Digital Habits Encyclopedia

Context switching

What is context switching? Context switching is the act of moving attention between different tasks, applications, documents, or conversations, where each mo…

Attention residue

What is attention residue? Attention residue is the leftover mental pull of a previous task that lingers after attention has moved to a new one. It describes…

Deep work

What is deep work? Deep work is sustained attention on a cognitively demanding task carried out with minimal interruption. It describes work that benefits fr…

Flow state

What is flow state? Flow state is a condition of deep absorption in an activity where skill, challenge, clear feedback, and attention come into alignment. It…

Focus fragmentation

What is focus fragmentation? Focus fragmentation is the breaking of attention into many short blocks that are too brief for sustained work. It describes a pa…

Multitasking

What is multitasking? Multitasking is the attempt to handle multiple tasks or information streams within the same period of time. In practice, for cognitivel…

Reactive work

What is reactive work? Reactive work is work driven mainly by incoming requests, alerts, messages, tickets, or interruptions rather than by a planned agenda.…

Doomscrolling

What is doomscrolling? Doomscrolling is the habit of continuing to scroll through negative or alarming online content well past the point where it provides u…

Notification fatigue

What is notification fatigue? Notification fatigue is the reduced attention or responsiveness that develops when repeated alerts compete for attention, so ea…

Notification overload

What is notification overload? Notification overload is a state in which the number, frequency, or urgency of incoming alerts exceeds what a person can usefu…

Email checking

What is email checking? Email checking is the habit of repeatedly opening an inbox to look for new messages or unresolved work, often more frequently than in…

Social media checking

What is social media checking? Social media checking is the repeated act of opening social platforms to look for updates, messages, feeds, or reactions, ofte…

Workday fragmentation

What is workday fragmentation? Workday fragmentation describes a working day that is split into many short segments by meetings, messages, tool switches, and…

Meeting overload

What is meeting overload? Meeting overload describes a pattern in which meetings occupy enough time or attention that other work becomes fragmented, compress…

Digital presenteeism

What is digital presenteeism? Digital presenteeism describes appearing available or active online even when useful work is limited, for example keeping a sta…

Always-on culture

What is always-on culture? Always-on culture describes a work norm in which people feel expected to remain reachable across evenings, weekends, or personal t…

Tab hoarding

What is tab hoarding? Tab hoarding is the practice of keeping many browser tabs open at once, often as reminders, placeholders, or markers for unfinished wor…

Browser hopping

What is browser hopping? Browser hopping is the repeated movement between browsers, tabs, windows, or web applications while attempting to complete a single…

Information overload

What is information overload? Information overload is the condition of having more information, sources, updates, or options available than can be usefully p…

Research rabbit holes

What is research rabbit holes? A research rabbit hole is a research path that expands through links, searches, and related sources well beyond the original q…

Chat overload

What is chat overload? Chat overload describes a pattern in which the volume and pace of real-time or near-real-time messages compete with planned work, so t…

Remote work fatigue

What is remote work fatigue? Remote work fatigue describes tiredness or strain that people associate with patterns common to working away from a shared offic…

Work-life boundaries

What is work-life boundaries? Work-life boundaries refer to the practical separation between work and personal life across time, tools, physical spaces, and…

Screen fatigue

What is screen fatigue? Screen fatigue is a general term for the tiredness or strain that people associate with long or intense periods of looking at and wor…

Digital overload

What is digital overload? Digital overload describes the feeling or pattern of being overwhelmed by too many digital inputs, tools, channels, and demands com…

Gaming sessions

What is gaming sessions? A gaming session is a continuous period of playing one or more games at a computer, measured from the moment play begins until it st…

Grinding behavior

What is grinding behavior? Grinding is the practice of repeating in-game tasks or activities to accumulate progress, resources, levels, or rewards. It involv…

Daily login behavior

What is daily login behavior? Daily login behavior is the practice of opening a game each day mainly to claim rewards, maintain progress, or complete recurri…

Gaming streaks

What is gaming streaks? A gaming streak is an unbroken run of consecutive days of play, logins, or in-game achievement. Its defining feature is continuity: t…

Competitive gaming habits

What is competitive gaming habits? Competitive gaming habits are practice and play patterns oriented around ranked, competitive, or high-performance play. Th…

Game switching

What is game switching? Game switching is the practice of moving between multiple different games within a single session or across a period of time. It desc…

Input intensity

What is input intensity? Input intensity is the rate and volume of keyboard and mouse input during activity, meaning how many keystrokes and clicks occur per…