I regularly coach my team to take a task as far as they can before moving on to something else and to minimize the number of tasks in progress. Still, I often find they are juggling too many active tasks. This usually happens because they switch to another task when they encounter mental strain—something they need to become more comfortable working through.
For example, someone may start updating a work instruction. They move quickly through the introduction because they can rely on memory. But eventually they reach a point where they don’t have the knowledge they need and must gather new information. This is where many people experience mental strain and jump to another task (or feel the urge to check email or their phone). Switching tasks at this point makes their work less efficient and leads to a buildup of in-progress tasks, which creates unnecessary stress.
It’s similar to taking up running. When you’re new to running, your lungs and legs burn, and you want to stop and take a break. Culturally, we understand physical discomfort during exercise, so we know we have to push through it. But we don’t have the same training for mental strain.