The claim that it takes 23 minutes to refocus comes from a 2006 interview with researcher Gloria Mark, not a single study result. Her 2008 study found interrupted people worked faster but felt more stressed, and her later research found attention on one screen now lasts around 47 seconds.
You have probably read that it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back on task after an interruption. It appears in books, talks and a lot of productivity apps.
So where does it come from?
The source is an interview
The figure traces back to attention researcher Gloria Mark of the University of California, Irvine, quoted in a 2006 interview with Gallup.2
It is a real estimate from someone who has spent decades studying attention. But it is often cited to a study that does not actually contain that number.
What the study actually found
Mark's 2008 paper, The Cost of Interrupted Work, found something surprising. People who were interrupted finished tasks faster, not slower.3
The cost showed up elsewhere. They reported more stress, more frustration and more time pressure. Interruptions did not only steal time. They made the work feel worse.
The number that holds up
Mark's more recent research tracks how long people stay on one screen before switching. In her early studies it was about two and a half minutes.
Today it averages around 47 seconds.1 And much of that switching is self interruption. We break our own focus.
What to do with this
If most interruptions are self inflicted, the fix is to remove the option, not to try harder.
- Block your most distracting apps during focused work.
- Decide the session length before you start.
- Protect your sleep, because tired brains switch more.
That is what SETL Sessions are for. Pick the apps, pick how long, and get deep work on demand. Read how to stop scrolling in bed next.