{"id":81209,"date":"2025-07-09T13:53:35","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/?p=81209"},"modified":"2025-07-09T13:53:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:53:49","slug":"multitasking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/","title":{"rendered":"Why we can\u2019t stop multitasking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Stylized
To better understand how Firefox can support users, researcher Allison Robins explores our complicated relationship with multitasking.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all been there: a notification pops up, and suddenly we’re responding \u2014 even if it completely derails our focus. It feels automatic, but it\u2019s rarely just about the task at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a staff product researcher on the Firefox mixed methods team, I wanted to understand why multitasking feels so hard to resist. It turns out it\u2019s not just about distraction. It\u2019s tied to deeper emotional needs like trust, security and belonging. We\u2019re not just reacting to a ping; we\u2019re protecting our place, our reputation, our sense of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, the tools we use every day haven\u2019t caught up to this reality. Browsers are great at enabling multitasking. They make it easy to start up a bunch of tasks at once, but don\u2019t always make it easy to pick up where you left off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To explore what happens when users get interrupted and what it takes for them to get back on track, I spoke with 12 folks who spend at least 4 hours per day working in their browser. Here’s what I learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multitasking isn’t a character flaw \u2014 it’s a survival strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We know multitasking makes us less productive. Constantly switching between tasks forces the brain to refocus each time, which slows down thinking and increases mental fatigue. That’s why there are countless books, apps, and productivity gurus telling us to focus on one thing at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The underlying message is clear: We’re all just distracted by our devices, victims of shrinking attention spans who could stop multitasking if we’d just exercise more self-control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this framing misses what’s really happening. Multitasking behaviors, like constantly monitoring and responding to messages, are often protective responses to deeper fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One participant explained this clearly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m not very good at seeing a notification [where] someone’s asked me a question, I know the answer, and being like, \u2018I don’t need to respond now.\u2019… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel like it’s very much a confidence thing. I often feel like people don’t think I know what I’m doing, so I need to show them by responding publicly in the Slack channel\u2026I’m sure my therapist would have much to say about this, but it’s generally wanting to come off not looking like I’m not knowledgeable\u2026I want to make sure people have a good impression of me, so I’m not out on the proverbial streets, essentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Interruptions leave emotional residue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interruptions trigger strong emotions like stress or frustration that linger after the interruption ends. One participant who coordinates clinical trials for cancer research described this vividly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI have this huge panic reaction in my body when I hear my dog getting into something… Being interrupted is another stressful event, so that compounds the stress of the task at hand… I’m in this elevated state when I come back, and I don’t have the privilege to sit and meditate or calm myself before I start, because these are urgent tasks. Someone’s health is in the balance. It feels like a snowball of stress\u2026 I don’t really regulate, I just do it stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

People will struggle to resume their original tasks until they’ve emotionally recovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small wins reset momentum<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After interruptions, participants tackled smaller tasks for quick wins to rebuild momentum and emotional stability. Unfortunately, many productivity tools treat these resets as distractions, using guilt as motivation. Participants were already beating themselves up over their inability to stay focused, so they didn’t want tools that piled on more shame, preferring steady, judgment-free support.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Side-by-side
Study participants didn\u2019t want tools that piled on more shame, preferring steady, judgment-free support.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Simple strategies work best for getting back on track<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When participants were interrupted, or sensed a context switch coming, they grabbed whatever surface was closest to them. A scratch doc, a sticky note, a temporary calendar entry, an email draft, whatever was accessible. Their goal wasn\u2019t to document everything about the task. It was just about leaving a quick note behind for their future selves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The notes looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • “Left off in cell A254”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • “Rewrite intro, lead with results”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • “Need to follow up”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    We call these mental scaffolds<\/em> \u2013 rough, temporary support structures meant to hold just enough context. They were effective because they were accessible, simple and temporary. Once the task was resumed, the note had done its job and could be discarded without a second thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When participants used more complex productivity apps like Asana or Trello, it was usually because their teams required it \u2014 not something they chose for their own workflow. These tools were the opposite of the simple, accessible approach that actually worked for them. As one of them explained:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    \u201cI tried Asana, Trello, all the project management tools. It’s just too much. Some of these tools are like the Cadillac, and I’m like, I just need a Toyota that rolls off the lot and gets me from A to B quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Participants stuck with imperfect solutions because switching felt risky when what they had was already working well enough:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    \u201cI don’t want to have to use [a new tool], especially if I have something that works for me. I’d love for it to be better, but I don’t want another place I need to keep maintained.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Multitasking won\u2019t go away, but it can hurt less<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Multitasking won’t disappear. It’s the product of systemic workplace pressures that are largely beyond any single company’s control. But while Firefox can’t fix the underlying forces that make multitasking feel necessary, we can reduce the toll it takes on people’s brains and hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Effectively supporting multitasking means reducing both its cognitive and emotional costs. Our opportunity isn’t just to help users do more, but to help them do it better \u2014 by making it easier for them to come back, recover, and pick up where they left off in the browser.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We\u2019ve all been there: a notification pops up, and suddenly we’re responding \u2014 even if it completely derails our focus. It feels automatic, but it\u2019s rarely just about the task at hand. As a staff product researcher on the Firefox mixed methods team, I wanted to understand why multitasking feels so hard to resist. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1889,"featured_media":81211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,461998],"tags":[4708],"coauthors":[464338],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy we can\u2019t stop multitasking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why do we multitask even when we know better? A look at what browser users say about interruptions, emotional residue, and finding their way back.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/\",\"name\":\"Why we can\u2019t stop multitasking\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/278\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog_Multitasking_Header.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-09T20:53:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-09T20:53:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ff2a2684ab8dcbe5372151857748455d\"},\"description\":\"Why do we multitask even when we know better? A look at what browser users say about interruptions, emotional residue, and finding their way back.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/278\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog_Multitasking_Header.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/278\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog_Multitasking_Header.png\",\"width\":2880,\"height\":1620,\"caption\":\"To better understand how Firefox can support users, researcher Allison Robins explores our complicated relationship with multitasking.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why we can\u2019t stop multitasking\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"The Mozilla Blog\",\"description\":\"News and Updates about Mozilla\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ff2a2684ab8dcbe5372151857748455d\",\"name\":\"Kristina Bravo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/cd320165a9224f3c60c912bf4086a89f\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22fa545a3c48bc13cc1d84d5e09ffbff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22fa545a3c48bc13cc1d84d5e09ffbff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kristina Bravo\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/author\/kbravo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why we can\u2019t stop multitasking","description":"Why do we multitask even when we know better? A look at what browser users say about interruptions, emotional residue, and finding their way back.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/","name":"Why we can\u2019t stop multitasking","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/278\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog_Multitasking_Header.png","datePublished":"2025-07-09T20:53:35+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-09T20:53:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ff2a2684ab8dcbe5372151857748455d"},"description":"Why do we multitask even when we know better? A look at what browser users say about interruptions, emotional residue, and finding their way back.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/278\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog_Multitasking_Header.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/278\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog_Multitasking_Header.png","width":2880,"height":1620,"caption":"To better understand how Firefox can support users, researcher Allison Robins explores our complicated relationship with multitasking."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/multitasking\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why we can\u2019t stop multitasking"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/","name":"The Mozilla Blog","description":"News and Updates about Mozilla","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ff2a2684ab8dcbe5372151857748455d","name":"Kristina Bravo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/cd320165a9224f3c60c912bf4086a89f","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22fa545a3c48bc13cc1d84d5e09ffbff?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22fa545a3c48bc13cc1d84d5e09ffbff?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kristina Bravo"},"url":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/author\/kbravo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81209"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81209"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=81209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}