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{"id":6027,"date":"2014-05-19T06:58:20","date_gmt":"2014-05-19T11:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=6027"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:26:25","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:26:25","slug":"beware-of-three-second-distractions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2014\/05\/19\/beware-of-three-second-distractions\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware of Three-Second Distractions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Here\u2019s a surprising fact (or maybe not): even a 3-second distraction can screw you up, especially at work:<\/p>\n

Researchers asked 300 Michigan State University undergrads to complete a tedious computer exercise in which subjects needed to remember exactly where they were in a precise sequence of tasks. The researchers evilly programmed interruptions to occur after about every sixth step, in the form of a pop-up box that required the volunteers to type in a CAPTCHA-esque code before they could get back to work.<\/p>\n

In one experiment, the code was four characters long, and the interruption lasted about 4.4 seconds; in a second experiment, the code and disruption were about half as long, lasting 2.8 seconds on average. They found that after the 4.4-second interruption, people more than tripled the errors they made when they returned to the task, and after the 2.8 distraction, they more than doubled their errors.<\/p>\n

Good reminder for a Monday! Read the whole thing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"