Leave a note before you switch

• When you switch away from a task you haven't finished, part of your mind stays behind. Researcher Sophie Leroy calls this attention residue. It makes the next task harder.
• In her studies, people who left a task unfinished did worse on the task that came next.
• The fix is small. Before you switch, write a ready-to-resume note: where you stopped, what's left, and your first step when you come back.
• It takes about a minute. In one study, people who wrote a note like this did better on the new task.
• This helps a lot with AI agents. Before you go check what the agent did, jot down where you were.