Constantly-distracted workers in busy offices are able to focus on a task for an average of 11 minutes before they're interrupted, a new University of California study shows.


Once they were interrupted, it took on average of 25 minutes to return to the original task, if they managed to do so at all that day. Workers in the study were juggling an average of 12 projects each, a situation one subject described as "constant, multi-tasking craziness".

This is the same study cited by the TIME magazine article we pointed out yesterday. While the results aren't hard for me to believe, the study used a random sample of 36 office workers to get this data. I'm no researcher, but that seems like a small group to me. What do you think, lifehackers? About how long are you able to focus on a task before you get interrupted at the office?

Why modern offices only let you work for 11 minutes [The Herald]