How to use the Interruption Time Loss Calculator
Enter the hours in your work day, how many times you were interrupted, the minutes spent dealing with one interruption, and the minutes it took to get back into focus afterwards. The tool reports the time that disappeared and the focus time that is left, down to the minute. Counting only the handling time makes the loss look small; adding the recovery time gives a figure that matches how the day felt.
The loss for one interruption is multiplied by the count to get the total, and that total is subtracted from the work day to leave the focus time. Everything is converted to whole minutes first, so the minute field in the hour and minute display never rolls up to 60. Current as of October 2026.
How many minutes it takes to get back into focus depends on the person and the kind of work, and no official figure exists, so the number comes from you. Tracking progress against an annual target is not covered here, and neither is a calculation that only subtracts break time from a shift. The page does not name good hours for focus or judge how well anyone concentrates.
Frequently Asked Questions
The time it takes to return to focused work depends on the person and the task, and no official figure exists. Timing yourself over a few days gives the most accurate number.
One of the two fields can be left empty. An empty field counts as 0 minutes, and the loss-per-interruption line shows the two values added together.
Subtracting break time alone is not covered here. Take scheduled blocks such as meetings out of the work hours first and enter the remainder.