Journal: News & Comment

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No surprise, but good to hear

Like many people who work from home, I find myself most productive late at night, when distractions -- or even my mind's estimate of the potential for distractions -- are fewest. Now, research backs up that impression.

According to psychologists at the University of Michigan:

Not being able to concentrate for, say, tens of minutes at a time, may mean it's costing a company as much as 20 to 40 percent in terms of potential efficiency lost, or the "time cost" of switching [between tasks].

So the trend for multitasking workers is probably hurting productivity, from one-person businesses like mine to the largest corporations.

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