Daily Tip #33: Attention, Distraction, and Focus: 25-Minute Sprints
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VARSHA: ~ Have you ever noticed when you are on your laptop and you get a notification, you look at it and the next thing you know you're scrolling on YouTube for like 20 minutes. You're scrolling for 20 minutes. Oh wait, what was I say?~[00:00:00]
Have you ever noticed that when you're on your laptop, you suddenly get a notification, you look at your phone and the next thing you know you've been scrolling for 20 minutes.
You try to get refocused. And lo and behold, you've got your phone in your hand and you're scrolling again, and this pattern is keeps going on and on, and you feel frustrated ~because you can't get things done well your brain~
because you can't get things done with your chaotic brain.
And this is because your brain uses more energy to keep switching tasks than to stay on one path. So when you're constantly switching, your brain becomes chaotic.
Every time you check your phone, you switch tabs or glance at a notification. You're literally draining glucose from your prefrontal cortex and your prefrontal cortex is what is responsible for planning, decision making, and executing.
Most of us do this hundreds of times a day, ~and then we wonder why we're so exhausted by 2:00 PM and then we wonder why we're so exhausted by 2:00 PM and then ~we wonder why are we so exhausted by [00:01:00] 2:00 PM
Think about your typical workday. You are writing an email, ping, a text comes in, you check it. Now you're back to the email, but you remember you need to look something up. You open a browser tab. Oh, there's an interesting headline. You click five minutes later, you're three articles deep and have no idea what you were originally doing.
Have you ever been in this situation? Each of those switches cost you. Studies have shown that it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully return to a task after interruption, 23 minutes, and most of us are interrupting ourselves every few minutes.
~On the Pomodoro technique. It shows that working in focused 25 minute sprints. Oh,~
but here's the good news. Attention is like a muscle. ~You can train it, ~you can train it. . There is something called the Pomodoro technique. This is where you work in focused 25 minute segments.
And research has shown that it can dramatically improve productivity, mental [00:02:00] endurance, working memory capacity, and why 25 minutes? Because that amount of time is long enough to get into deep work, but short enough that your brain doesn't rebel. ~It's the sweet spot for building your brain. Stamina. It's a sweet spot for building your, for building this.~
~It's a sweet spot for building your brain stamina.~
It's a sweet spot for building your brain attention stamina. When you practice these focus 25 minute sprints regularly, you're literally strengthening your neurons in your brain to stay focused.
You are teaching your brain that focus is a default, not distraction.
So this leads me to my daily habit Challenge today.
Choose one task, just one. It could be writing, reading, meal, prepping, answering emails, working on a project. Whatever matters to you today, but pick one thing. Then I want you to eliminate all distractions. So turn off all notifications. ~Maybe even put your phone, phone, ~maybe even put your phone in the other room, or turn it off or put on Do not disturb.
~Close all the browsers on your laptop except for the tab that you ~close all the browser tabs on your laptop except for the tab that you need to [00:03:00] complete your specific task. And then make sure everyone knows that you are not gonna be available for 25 minutes. Then set a timer for 25 minutes and go.
Just work. Don't think about anything else. Don't get distracted. Just keep working on what you wanna. Accomplish until your timer goes off when distractions pop up, because they will, especially initially just acknowledge 'em, but go on, don't think, oh, I need to check that. if you don't wanna forget something, just quickly write it down and then get back to your task.
But it shouldn't take you any more than five seconds to do that. And then after the timer goes off, then you can take a break for five minutes. After your five minute break, then you start another 25 minutes, and then you take another five minute break.
But that five minute break is important because that also helps rest your brain. So during the five minute break, you don't wanna do anything that's too tasking on your brain. You just wanna relax, chill out, don't read anything. Just let your [00:04:00] brain rest. It's kind of like when you lift muscle, how important it is to have some rest in between your sets is kind of the same thing.
Because at REST allows it to then get stronger as you continue to do more and more reps.
Chronic distraction and fractured attention aren't just productivity problems, they're health problems. It keeps our brain in chaos mode, ~so. ~When your brain is in chaos mode, you're going to be more reactive overthinking than you're gonna have trouble sleeping. And when you have trouble sleeping, that raises cortisol.
Cortisol can affect your blood sugars and your insulin levels. It can also cause more inflammation, especially in your gut when your gut's inflamed and that sets off your immune system and that causes inflammation. ~So. ~Simple distractions that may seem harmless in the moment. If it's constantly happening.
It's training your brain to be in distraction, reactive mode. ~So today's daily habits, so. ~I hope you will incorporate today's daily habit, not only today, but on [00:05:00] a regular basis and increase the number of 25 minute sprints. I know ~know ~when I do this I can get so much more accomplished.
you feel much more productive than to sit there for three hours without any focus work and scrolling.
~I mean, I know I've, I've been there. Uh.~
I hope this was helpful. ~Please follow share's. Please follow, subscribe, and share. ~Please follow, subscribe and share. Check the description for some downloadables if you are interested. Thanks for listening and have a fantastic day.
~I. ~
