Loss from Track-Switching
Track-switching is often ineffective and leads to a loss of value. It can cause me to be much less satisfied, more distracted, unable to work hard and want to give up.
When the price of track-switching is too low, such as when you have 1000 movies to watch and switch between on netflix, you can be in a constant state of dissatisfaction because you can always wonder if you could find a better movie to watch. Psychological research shows that we tend to be more dissatisfied when we are given too many choices.
When you are with your friends and you commit to watching a single movie, even if it sucks you know you are going to sit through it. There is no question or worry about whether to switch. Locking yourself into (especially inconsequential) decisions can make things more enjoyable.
Raising the cost of track-switching is helpful for focus, peace and satisfaction. When it doesn't feel worth it to change what you are doing, you are more likely to be satisfied with it.
Task-switching can also feel fun and important, like switching diets to find the silver bullet instead of just sticking to one. It's easy to fall into the trap of optimizing everything and preparing to get stuff done, instead of actually just getting things done (Optimal optimizing). Much like a new fad diet, a new productivity trend threatens your current habits by suggesting that everything you're doing is worth one tenth of what this new shiny app will allow you to do, so of course it's worth it to switch tasks.
In an online environment we have both extremely low cost of track-switching -- clicking a link -- and infinite choices and content. This can lead to constant jumping around and never getting anything real done but always feeling that the next thing you switch to will be worth it and completely overpower all of your previous efforts.
TLDR
Raising the cost of track-switching is helpful for focus, peace and satisfaction. When it doesn't feel worth it to change what you are doing, you are more likely to be satisfied with it.