How to keep a restart note before switching tasks
You have to stop mid-task, and you want to find your place again later.
A restart note is a few lines you write just before you stop, telling your future self where you were and what to do next. It turns an unfinished task into one you can pick up in seconds, instead of having to rebuild your thinking from scratch.
You can write one in under a minute. It is most useful when you know a switch is coming: a meeting, the school run, the call to prayer, dinner, or the end of your shift.
Why does a note help?
Switching tasks costs something. In one set of laboratory experiments, the cost of switching rose as the rules of the tasks became more complex, and fell when visual cues indicated the task1.
Those were lab tasks such as sorting shapes, not daily life. But the idea fits: a clear visible cue lowers the effort of finding your way back. A restart note is exactly such a cue.
Try this: the three-line note
Before you stop, take one minute and write:
- Where I am. “Finished the budget table for rent and utilities.”
- Next step. “Add transport costs, then check totals.”
- Needs. “Ask Faizal for the March receipt.”
Put the note where your eyes will land first. If you work on a computer, write it at the top of the file. On paper, write it on the page you will open.
When you return, read the three lines out loud in your head. Begin with line two, not with the whole task.
What makes a note work well?
Keep it concrete. “Continue report” tells you nothing, while “Write the paragraph on costs, using the table from page two” gives you a first move.
End with a verb. A note that finishes on an action is easier to start from than one that finishes on a worry.
Keep it kind. “Almost there, only costs left” feels better than “Still not done.” Our mind unload board can also help you empty your head before you write the note.
Adapting it to real life
For shift work, write the note at the end of every shift, so the next one begins clearly even if a different person takes over.
At home with children, scribble a few words on the back of an envelope whenever you are called away. You do not need neat handwriting.
For students, end a revision session by writing the next question you will tackle. This is a good time to plan a short rest, and our guide on revision breaks that help shows how.
If you are interrupted by your phone, a note written earlier makes the return easier. See returning after a phone interruption for a short routine.
When it does not seem to help
If you write the note and still cannot restart, your mind may be tired or worried. Rest, eat something, and try again later.
If trouble with concentrating or remembering continues for weeks and worries you, a doctor or counsellor is a good person to talk to. Our support page lists where to start.
Where to go next
Use the free gentle restart planner to plan your return after a longer break. Anything you type stays in your browser.
All related guides are on the focus and attention hub. If you want to choose your next task first, read about choosing one goal.
Writing a note and then pausing gently is a small mindful habit, and a short guided meditation gives you a place to practise settling before you switch tasks.
Common questions
What should a restart note say?
Three short lines are enough: where I stopped, what I planned to do next, and anything I need to find or ask. Write it in plain words, the way you would tell a friend who will take over. Keep it short so that you actually write it every time.
Where should I keep the note?
Somewhere you will see it at the moment you return: at the top of the document, on a sticky note on the screen, or on the first page of your notebook. A note buried in a phone app you never open does not help, so choose the place you naturally look.
Is a restart note only for work?
No. It helps with cooking, revision, sewing, car repairs or caring for a family member. Anything you might leave and come back to is a good candidate. A note in the kitchen that says the sambal is resting and the rice goes on next works as well as one at the desk.
Sources
- A 2001 set of experiments by Rubinstein, Meyer and Evans found that task-switching costs rose as the rules of the tasks became more complex and fell when visual cues indicated the task. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (via PubMed). Laboratory tasks such as classifying shapes and solving arithmetic, not everyday phone use. Verified via the NCBI record for PMID 11518143.
Read next
Writing a note and then pausing gently is a small mindful habit, and a short guided meditation gives you a place to practise settling before you switch tasks.