{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/keep-a-return-list-instead-of-switching-now",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9045",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Keep a return list instead of switching now",
  "summary": "Capture is cheaper than a context switch.",
  "kind": "protocol",
  "body": "Record the idea with the minimum context needed to evaluate it later, then return to the active task. Review the list at a scheduled boundary and either promote, schedule, merge or discard each item. The list is a bridge back to curiosity, not another infinite inbox.",
  "limits": [
    "If an idea signals an urgent safety, legal or production issue, switch appropriately. The return list is for deferrable opportunities."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-skill-acquisition-career-dominant-focus"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-3FD08B5174C6CD5E",
    "RS-A99D57B59D372E5E"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "An integrative review reports decreased performance in many dual-task and task-switching conditions compared with appropriate single-task controls.",
      "source_id": "RS-3FD08B5174C6CD5E",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Switching can still be necessary and adaptive; the review does not imply that uninterrupted work is always optimal.",
      "locator": "Abstract"
    },
    {
      "claim": "A review of cognitive control argues that adaptive behavior requires both cognitive stability for task focus and cognitive flexibility for switching when goals or circumstances change.",
      "source_id": "RS-A99D57B59D372E5E",
      "role": "contextualizes",
      "note": "This is a conceptual synthesis rather than a trial of a personal goal-prioritization system.",
      "locator": "Abstract, introduction and conclusion"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "When ideas arrive during focused practice and feel too valuable to ignore."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "If an idea signals an urgent safety, legal or production issue, switch appropriately. The return list is for deferrable opportunities."
  ],
  "example": "During German practice, an idea for a new MHC collection is captured in one line and reviewed after the current practice block rather than opening GitHub immediately.",
  "check": "The active task resumes quickly, and captured ideas receive an explicit later decision rather than permanent accumulation.",
  "steps": [
    "The active task resumes quickly, and captured ideas receive an explicit later decision rather than permanent accumulation."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-3FD08B5174C6CD5E",
      "title": "Cognitive structure, flexibility, and plasticity in human multitasking—An integrative review of dual-task and task-switching research",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29517261/"
    },
    {
      "id": "RS-A99D57B59D372E5E",
      "title": "Principles of cognitive control over task focus and task switching",
      "url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11409542/"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-EA04F47374E04549",
      "title": "Learn new skills, turn them into career evidence, and protect the main development edge",
      "url": "/collections/learn-new-skills-turn-them-into-career-evidence-and-protect-the-main-development-edge"
    }
  ]
}