interruption science: now, where were we?

NPR aired this piece on Friday about "Interruption Science" with Clive Thompson, who writes the very interesting Collision Detection blog.

One of the interesting bits concerns the quality of life factor of interruptions...

"when we get interrupted, the things we're intending to do or trying to pay attention to, get partially lost but partially there and they just sort of nag at us. And So some of this is not just about making us more productive it's about making us, just, happier."

Near the end of the interview, Alex Chadwick makes the astute observation that we often choose to be distracted. Thompson responds that 40% of "interruptions" are chosen. Somebody much more obscure than Chadwick and Thompson recently noted this.

Very interesting. The article comes out in this weekend's New York Times Sunday Magazine [I couldn't find a preview to link to at their site].

So, the next time you're.... oh, sorry, I gotta take this...

Technorati tag: interruption science