"Constant, constant, multi-tasking craziness": managing multiple working spheres
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
CHI '05 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Disruption and recovery of computing tasks: field study, analysis, and directions
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI)
Multitasking and monotasking: the effects of mental workload on deferred task interruptions
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Understanding how the projection of availability state impacts the reception incoming communication
Proceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work
Interleaving tasks to improve performance: Users maximise the marginal rate of return
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Evaluating peripheral interaction
Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction
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Previous studies of multitasking have highlighted the importance of cognitive load in interruptibility by showing that forced interruptions are least disruptive when cognitive load is low, and also that users prefer to address interruptions at low-load points when given a choice. We present an empirical study that uses a ringing-phone scenario to examine how users manage deferrable interruptions in the presence of varying time constraints. We found that while cognitive load did influence multitasking as expected, the time constraints placed on the user also had a significant impact. In particular, we observed three distinct strategies for addressing interruption: the expected strategy of switching at low-load points, but also two other strategies of continuing on after a low-load point or giving up at a high-load point. The presence of the latter two strategies strongly suggests that users can adapt their multitasking behavior with respect to the time constraints of the interrupting task.