Stop Context Switching, It's Killing Your Career Momentum
Break free from doing too little in too many directions
When people hear the phrase “scope creep,” they think about projects with extra features, last-minute asks from that one stakeholder who “needs a quick change.”
But for many early-career IT professionals, the real scope creep has nothing to do with the project. It’s in our brains.
The culprit? Context switching.
The Hidden Drain Nobody Talks About
A typical morning may look like this:
8:00 AM - You open Slack, see a few messages, and a direct ping from your manager.
8:20 AM - Switch to JIRA, close one ticket, update another, leave the third half-finished.
8:45 AM - Zoom daily stand-up, you open Asana, seven people talking, one action item lost in chat.
9:15 AM - Email, a report request, you think: “I’ll just do this quickly in Salesforce.”
9:30 AM - Back to Slack, another “quick question.”
10:00 AM - A new Zoom invite pops up, and you join.
By lunch, you’ve touched six tools, bounced between ten micro-tasks, and finished nothing.
McKinsey calls this productivity leakage, and HBR calls it app fatigue.
I call it scope creep of the mind.
Why Context Switching Feels Like Burnout
The tricky part is that context switching does not look like burnout.
You’re not lying on the couch, unable to move. You’re doing things.
But the exhaustion hits the same way.
Every switch has a cost. When you jump from JIRA to Slack, your brain doesn’t instantly flip modes. It takes energy to recall the task, reload the context, and rebuild the train of thought.
Researchers estimate each switch costs up to 20 minutes, depending on the task. Do that 50 times a day, and you’ve lost hours of productive time.
That’s why some days feel endless.
You’re not tired because you did too much.
You’re tired because you did too little in too many directions.
My Tab Problem (and My Son Calling Me Out)
I used to measure productivity by the number of tabs I had open.
The more, the better - made me feel like I was on top of everything.
One day, I looked up and realized I had over 50 tabs open: Salesforce dashboards, project docs, JIRA boards, articles I swore I’d read later.
Then my son Indra walked by. He glanced at my screen and said:
“Mom… why do you have so many tabs? How do you know what you’re doing?”
That stopped me cold.
Because the truth was, I didn’t. I was switching, reloading, and exhausting myself with false motion.
Since then, I’ve trained myself to ask:
What am I doing right now?
What tool do I need to use right now?
What can I close so I can finish?
That point of reset became a defense against hidden scope creep.
Mental Tab Debt
When we’re carrying too many open loops, we have what I call a mental tab debt.
Like a browser overloaded with tabs, your brain stalls when juggling unfinished contexts.
Every tab represents:
a half-finished JIRA ticket
an unanswered Slack thread
a report you promised to “circle back” on
One or two tabs? Manageable.
57? That’s when you start lagging.
And like tech debt in software, mental tab debt compounds.
each switch reloads the system
each open tab demands attention
each delay creates drag on tomorrow’s performance
What’s ironic is that the more tabs you keep open, the less you finish. The less you finish, the less visible you become.
Three Ways to Kill Context Switching
Here are three practices I use to move from scattered contributor to emerging leader.
1. Batch by Type, Not Tool
Stop answering every ping instantly. Process communication in blocks, once mid-morning, once mid-afternoon.
This reduces micro-switches and keeps your brain in one mode at a time.
2. Block Deep Work
Protect a 90-minute window for one deliverable. Calendar it like a meeting.
no Slack
no JIRA hopping
one outcome, done
The difference in progress compared to scattered bursts is massive.
I apply this especially when I’m tasked with creating end-user training materials. I block half a day, four hours in the morning. All notifications, emails, and direct messages are off. Only two programs stay open: Google Slides and a Salesforce tab for screenshots.
The first hour is a warm-up. By the third, I’ve hit flow state. By the fourth, I’ve produced a training deck that is clearly labeled, step-by-step, and easy for a new user to follow.
That kind of focused output is impossible if I let myself switch every time a ping comes through.
3. Choose a “Source of Truth”
Projects unravel when updates live in multiple places. Pick one platform as your single source of truth.
For me, that’s Asana. Everything else - email, chat, points back there.
This prevents duplication and keeps everyone aligned.
Busy Is Invisible. Outcomes Are Promotable.
Here’s the trap early-career professionals fall into, thinking that being busy equals being valuable.
you attend every call
you check every notification
you juggle tasks so no one thinks you’re lazy
From the inside, it feels like proof of dedication. From the outside, it looks like noise.
No one remembers how many messages you sent. No one tallies the number of meetings you attended.
What people remember are outcomes, like that requirement document that cleared assumptions, or that training slide deck that sped up adoption, or that workflow saving a team 2 hours a day.
The more you spread yourself thin, the less visible you become. The more you finish one meaningful thing, the more promotable you look.
Next time you’re tempted to prove yourself by juggling, ask:
“What outcome can I deliver today that others will still see tomorrow?”
From Contributor to Leader
Context switching keeps you stuck.
I learned this firsthand when I was a customer success manager handling seven accounts. On some days, I had back-to-back calls, each with a different client. That meant preparing different status reports ahead of time, because each account needed its own update.
We maintained a tracker of open issues that my tech leads updated regularly, and that helped. But even with prep, switching between seven client contexts in a single day was tough.
What I realized is that sheer preparation and tools can only take you so far. True progress doesn’t come from being able to handle chaos - it comes from creating structure that prevents it in the first place.
That’s the difference between scattered busyness and focused leadership. Leaders not only absorb chaos, they also set cadence, clarify deliverables, and finish what they start.
You can practice those habits now, even without the title:
protect your deep work
set communication boundaries
stick to a source of truth
What I’m Still Learning
I’ll be honest, there are days when I still find myself with 20 tabs open, half-answering a thread while staring at a JIRA board.
But now I catch myself, and sometimes Indra catches me too.
He’ll glance at my screen and say, “Mom, remember the tabs.”
Managing my tabs is managing my brain. Managing my brain is managing my energy. Managing my energy is crucial to managing both projects and people.
Your Move This Week
I have 3 micro-challenges for you:
Close 2 apps right now. Look at your screen, pick two apps or browser tabs you don’t truly need for the task at hand, and shut them down. Instant focus boost.
Block one 90-minute deep work session. Pick a time this week, put it on your calendar like a real meeting, and protect it. Use it for one outcome only - no Slack, no email, no multitasking.
Choose one place for updates. Instead of posting the same status in Slack, email, and JIRA, pick the single platform your team relies on most. Share your update there, and redirect people back if they ask elsewhere.
Do these for five days. Notice how your energy (and your visibility) shift.
Final Thought
Scope creep in projects is hard enough.
But scope creep in your mind? That’s what really derails careers.
Don’t let context switching rob you of focus and momentum.
Cut it down, guard your tabs, and lead yourself first.
That’s how you move from the professional buried in tasks to the trusted advisor with impactful outcomes.
Wonderful insights! Thanks, Mae!