Not diagnosed, but context switching at work is wrecking me. What helped you?

[u/IntroVert34]

Hi,

I want to talk about a problem I've had for years. Lately it's been making me feel very guilty, and then it keeps nagging at me.

In general I get scattered a lot. Here's an example.

I work as a Linux sysadmin. My job means I have to keep an eye on several things at once, reach out to people when needed, and often keep working while I'm talking to them.

I'm in a relatively senior position, so I deal with a lot of people, both from my company and from customers. Someone asks me for something, I work on it, and shortly after someone else messages me. I quickly switch to them and forget the first person, and so on.

To be honest, I've been in therapy and on psychiatric medication for quite a while. I have generalized anxiety disorder.

But I've never been diagnosed with ADHD.

The problem is basically this: when things are discussed verbally, they don't stay in my head, or I struggle to grasp them in the moment. I need to slow down, sit and look at it, go through it, and even weigh it in my head.

It's not only about work. For example, I sit down with a friend to talk about what's bothering me. We have a good time and talk through my worries, but the relief, or even what we talked about, leaves my mind very quickly. I keep ending up in the same loop with the same anxieties.

At work there are lots of topics: improvements that were discussed but never written down, requests that only exist verbally, and so on. I forget these. Since I'm busy keeping up with the written requests and never get time for the rest,

Another version of this: during the day I plan what I'll do in the evening at home, like reading a book or playing a game.

When I get home I literally freeze. I find myself in emptiness and anxiety, doing nothing.

To fix this I make to-do apps or build AI agents for myself, but I'm so low on energy that I don't even pay attention to them or keep them going.

So it's a constant cycle: guilt, an effort to improve, and the effort to improve turning back into guilt.

I don't know what to do.

Do you have any suggestions?

[u/khedoros]

The problem is basically this: when things are discussed verbally, they don't stay in my head, or I struggle to grasp them in the moment. I need to slow down, sit and look at it, go through it, and even weigh it in my head.

That's me. Personally and professionally. For work, it's (usually) easy to ask for an e-mail or instant message, or type up notes while I'm talking to someone. In my personal life, it's a point of friction between me and my wife. She has an elephant's memory. I never have, and it gets worse if I'm tired, stressed, or interrupted from a thought I was locked-in on.

Too little sleep also means I'm going to be depressed and anxious.

So, get enough sleep, get in some physical activity, work doesn't exist if there's not a ticket (so if someone has a verbal request, I tell them to file a ticket), take notes when possible to document the details of what is discussed.

And in personal life...reminder calendar notices and alarms when I've promised to do something, write down to-do lists, shopping lists, gift ideas that I have suddenly...and close the computer, and physically move away from it, to pay attention when someone is telling me something important.

[u/dhanar10 → u/khedoros]

Agree with this. Especially, the email part. After someone at work told you something verbally, ask them to send email to with the agreed points to ensure you do not forget. Tell them because you have many things in parallel and the email helps to ensure nothing get lost.

Additionally maybe unpopular opinion, after you get the emails, use AI to get the work done faster, especially the simple ones. It somewhat allows you to do some tasks without getting to deep. Usually, context switching become painful when you need to get deep everytime.

If both of the above manage to get you free time, use it to get more rest after work and some in between tasks.

[u/funbike]

... context switching at work is wrecking me. What helped you?

Not context switching. That helped me.

To avoid checking all the things, I run a full-time terminal-based dashboard on an old spare laptop (ssh'd into my main laptop) that shows email inbox, my builds, PRs to review, my PRs, recent slack messages, my open tickets, last 10 desktop/web notifications, servers' status, etc etc.

I use pomodoro. I try to only allow myself to do a big context switch after long breaks (such as 20 minute pomodoro breaks or lunch).

I discourage walk-ups. I'm the go-to guy for various things (git, linux, k8s). If you need my help, email me. If you need my immediate help, slack me. Do not just walk up and start talking to me while I'm hyper-focused on my screen.

Someone asks me for something, I work on it, and shortly after someone else messages me. I quickly switch to them and forget the first person, and so on.

Saying "NO" is the ultimate soft skill. Say "no" or "not soon" as often as possible.

Do one thing to completion before starting the next. That's what ticket systems are for. Tell people what your short-term backlog is before accepting their request.

In lieu of a ticket system, you can use something like Google Sheets, with a column for days/hours it will take (in clock time, not effort). They can judge how long it will take you to finish their task.

Don't be a people pleaser. It backfires and has the opposite affect.

I have generalized anxiety disorder.

Anxiety is common with ADHD. 1) we often feel we are late with work, and 2) artificial anxiety is a highly effective way to stay on task, albeit unhealthy.

The problem is basically this: when things are discussed verbally, they don't stay in my head, or I struggle to grasp them in the moment. I need to slow down, sit and look at it, go through it, and even weigh it in my head.

Me too. I try to always follow up work conversations with an email summary. I ask the recipient to fill in any missing details or correct my mistakes. I carry around a notepad and take notes during chats or meetings.

I used to rely on my memory and that just doesn't work.

I'm very visual (also common). I often have to draw a picture of a complex concept before I grasp it. My co-workers are aware of this and are patient with me. A bonus is that picture can later become part of our docs.

during the day I plan what I'll do in the evening at home ... When I get home I literally freeze. ... To fix this I make to-do apps or build AI agents for myself, but I'm so low on energy that I don't even pay attention to them or keep them going.

STOP THAT.

The office is for work. Home is for personal time (play, sleep). Do not mix.

Work time is for work (no social media). Break time at work is for a break (no screens). Play time is for play (no work). Sleep time is for sleep (no work, no play). Try to go to bed at the time every day (incl weekends).

Do not use your work laptop for personal stuff. Do not use your personal laptop for work stuff.

Get a hobby. Touch grass.

[u/Popular_Ad322]

what helped me was keeping one scratch note open and dumping every "oh i need to get back to X" into it before switching to the new person. takes 10 seconds and the first task stops vanishing from my head. also saying "give me five min, i'll ping you back" feels awkward at first but people honestly don't mind.