks by and the eye contact is broken as he takes a glance. Deep down, this hurts. It feels like I’ve been low-key abandoned for a moment in the middle of a vulnerable share.

I imagine the same holds true when glancing at the phone mid-convo. The connection breaks, the depth resets, and an ounce of trust is possibly lost.

Presence on the Dancefloor

How does this apply to surrendering to music on the dancefloor?

For me, calibrating to the energy on the dancefloor takes time. It requires detaching from my ego, syncing with the sound, and surrendering to the energy in the room. It’s a process, to let go of the mind’s grip, get into the body, and sink into flow.

If you check your phone mid-dance, do you start that process over again? 

I’d say yes. 

Each time you pull yourself out of the moment, you have to rebuild that connection with the music, the space, and your own sense of presence. I believe this is why we see less movement on dancefloors today. More people standing around, stuck in their mind, checking their phones to escape moments of boredom/discomfort instead of melting into the experience.

Putting a sticker on the camera helps to prevent people from disrupting the communal flow. But it’s not enough to stop individuals from staying tethered to their ego and never letting go. Vibe killer.

I invite you to explore this in your own life. How often are you checking your phone without even being conscious of it?

The Unfulfillment / Context Switching Loop

I’ve become aware of a cycle that’s been present in my life the last 4 years, leading to lingering chapters of depression. It looks something like this.

I felt called to write about deep topics and start a business as a guide. As much as I love music, my deeper calling was to share my experiences vulnerably and honestly. I felt massive resistance towards putting myself out there, and instead opted to highlight music to keep the Army of Love brand afloat. It allowed me to highlight artists I appreciated and also brought validation into my life, but deep down I was unfulfilled. I wasn’t putting energy into what I felt was my deepest calling.

Avoiding this deep work left me feeling depressed and unworthy.

In that state of unworthiness, I felt immense discomfort. One of the ways I would numb this discomfort was by rotating through WhatsApp, Reddit, Instagram and YouTube all day long.

I leaned into these distractions as coping mechanisms for years, it became an addiction.

When I finally sat down to write, I felt unfocused and mentally drained. The constant context switching left my mind fragmented, making deep work even harder.

As a result, I felt more depressed. To soothe the depression, I spent more time escaping on the internet. The escaping led to a less focused brain, which led to more resistance to deep work, which led to more depression, which led to more escaping.

A vicious cycle.

Breaking the Cycle

I knew I was in deep, and couldn’t seem to break the cycle while living at my family home in New Jersey.

I made a plan to go on a 2 month ‘homemade retreat’ with one of my best friends in Cholula, Mexico. The homemade retreat started on February 18, and as I’m writing this I’m 1 month into the experience.

The intention was to eliminate distractions, meditate, lock in healthy routines and put energy into the deep work that I had been avoiding.

A part of me thought I would just show up and everything would lock into place. Hahaha, let me tell you, it’s been far from that.

It has, however, been an incredibly profound month of growth and clarity.

I initially tried to discipline my way into doing the deep work, but it wasn’t consistently effective. Once again, what helped has been meeting myself with compassion. Taking an honest assessment of my situation, holding space for the guilt and shame that arose, and take baby steps in the direction I wanted to go.

It’s been less about sheer willpower and more about cultivating awareness and clarity on the life I want to create.

I want to be present.
I want to feel good enough.
I want to pour energy into my deep work.
I don’t want to be a slave to my distractions and desires.

This starts by recognizing the cycle, then gently, with self love and support, intentionally shifting away from it.

For me this meant clear boundaries around my top priorities. I’d set a timer for 45 minutes and work on my writing. About 9 minutes into those sessions, I’d feel an urge to check my email, or WhatsApp and search for something else to work on. I’d notice the urge to context switch, but stick with the writing.

It’s been hard, I’m not going to lie. I can feel the weight of my patterns, and I’m slowly working through them.

Furthermore, I realized that I really needed to create some distance from mindlessly checking WhatsApp and Reddit so frequently.

As I became more aware of how this context switching was affecting my dreams, naturally I started to progress in a healthier direction.

I must say though, it’s not as simple as just becoming aware of context switching. This is about avoiding emotions. A lot of the productivity gurus will talk about techniques and methods. They rarely touch on the deeper aspect of our inability to be with inner discomfort, which leads us to the context switching in the first place.

I’ve come to see that so much of my own resistance and context switching stems from an unwillingness to sit with discomfort. Relating to this discomfort is a main theme that I will continue to approach from many angles with the intention to help you in your life.

It’s all connected, and I’m happy to be writing about it and sharing my perspective.

With much love from Mexico,
Lee