Chapter 14: Exercises

Comprehension Check

1. Explain the difference between multitasking and task-switching. Why is this distinction important for understanding productivity costs?

2. What does Gloria Mark's research on interruptions actually show? What is the context for the "23 minutes" figure?

3. List the six characteristics of Csikszentmihalyi's flow state. Which have been replicated, and which are overpromised in the pop version?

4. Why is the "8-second attention span" statistic unreliable? What are the specific sourcing problems?

5. What did Ward et al. (2017) find about smartphone proximity and cognitive capacity?

Application

6. Track your task-switching for one work/study hour. Note every time you switch tasks (including checking your phone). Count the total switches. Estimate the time cost using Rubinstein et al.'s 40% efficiency reduction estimate.

7. Try working for 45 minutes with your phone in another room (not just face-down — in another room). Compare your subjective focus and output to a normal 45-minute work session. Does the Ward et al. finding match your experience?

8. Attempt to create flow conditions for a task: clear goals, appropriate challenge level, distraction-free environment. Record what happened. Did you achieve flow? What does this tell you about the "flow hacking" promise?

9. Find three articles or videos about "decreasing attention spans." For each, identify: - What statistic do they cite? - Can you trace the statistic to a primary source? - Do they distinguish between attention preferences and attention capacity?

10. Find a "flow hacking" course or program online. Apply the toolkit: - What claims does it make about the controllability of flow? - What evidence does it cite? - Does the evidence support the specific marketing claims? - How much does it cost?

Critical Thinking

11. The task-switching cost is well-established for alternating between different tasks. But some people claim they work better with background music, TV, or white noise. Is this compatible with the task-switching research? (Consider: is background audio a "task" you're switching to?)

12. Flow is described as a positive experience, but it can occur during harmful activities (gambling, gaming addiction). Does this complicate the "flow is good" narrative? How should flow be evaluated when it occurs in unhealthy contexts?

13. Orben and Przybylski found that screen time's effect on wellbeing is similar to wearing glasses or eating potatoes. Why might this finding be less viral than "smartphones are destroying attention"?

14. If our attention capacity hasn't fundamentally changed but our attention preferences have (shorter content, more switching), is this a problem? Is choosing to attend in shorter bursts inherently worse than choosing sustained attention?

15. The chapter suggests that "putting your phone in another room" is more evidence-based than "do a dopamine detox." Why might this simple behavioral strategy be less popular than the neurochemical narrative?

Fact-Check Portfolio

16. If any of your 10 claims involve attention, focus, productivity, or technology's cognitive effects: - Trace any statistics to their original source - Distinguish between capacity changes and preference changes - Check for the "flow hacking" overpromise - Update your evidence rating.