Distraction management is a prerequisite for flow: turning off phone, email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, messages, and alerts. Studies show that even a single interruption (knock on door, text alert) can take coders and other flow-dependent workers 15 minutes to return to flow, if they return at all.

causalpending

Speaker

Stephen Kotler

Evidence Quote

There was a study where they found that coders and flow. They get knocked out by distraction... it can take 'em 15 minutes to get back into flow.

Source

3 powerful mind states: Flow state, good anxiety, and Zen BuddhismBig Think
Created: 8/10/2026, 11:19:37 PM

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