Multitasking is often considered a necessary skill in software development – but research shows that it can significantly impair productivity and code quality. Switching between tasks leads to so-called “context-switching costs”, which increase mental overhead and disrupt concentration on in-depth development work.
At Deep Impact, we focus on focus time, dedicated project teams and structured meeting days to minimize distractions and enable efficient software development. In this article, we explain the negative effects of multitasking and present the methods we use at Deep Impact to create highly productive working environments for our developers.
Multitasking and its cognitive load
Multitasking is one of the biggest challenges in software development. Developers often juggle several projects, debugging sessions, code reviews and meetings. However, psychological studies show that the human brain cannot really multitask – it merely switches quickly between different tasks.
This so-called context switching has serious disadvantages:
- Increased cognitive load: Each switch between two tasks requires a mental reorientation. According to a study by Rubinstein, Meyer and Evans (2001), this can cost up to 40% of productive time.
- Higher error rate: Developers who switch between tasks frequently make more mistakes. Particularly complex logical relationships in the code require deep concentration, which is disturbed by interruptions.
- Reduced efficiency: In a study by Mark, Gudith and Klocke (2008), software developers needed an average of 23 minutes to get back into a complex task after an interruption.
These findings suggest that effective software engineering requires an environment that minimizes distractions and promotes deep work.
How we minimize multitasking at Deep Impact
1. Dedicated project teams for in-depth work
A common problem in software development is that developers work on several projects at the same time. This leads to cognitive overhead and inefficient work processes.
At Deep Impact, we rely on dedicated project teams instead:
- Our developers are organized in fixed teams and work on individual projects in a focused manner.
- This reduces mental context switching as they can become deeply familiar with a code base and its requirements.
- The teams have clear ownership over features and projects, which increases responsibility and motivation.
This structure enables us to deliver high-quality software with a fast time to market because developers do not have to constantly familiarize themselves with new contexts.
2. Focus time: uninterrupted work blocks
Effective software development requires long, uninterrupted periods of work. That’s why we’ve established a focus time culture at Deep Impact:
- our developers work in clearly defined focus times when there are no meetings or other distractions.
- Slack, e-mails and other non-critical communication channels are set to “Do Not Disturb” during this time.
- We deliberately rely on asynchronous communication to avoid unnecessary interruptions.
These measures enable us to carry out deep work, which directly translates into higher code quality and a lower error rate.
3. Meeting Days: Structured communication instead of constant interruptions
Meetings are necessary, but often a time waster. At Deep Impact, we rely on meeting days to reduce interruptions to a minimum:
- all internal meetings are bundled on fixed days.
- This means that developers can work undisturbed for the majority of the week.
- External coordination with customers is also planned efficiently so as not to detract from the focus on development work.
This model ensures maximum planning and productivity, as developers know exactly when they are in meetings and when they can delve deep into the code.
Technical tools to maintain focus
In addition to organizational measures, we at Deep Impact also use technological solutions to minimize multitasking:
- Jira & Azure DevOps: Clear sprint planning and task management prevent developers from getting bogged down with too many parallel tasks.
- Code review platforms like GitHub & GitLab: Asynchronous code reviews allow developers to work at their own pace without being disturbed by spontaneous meetings.
- Focus modes in development environments (e.g. VS Code, JetBrains IDEs): Developers can immerse themselves in their code for extended periods without distractions.
Deep Impact: Focus as part of the corporate culture
Our experience shows that technical measures alone are not enough – it takes a corporate culture that sees focus and deep work as a strategic priority. These principles help us to create a highly efficient development environment in which our developers can work not only productively but also happily.
Minimize multitasking, maximize productivity
Multitasking is one of the biggest productivity killers in software development. Constantly switching between tasks costs time, increases the error rate and lowers code quality.
At Deep Impact, we consistently rely on:
- dedicated project teams to reduce context switching
- focus time to enable in-depth work
- meeting days to avoid unnecessary interruptions
These measures create an environment in which developers can work efficiently, concentrate on their tasks and develop innovative solutions. Because in the end, it is not the number of completed tasks that matters, but the quality of the software we develop.
