Switch Costs are any distraction or interruption while you are performing a task. For example, if you’re writing an email and someone texts you, that notification is a switch cost. Or if someone walks into your office to ask a question. Or if you see another email, come through and pause to read that one. Each of these examples is causing you to remove focus from the task at hand, decreasing efficiency and costing you time, (and you know, time is money!).
At a high level, a switch cost is any type of interruption. Some interruptions are easily avoided – for instance if you need to estimate a job, you can turn off your phone and close your office door. What most individuals miss out on is that they can help themselves avoid all switch costing, no matter their role. What we mean by this is that, even if you’re responsible for communication with clients or employees, it is ok to set time aside to complete a task. And when you set this time aside, it is ok to turn your phone off. Not on vibrate – OFF. If you oversee a team of employees, send them a quick message that you will be unreachable for an hour and call the office with any emergencies. If you are a CRM or Account Manager, it’s ok for a client call to go to voicemail. You can get back to them once you’re done.
If we can all agree that most days are busy and we could use more time, then we can also agree that cutting out switch costs is very valuable. Here are some tips to get started:
1. Time Block
We can’t keep the door shut or phone off all day – so it is helpful to schedule an appointment on your calendar for a chunk of time dedicated to a specific task(s). Protect this time like you would a client meeting! Don’t be late, don’t reschedule, and don’t run too long.
2. Notifications OFF
Close your email and turn your phone on Do Not Disturb. It Is surprising how often we instinctually check our devices, even without a ding or chime notifying us of a message. If you find yourself doing this, you can take it a step further by turning your phone off or leaving it in a drawer, separate room, or your car.
What if it is an emergency?! Relax, your team can call the office, and your clients cannot expect you to answer every call. If you were meeting with another client right now, you wouldn’t be answering.
3. Notify your team.
Especially when you work in an office, make sure to provide clarity to others in the office. They don’t know you are dedicating time to a task unless you make it clear. This might mean verbally telling them before you close the door, it could mean that if your door is closed, they can assume you’re not available, you could also create a poster of some sort that says, “No Switch Costing, please!”.
As you, or your team, starts protecting your time, it is important to consider others as well. A company can only avoid switch costs if everyone is on the same page. This means you have to respect others as much as you’d want them to avoid interrupting you. In a shared workspace, this works best if everyone has the same method of communicating their entering what we would call the “No Switch Costing Zone.”
As an individual implementing these practices, you will quickly see your tasks getting completed more efficiently and likely with higher quality. As a team, you’ll likely see not only an increase in efficiency but also an increase in positive culture as everyone feels their time is appreciated and respected.