Most people think they’re tired because they’re working too hard.
But increasingly, when we talk to teams and leaders, that’s not what they’re describing.
They’re describing feeling mentally scattered.
Half in one task, half in another.
Always mid-conversation, mid-decision, mid-thought.
And then wondering why, when work finishes, their brain doesn’t.
More and more, what we’re actually seeing isn’t just workload pressure.
It’s context shifting and it’s quietly becoming one of the biggest performance and wellbeing challenges in modern work.
What Is Context Shifting (And Why It Feels So Draining)?
Context shifting isn’t just multitasking.
It’s the constant switching between different types of thinking throughout the day.
In modern roles, people aren’t just doing one type of work. They might start the morning writing something that requires creativity and persuasion, move straight into data or reporting work that needs accuracy and logic, jump into a client conversation that requires emotional awareness and relationship reading, then move straight into problem solving or strategy thinking.
Individually, none of these things are “too much”.
But when your brain has to repeatedly change gears all day, it creates mental friction.
And friction costs energy.
Why This Matters For Performance (Not Just Wellbeing)
When context shifting becomes constant, the impact shows up in ways organisations don’t always connect back to it.
People feel more mentally tired earlier in the day. Decision-making gets slower. Creativity drops. Second-guessing increases. Small things feel harder than they should.
Often, people start telling themselves they’re “bad at switching off” or “just not coping as well as they used to”.
But very often, they’re not struggling with resilience.
Their brain simply hasn’t had a chance to properly process anything before being asked to move onto the next thing.
The Bit We Don’t Talk About Enough: The After-Work Impact
This is where it tends to show up most clearly.
After a day of constant context shifting, the brain doesn’t just stop when the laptop closes. It keeps trying to close loops.
That can look like replaying conversations, thinking about emails you still need to send, feeling physically tired but mentally wired, or struggling to be fully present with family, friends, or even just your own downtime.
That isn’t a personal failure.
It’s what happens when your brain has been running multiple open tabs all day.
Why This Is Becoming More Common
Most modern workplaces reward responsiveness. And responsiveness often means constant micro-switching.
Messages, notifications, quick questions, back-to-back meetings, fragmented focus time, none of these are bad in isolation. But together, they create a working environment where people rarely get to fully “land” in one piece of thinking.
Over time, that becomes exhausting.
So What Actually Helps? (In The Real World, Not The Ideal One)
The answer usually isn’t going off grid or perfectly time blocking every minute of the day.
It’s about making small structural shifts that reduce how often the brain has to change gear.
Some teams start by grouping similar types of work together where possible. Not perfectly, but intentionally. Others protect small windows of proper thinking time, even an hour, where people can work on complex tasks without interruption. Some focus on batching decisions, rather than asking people to switch into decision mode constantly throughout the day.
And one of the simplest but most powerful things individuals can do is close their day intentionally. Taking two minutes to capture what’s finished, what’s next, and what’s parked can significantly reduce how much the brain tries to hold overnight.
None of this is about being perfect.
It’s about being a little less fragmented.
The 4 Things Worth Trying First
If you’re thinking about where to start, these tend to be the highest impact shifts we see:
1. Reduce How Often You Switch (Not Just How Much You Do)
Instead of focusing on reducing workload, look at reducing frequency of switching.
Try grouping similar thinking work together where possible:
- Relationship and communication work together
- Deep thinking and creation work together
- Admin and processing work together
Even partial grouping can reduce mental fatigue significantly because your brain isn’t constantly changing mode.
2. Protect One Proper Thinking Window Per Day
Even 60–90 minutes of uninterrupted thinking time can dramatically improve output quality and reduce end-of-day exhaustion.
During this time:
- Avoid checking emails “quickly”
- Avoid jumping into messages unless urgent
- Avoid splitting attention across tasks
This is where complex thinking, strategy work, and high-quality client or creative work tends to happen best.
3.Batch Decisions And Reviews Where Possible
Constant micro-decisions are one of the biggest hidden drains on cognitive energy.
Instead of being in decision mode all day, create windows for:
- Reviews
- Sign-offs
- Feedback
- Approvals
This reduces how often your brain has to “re-open” problems it thought it had parked.
4.Close The Day Intentionally
Before finishing work, take a couple of minutes to capture:
- What’s complete
- What’s next
- What you’re consciously parking
This helps your brain stop trying to carry everything into the evening and makes it much easier to mentally switch off.
A Final Thought
In a lot of organisations, the focus is still on how much work people are doing.
But increasingly, the bigger performance question is:
How fragmented is their thinking while they’re doing it?
Sometimes the biggest gains don’t come from doing more.
They come from switching less.
At Tree of Knowledge, we’re seeing more and more organisations recognise that performance, wellbeing, and culture aren’t separate conversations. They sit in the same space, how people experience work day to day.
Whether that’s through leadership development, team sessions, or keynote conversations, this is increasingly where the real performance gains are sitting.
Because when people can think clearly, they show up differently.
For themselves, for their teams, and for the people they serve.
