What are the costs of multitasking across multiple tabs?

Multitasking across multiple tabs incurs significant cognitive costs, primarily due to the mental strain of context switching. This switching can reduce performance speed and accuracy, leading to a measurable productivity cost known as 'switching time' or 'transition tax,' which may take an average of 23 minutes to regain focus after a distraction^[1]. Additionally, constant contexts switching is linked to increased stress and cognitive overload^[4].

To mitigate these effects, task batching is an effective strategy. Group similar digital tasks together, such as emails or administrative duties, and schedule dedicated time blocks to handle them. This minimizes context switching, allowing for deeper focus and greater efficiency^[3].^[5]