In our fast-paced working lives, we often don't realise how often we are torn from our concentration: Be it through pop-ups, a newly arrived email or a chat message in Teams or Slack in which our favourite colleague tells us about their funny encounter in the corridor. Or by glancing at the private smartphone lying temptingly on the desk and inviting us to take a quick look at the social media account. Then the dishwasher beeps and wants to be emptied and colleagues walking past mention your name in a conversation and you prick up your ears. At the same time, a head appears above the edge of the screen and asks for a few minutes of sparring on a challenge and then Outlook reminds you that the next meeting or phone call is due in five minutes.

This constant and varied distraction in our working day has far-reaching consequences. When we are frequently torn from our concentration, we find it difficult to enter the so-called flow state - the state in which we are completely immersed in our work and our productivity reaches its peak. This state is crucial for completing complex tasks and creative activities. The constant interruptions not only lead to a loss of productivity, but also to an increase in stress levels. The feeling of constantly having to be on call and always being pulled out of work creates permanent internal pressure. Employees feel overwhelmed because they have the feeling that they will never really finish a task before the next interruption comes. This can lead to a general decline in job satisfaction and work performance.