This phenomenon is not constrained to programming. It's sometimes referred to as flow[0] and has been documented as taking somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes[

This phenomenon is not constrained to programming. It's sometimes referred to as flow[0] and has been documented as taking somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes[1] to regain after an interruption. Programmers may be more sensitized to its disruption than most due to the nature of the work, but the net effect is the same. If a person is required to concentrate in order to perform their job, interruptions will cause performance to degrade. 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29 1 - http://grahamchastney.com/2011/10/axiom-interruptions-cost-20-minutes/ http://grahamchastney.com/2011/10/axiom-interruptions-cost-2...