Ready-To-Resume Plan: Scrub Away Attenti

Ready-to-Resume Plan:
Scrub Away Attention Residue

When you get interrupted and return to your original task, a large part of your attention remains distracted. A Ready-to-Resume Plan eliminates this distraction, and provides an “on ramp” back to your original task.

Some interruptions are impossible to avoid. Many are even important for your business. Instead of avoiding interruptions entirely, the best thing is to manage them. When someone – or something – interrupts you, take a minute to write down what you were doing and what you plan on doing next. After the interruption, read through this plan before returning to your project.

FACTS:

Each interrupted task still occupies 20% of your focus, for an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds.
A Ready-to-Resume Plan is a great tool to reduce attention residue (switching costs) and help you reclaim this focus.
A Ready-to-Resume Plan takes less than a minute to implement.

Dr. Sofie Leroy is the interruption science researcher who coined the term “Attention Residue.” In 2018, Dr. Leroy published a solution to this problem in Organization Science, along with co-author Theresa M. Glomb. They called their solution a “Ready-to-Resume Plan.” Since then, it’s proven to be effective for many professionals, from c-suite executives to medical doctors.

A Ready-to-Resume Plan sets your mind at ease and helps you focus on whatever interrupted you. When you return to your project, you’ll know exactly where you were and what you were doing. As a result, it’s easier to return to a state of deep focus.

Solution Recap

Keep a pen and notepad handy while you’re working.

When you get interrupted, write down what you’re doing and what you plan to do next.

Use your Ready-to-Resume Plan as a guide when you return to your project.

“A ready-to-resume plan allows the temporary cognitive closure that makes the attention switch possible.”

- Dr. Sofie Leroy, Interruption Science Researcher