"Constant, constant, multi-tasking craziness": managing multiple working spheres
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
A diary study of task switching and interruptions
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
No task left behind?: examining the nature of fragmented work
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Interruptions on software teams: a comparison of paired and solo programmers
CSCW '06 Proceedings of the 2006 20th anniversary conference on Computer supported cooperative work
The scope and importance of human interruption in human-computer interaction design
Human-Computer Interaction
Self-interruption on the computer: a typology of discretionary task interleaving
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
CHI '12 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Active progress bar: aiding the switch to temporary activities
BCS-HCI '12 Proceedings of the 26th Annual BCS Interaction Specialist Group Conference on People and Computers
Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying
Computers in Human Behavior
The Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale: An empirical investigation
Computers in Human Behavior
Supporting task resumption using visual feedback
Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing
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Self-interruptions account for a significant portion of task switching in information-centric work contexts. However, most of the research to date has focused on understanding, analyzing and designing for external interruptions. The causes of self-interruptions are not well understood. In this paper we present an analysis of 889 hours of observed task switching behavior from 36 individuals across three high-technology information work organizations. Our analysis suggests that self-interruption is a function of organizational environment and individual differences, but also external interruptions experienced. We find that people in open office environments interrupt themselves at a higher rate. We also find that people are significantly more likely to interrupt themselves to return to solitary work associated with central working spheres, suggesting that self-interruption occurs largely as a function of prospective memory events. The research presented contributes substantially to our understanding of attention and multitasking in context.