All of nature operates in cycles and rhythms. Look at the lunar phases as an example: the cycle begins with the darkness of the new moon and slowly builds to the peak of the full moon, then gradually declines to the darkness again.
You are designed the same way. Every system and function in your body operates on a rhythm. It makes sense to work with your biology and leverage these cycles rather than fighting them.
I have found that I feel best from workouts that allow my heart rate to find a rhythm through a consistent cycle of building to a peak heart rate followed by a decline to a lower rate. This requires me to think about what movements will boost my heart rate and which ones will bring them down.
We can apply the same concept to managing the cognitive load of work. The old paradigm of the “9–5” workday that requires you keep your brain focused for hours at a time isn’t realistic or sustainable because it forces us to disrupt our natural rhythms.
Instead of trying to go from one “heavy lift” to another heavy lift, plan your work in a way that keeps you in a rhythm as you move from one task to another.
Here are some principles for how to plan your work to stay in rhythm.
Read: Redefining the Paradigm of Productivity For the Future of Work
(1) Adjust Your Expectations
Your brain is not a machine that turns on and off. Even computers store residual memory in the cache — they don’t just forget everything you were working on.
Accept that it’s unrealistic to expect yourself to immediately turn your brain on or off, or to immediately switch from one task to another.
Allow time for a slow build up and a gradual decrease.
(2) Plan For Transitions
Even when switching from a high demand cognitive task to a lower demand cognitive task, transition time is inevitable.
When you accept that you’ll need transition time, you can structure your day to use that time more effectively instead of defaulting to checking email and social media.
Think of transitions as recovery time. This is an opportunity to clear your head, refuel, and move your body as you begin to orient to your next task.
How much time you need and the best transition activities may vary based on the intensity of the task you did before and what comes next.
For example, I often need more time after speaking or facilitating than I do after a writing a short blog post.
Read: How to Navigate Transitions to Improve Your Quality of Life
(3) Be Intentional About Your Transition Activities
Think about your transition time as “active rest” between sets at the gym. The goal is to keep the system engaged but not taxed.
What you do in the transition time matters. In fact, this is often where your day is won or lost.
Try to stay away from
- Tasks that require executive function bandwidth, such as email triage, organizing notes and files.
- Activities that risk introducing variables that will throw you off your focus, such as social media or off-topic conversations.
These may seem like good “small and productive” tasks for your recovery time, but they drain your cognitive energy.
For a true recovery transition, aim for activities that require minimal decisions and no goal maintenance. Examples of good “transition” activities include:
- taking a short walk
- stretching
- listening to music
- doing light chores
- starting at the horizon
- eating
(4) Honor Fatigue Signals
Both in the gym and in the workplace, “pushing through” often gets rewarded, but it comes at a cost.
Fatigue contributes to brain fog, mistakes, and slower task completion.
If your body and brain are giving you signals that its just not capable of executing in the moment, honor those signals.
Give yourself extra transition time, take a walk, do a short movement practice, or even take a brief nap.
Or, switch to a different task that feels better aligned with your capacity in the moment.
(5) Work With Your Natural Rhythm
The rhythm of your day isn’t something you need to design from scratch; your body and brain already have a rhythm. Pay attention to and make notes about
- The times of day when you feel peak energy and the times when you tend to dip.
- What activities boost your energy and focus, and which ones drain your energy.
- Environments and contexts that support your energy for different types of tasks.
Structure your heaviest cognitive tasks for your ideal times and locations, and support your efforts by scheduling an energy boost activity before the task.
You’ll find greater success and ease by learning how to leverage the system you have rather than trying to copy what works for someone else.
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