Dont Track Tasks Track Interruptions

The piece argues that the simplest way to see where your time really goes is to block out a primary task and then log every interruption that pulls you away, subtracting that time from the original block. That raw list of interruptions becomes a concrete artifact you can review each week.

When you bring that list to retrospectives it turns vague complaints about focus into data-driven conversations about the cost of context switching. Teams can see exactly which activities are stealing time from high-value work and discuss how to protect focus.

The author recounts using the method with a VP of Product who kept getting dragged into tactical debates. By visualising the interruptions she could delegate, train others, and push back on low-priority requests, freeing her to work on strategy. The same approach helped a co-founder stop tossing random tasks onto a kanban board by making the impact of each interruption visible.

The overall lesson is practical: if you must track time, track the things that break your flow instead. The resulting data fuels better prioritisation, delegation, and team-wide awareness of hidden work.

TL;DR: When forced to log hours, log interruptions instead and use the data to improve focus and decision-making.