Focus Fragmentation vs Deep Work
Same hours invested. Interruptions force you to re-climb. Deep work compounds upward.
Progress made
Progress lost (context switch)
!Interruption
Fragmented Attention
20
net progress
Peak: 32 (lost 12)
Deep Work Blocks
243
net progress
No losses — all progress kept
Deep work delivers 12.2x more progress
The Re-Climbing Tax
Each interruption costs ~60% of your progress. You reached 32, but ended at 20. That's 12 units of wasted climbing—time spent re-learning what you already knew.
The Compound Climb
Uninterrupted sessions compound. Each hour builds on the last. The steps get taller as mastery deepens. Same 20 hours, but every step counts and none are wasted.
Increase interruptions to see how quickly progress erodes. The dashed lines show progress lost to context switching— you're not just pausing, you're sliding backwards.