Focus Is a Workout For The Brain
Just like any kind of workout, you work a muscle in sets with breaks between sets. If you were to take a weight and hold it over your head for hours on end, your muscles would be exhausted and would definitely make you not want to work out again any time soon.
For your brain, focus is a ‘brain muscle” building exercise. You need to start off small and work your way up for greater endurance. When you try to dive right in and focus intensely for hours on end, you are stressing your brain. You have trained yourself that stress must be involved for you to be productive. You have now trained your brain that productivity is very uncomfortable and must be escaped, so any idea of focus leads to the escape trigger, and procrastination begins….. until the stressor is so high you must impulsively respond. It’s a sad state of affairs; you are now in fight-or-flight, trying to execute on items you can no longer access creative thought to do, you wear yourself out, maybe even stay up all night to complete the task, ending in utter exhaustion knowing it definitely wasn’t your best work.
How to Build Focus Strength
The key to focused productivity is making the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult. You need to make it feel so easy to take action on a task it is more ridiculous to not do it than to go ahead and do it. Even if you have pushed a task or project off to the last second and you are reading this, you can still use this technique to get yourself going in a way that feels easy for the brain rather than stressful.
The real trick to intense focus is something call Flow state.
When scientists have studied extreme athletes, there are some common triggers that happen to get the brain into a flow state. Flow state allows you to access the maximum energetic and creative flow in mindful presence. Focus feels easy and timeless.
The main components to trigger flow state are:
1. Have a slight stressor— getting ready to drop a cliff or do a steep run; i.e. a project or tasks that needs to be completed.
2. Get yourself prepared for the drop— stop at the top of the cliff, take a few deep, slow breaths to bring the heart rate back down. Notice the calm come over you. You feel present. You are ready to go. i.e. take a short break without pressure or focus.
3. Start moving towards the cliff and drop off; i.e. start the next task.
4. Respond to every bump and drop in the trail with agility and focus. No thought, just extraordinary presence. You can clearly execute with massive clarity and responsiveness. i.e. Flow State begins.
The Difference Between Intense Focus and Flow State
Intense focus and flow state are not the same thing. Intense focus is using the brain’s muscle strength to concentrate on one activity without distraction for a duration of time. I have found most people’s intense focus (without being in flow state) hits a max around 20 minutes unless they are on stimulants. Unfortunately, most productivity gurus recommend you do 25-50min focused sessions at a time- it’s too long!
Flow state feels very easy. You are in a creative flow where it feels timeless and easy. It doesn’t feel hard to focus at all- in fact it feels fun and effortless often with ideas and inspiration pouring in. You feel light and happy. In flow state, you can easily stay focused for 2 to 4 hours or more at a time and not even notice how much time has passed.
The Pomodoro Technique That Grows Focus Fitness and Triggers Flow State
Pomo 1: 5-10 min focus
Pomo 2: 5 min break (will feel weird to do but trust me on this)
Pomo 3: 10- 15 min focus
Pomo 4: 5 min break- make sure these are also timed!!
Pomo 5: 20-25 min focused
Pomo 6: 5 min break unless you find yourself in flow then set a new 20 min timer and keep going!
A few final tips:
I find most people wane off after 20 min if not in flow, so if you're finding yourself on a 25 min timer fading around 20 min, you'll know why.
Do small sets to trigger flow state then you can often do 2-6 x 20 min focused sessions in a row without a break.
Keep a notepad next to you so if anything pops up to execute on or would normally trigger you to switch gears, jot it down in your notebook, stay on task, and execute on the jotted note later.
If you find yourself losing focus or getting distracted toward the end of a pomodoro, that means your focus fitness level just isn't there yet. Stay on track until the end of that Pomo, but then give yourself a longer break- 10 min - 2 hours.
You can use 40Hz binaural beats or do a NSDR session to allow your brain some active rest. Go to the list on the next page for playlists and recommendations.
The Task List
Ideally, at the end of your work session, write down the 3 tasks you will do during your next Pomodoro session the following day. It will allow you to pick right back up mindset and idea-flow wise as when you wrote them. It speeds up the warm-up period significantly and shuts down any subconscious chatter that is eating up energy and sub-conscious brain power during off hours.
Another great way to get into flow state is to train yourself how to do it!
Here is a program to teach you how to do it.
Mindset and mindful habits are the #1 element that can get you highly productive with great energy. Shop all products at: https://bestlaurenkess.com/shop
