Comment by glenstein

>I mean, sure, I might just grab the nearest thing, carry it and set it in the first available spot and repeat... But usually I'm putting a little more into it than that. Unless the destination is comically oversized, I need to make sure I'm making good use of the space. Even just packing boxes, putting a 150lb plastic tub full of ammo on top of a bunch of boxes full of dishes is... probably not going to turn out well at the other end.

I think I get the gist here, and tell me if I'm right. The way I would put it, is that as you are working, you're also planning, simultaneously. In the process of carrying out the plan, you're also refining the plan. It's like working and planning at the same time, and you lose both when you're taken away from the task. (I think I relate to that because it's how my brain works, at least.)

The second half, if I'm following, is that there's a lot of important contextual knowledge and problem solving, and there's a degree of craft that cashes out as a difference in the quality of work between a novice and someone more experienced, and interruptions can have an impact on that higher quality work that's similar to interruptions to "knowledge work". Normally big walls of text on hn are, stylistically, taboo and associated with low quality but this is very strong all around imo.