How Context Switching Destroys Deep Work (And Where AI Can Help)

Day 7 of 30 – Reducing mental clutter with smarter boundaries and smarter tools

Author

Selim Uysal
June 07, 2025

Hi friend,

I had a moment earlier this week where I was editing a ghostwritten email course…

Then jumped to Notion to outline a newsletter…

Then opened WhatsApp to reply to a potential client…

And before I knew it, I had 12 tabs open and no actual progress.

This wasn’t a time problem.

It was a focus problem.

More specifically: a context switching problem.

🧠 The invisible cost of switching tasks

Every time you switch from one task to another, especially ones that require different kinds of thinking, you lose time and mental clarity.

Researchers call this “attention residue.”

You leave a part of your brain behind on the last task, even as you start the next one.

For knowledge workers like us, that residue builds up.

It leads to shallow work, creative fatigue, and that nagging sense that you “did a lot” without moving anything forward.

That’s why Cal Newport’s concept of Deep Work matters so much.

Focused, uninterrupted time on cognitively demanding tasks.

No switches. No toggles. Just presence.

The problem? Deep work is hard to start, especially when you feel overwhelmed.

🤖 Where AI Actually Helps

Here’s how I use AI not to multitask more, but to context switch less:

✅ Summarize where I left off

“Summarize my last 3 notes on this project so I can pick up where I left off, without rereading everything.”

✅ Break large tasks into small starting points

“I want to write a newsletter about context switching. What are 3 angles I can start from, so I can get into flow faster?”

✅ Capture and store the task I’m not doing

“I just had an idea for something else, but I don’t want to switch. Can you hold it for later and remind me tomorrow?”

AI helps preserve deep work by reducing mental drag, not by doing the thinking for you.

📬 Want more tools and prompts like this?

→ Subscribe here: productiveknowledgeworker.com (Check the previous 7 days and access to my top productivity tool list!)

Let’s make clarity your default.

Selim

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P.S. Want to start your own newsletter?

Check out my free course at startyournewsletter.today or launch instantly with a free Beehiiv account.

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P.P.S. 🧠 Building a newsletter, lead magnets, or an educational email course, but find it hard to stay focused between content, outreach, and delivery?

DM me “focus” and I’ll help you design a simple writing system that fits your schedule and your brain.