Project Fatigue and Context Switching

Conquering the enemies of productivity and success.

Context switching and project fatigue are two very real problems in the world of development. They can greatly affect your ability to stay productive and on task — something crucial to the overall success of any project.

While there are always seemingly innumerable factors that contribute to your productivity and focus (just read the thousand and one articles published weekly on this topic), these two development hurdles can negatively affect productivity, morale, and at times, one’s sanity in a major way.

If you have experience in the development field, odds are you’ve likely experienced one, or maybe both, of these issues — though, of course, neither are exclusive to development or the tech industry.

Fight the Fatigue.

Unless the project is closely managed, a long work engagement can become detrimental for developers and the quality of their code. Project fatigue occurs when a team working on a project for a long period of time loses sight of the overall objective and vision of the work.

You’ll find that someone’s best work occurs when they care about the project and have a clear understanding of what needs to be done. Over the passing weeks, it becomes easier to lose this focus and drive if a couple of areas aren’t kept in check — project scope and team morale.

Project Scope.

Adding tasks that aren’t within a project’s scope convolutes the development narrative. Let’s say you start with a clear set of objectives that are all necessary to the completion of the job and a timeline in which they should be completed. About halfway through the project, the client asks to add a few more “quick” and “easy” features to your backlog that weren’t previously discussed or planned for.

Hopefully, your project manager (or whoever is in charge of planning) will give some pushback and let the client know that these features are out of scope and can be added at an additional cost. If not, you’re likely to find that you now have more work and less time (unless renegotiated) to get it all done.

Team Morale.

Eventually, all of the extra tasks add up. Another task is always yet another ‘thing to get done’, regardless of how ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ that task is supposed to be. Deadlines become harder to hit, the original plan and schedule start to feel like they were meant for a different project, and you find yourself unhappy with the work; exhausted and beat down as the due date looms on the horizon.

Project fatigue drains team morale and diminishes the feeling of accomplishment.

The best way to avoid project fatigue is to not allow any “out of scope” items to find their way into the current workload and throw off the plan. Maintaining a consistent project schedule is vital. Having that clear path and hitting those key milestones helps to keep the team on track by providing some assurance that progress is being made and the work is going according to plan.

Be Careful of the Context Switch.

When it comes down to it, we’re only human. Our brains weren’t wired with the capacity to effectively multi-task. Context switching is what happens when you switch back and forth between tasks.

Unlike a computer, we have a propensity to make mistakes. The more information there is to remember and keep straight, the higher the likelihood of error.

Keeping the needs and limitations of the task at hand in the forefront of your brain is essential to making the right decisions; you need to know which solutions and methods will be best suited for the whole project moving forward.

When another project or assignment is added to your workload, the finite amount of time and energy you possess is split among that work. You now have more than one set of needs and limitations to manage, piling extra stress into your mental overhead.

And, when you also take into account that it takes approximately 25–30 minutes to switch contexts, you’re looking at a huge hit to productivity and time.

There are a few forms of context switching which vary in severity. However, all should be avoided when possible:

• Working on multiple tasks at one time
• Working on multiple tasks in quick succession
• Switching to another task before the previous is finished — the worst

Working on Multiple Tasks at the Same Time.

Working on multiple tasks at the same time is tricky because you’re actively trying to balance the different mindsets without allowing any context bleed. You’re not able to fully commit your time and brainpower to a single task, which opens the door for mixed code and logic.

Working on Multiple Tasks in Quick Succession.

A similar risk is present when working on multiple tasks in quick succession. Instead of balancing the contexts on the spot, though, you start work on a follow up task before being able to fully remove yourself from the previous headspace. You also have to include the time it takes to switch mindsets.

Switching Tasks Before The First Task is Completed.

Neither of the first two forms of context switching are quite as detrimental as having to switch to another task before the previous is finished. You’re in the middle of a task that requires a very focused and specific way of thinking when you’re interrupted to handle a time-sensitive issue for another project.

Unless you were keeping notes on your progress and exactly what needs to happen next, there’s a good chance you’ll forget or misremember bits and pieces — maybe even chunks — that could make a difference in execution and delivery. On top of the abrupt mental switch and damaged workflow, is the aforementioned time required to successfully switch mental gears to work on the new project.

Context Switching and Productivity.

All forms of context switching hurt productivity. There isn’t a fix-all for dealing with context switching because no two developers have the same work situation.

Much of the effect can be assuaged, however, in the manner that the project is planned. Work should be organized in a way that minimizes the number of context switches needed to get the assignments done. If a developer is tasked with more than one project, the work for each project should be done on separate days whenever possible.

Switching mindsets from project to project is more difficult than switching between tasks and may even take a bit longer to fully get into the right frame of mind. When dealing with a single project on a task-to-task level, planning for similar tasks to be done in the same day requires less of a mental switch and can save a great deal of time in the long run.

Our Objective — Productive, Focused Work.

Productive and focused work make for a project running smoothly and meeting deadlines. Removing any factors that negatively impact productivity and focus will go a long way in ensuring your workers are happy and putting forth good work.

Context switching and project fatigue are two very real problems in the world of development that can, for the most part, be prevented by the effective planning of work and resources.