Hi {{first_name|there}},
Last week we looked at the 3pm crash (missed it? it's one click away). This week, let's zoom out to the whole working day, and to one of the most useful ideas I share in workplace training.
Your focus comes in waves
Your brain doesn't hold a steady level of concentration from 9 till 5. Sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman described a "basic rest-activity cycle" that runs through both night and day, and many people find their focus naturally rises and fades in waves of roughly 90 minutes.
The exact length varies from person to person and day to day. The principle doesn't: sustained, high-quality focus has a shelf life. Push past it and you keep working, but the quality drops. You re-read, you make small mistakes, you reach for your phone or another coffee.
Every time you jump from a report to an email to a message and back again, your brain has to reload the context of what you were doing. Each switch feels tiny, but across a day they add up to a lot of lost focus and a lot of extra fatigue. A day of constant switching can leave you exhausted with very little to show for it.
How to work in waves
Plan two or three focus blocks a day of 60 to 90 minutes each, ideally in the morning when most people's brains are sharpest.
Choose one task per block. Decide before you start what "done" looks like.
Close the doors. Notifications off, email closed, phone in another room or face down.
Take a real break between blocks, 10 to 15 minutes. Stand up, move, get daylight or a drink of water. Scrolling your phone isn't a break for your brain.
Batch the small stuff. Put emails, messages and admin into the lower-energy gaps between blocks, and into that afternoon dip.
Start with one focus block tomorrow morning. Notice how much you get done compared with a normal morning.
A thought to take with you
Nature works in rhythms: tides, seasons, day and night, breath in and breath out. None of them runs flat out forever. Rest isn't the opposite of good work. It's the other half of it.
This week, when you finish a focus block, take three slow breaths before you reach for the next thing.
This week for members
Paid members get extra sections in every issue. Here's a taste of this week's.
BRAIN EXPLORER EXTRA · £1 A MONTH
The 90-second reset between focus blocks
When a focus block ends, your brain needs a genuine change of state before the next one. Here's the simplest reset I know. First, stand up and look into the distance…
🔒 The full three-step reset is for Brain Explorers and above.
THE DEEP DIVE · BRAIN WARRIOR · £7 A MONTH
Why focus runs out, and how to build more of it
Your focus runs on your prefrontal cortex, one of the most energy-hungry parts of the brain. In a 2022 study, researchers in Paris found that a long day of demanding mental work leaves a chemical build-up there, and the bigger the build-up, the worse people's decisions became…
🔒 The full Deep Dive, including what breaks do for your memory and your 7-day focus plan, is for Brain Warriors. The first 100 Founding Brain Warriors keep the £7 rate for life.
PRACTITIONER NOTES · BRAIN PRO · £27 A MONTH
Assessing and dosing focus work in clinic
Patients rarely say their prefrontal cortex is fatiguing. They say they can't concentrate, they're exhausted by mid-afternoon, or they've lost their edge. Here's how I think it through, starting with mapping the pattern, not just the symptom…
🔒 The full five-step clinical approach is for Brain Pro members: practitioners who want to use each issue with their own clients.
Bringing this to your team?
Focus, energy and brain fatigue at work are exactly what I cover in my workshops for organisations. See the training options.
And if you haven't yet, take the free Brain Performance Analysis to see how your focus and mental stamina compare with the other six areas.
Reply and tell me: how long can you usually focus before your attention starts to drift?
Speak soon,
Alan
This newsletter is for education only and is not a substitute for personal medical advice.