Prioritizing Mental Energy Strategically
Prioritizing mental energy is a goal-slaying goldmine.
The excitement and motivation associated with setting new year's resolutions are intoxicating.
So, why do we suddenly feel our momentum slow?
Pursuing those goals becomes more challenging as that rush of dopamine dips, and your motivation dips right along with it.
Mental overload is kicking in from the process of planning, which involves making numerous decisions.
Given the brain’s innate biases, using effective time management systems to simplify can create sustainable and healthy work practices and diminish mental fatigue. The scaffold of a resilient system begins with big picture thinking.
Establishing a framework for your day reduces the number of decisions that need to be made. The day can begin with clarity without having to reinvent the wheel. While not set in stone, it creates a supportive routine that supports accomplished work. The time invested initially to create your customized system grows 10X in future time prosperity.
Focus-Friendly Techniques
We have all started “that task” and found our mind wandering. This is the way our brain is wired, not a sign of laziness. Our ability to focus our attention is very limited. Understanding this and organizing your work in mental sprints will produce the best productivity.
Time Blocking (also called Time Boxing)
Allocate specific blocks of time to different tasks or activities. For mental energy and health, flip the script and block off time for your basic needs and values first.
I was introduced to this method by Myka McLaughlin, founder of Women in Community (WINC), who has mentored over 15,000 female entrepreneurs in the last 12 years. It is also used by Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and the legendary Benjamin Franklin. I have used similar methods to help neurodiverse students with executive function challenges.
Basic Steps for Time Boxing:
Planning: Take your laundry list of tasks and rank them by urgency and importance. I recommend using the Eisenhower Matrix. More on this method soon! (Asana has a free version)
Blocking: Create time blocks for every component that needs attention. Start with self-care items and treat them as a no compromise zone. This includes 7-9 hours of sleep, creating healthy meals, exercise, days off, vacations, and empty space for exceptional opportunities. A productive mind requires each of these. For entrepreneurs, other time boxes may include CEO think time, product development, marketing, networking, and finance, for example.
Action: Act on your tasks using the Pomodoro Technique to focus best, and awareness of the Zeigarnik Effect to alleviate the distractions from unfinished tasks (see more below).
Revisit: Adjust as needed. Look at your schedule the night before, which primes you for the next day.
Time blocking helps us to finish our tasks in less time with less distraction and avoids multitasking. There are numerous apps and options that range from using your Google calendar to creating your own spreadsheet. A paper calendar works just as well for those who like to create by hand. Be cautious not to get caught up in complicated technology that can waste more time than it saves (and add to your subscription bills for apps you never use).
Neuroscience of Why Time Blocking Works: Time blocking leverages the brain's capacity for deep work. By dedicating focused time to a particular type of task, the brain can enter a state of flow, where cognitive resources are optimized for the specific activity, leading to increased productivity and efficiency.
Once in the time block allotted for a type of task, the Pomodoro Technique can help maximize your time in that zone. The Pomodoro Technique has a proven track record for success without burnout.
Pomodoro Technique
Work requiring focus is divided into intervals of about 25 minutes, separated by short breaks.
How to Use the Pomodoro Technique
Choose a single task to focus on. (no task switching!)
Set a timer for 25 minutes and work only on your selected task.
After 25 minutes take a five-minute break.
Repeat steps 1-3, four times.
Take a longer break of about 15 to 30 minutes.
Neuroscience of why it works: The Pomodoro Technique aligns with the brain's natural ability to focus for a limited time.
The brain's default mode network (DMN), responsible for mind-wandering and daydreaming, can be temporarily suppressed during focused work, making shorter intervals effective. It also promotes hyperfocus by giving you a short time to work and defeats our tendency to procrastinate.
Parkinson’s Law is the famous adage that your work expands to fill the allotted time set for its completion. If you set aside four hours for something that can take 25 minutes, it will take four hours. If you set aside 25 minutes to complete a reasonable task, it will take 25 minutes. That rewards you with three and a half more hours to tackle other tasks to progress toward your goal that you would otherwise fritter away.
Caution! If you get into a flow state it can be tempting to keep working. This can backfire. While you can extend it another 25 minutes, I wouldn’t do that more than twice without taking a short break. You take the risk of hitting a wall down the road. Even if it is a quick pause at the 25 minute mark to assess your mental state and let your mind relax, losing the next whole day to mental exhaustion does not serve you.
Apps for that: Free i-phone apps include Focus Keeper or Pomodoro - Focus Timer, which is a bit more customizable. Android users can check out Pomodoro Timer Lite.
Fun fact: Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato. The original study was done with a tomato-shaped timer, which became the method’s moniker.
Be Aware of the Distraction Potential of Zeigarnik Effect
The Zeigarnik Effect
Focus on completing unfinished or interrupted tasks to avoid that nagging feeling that comes with being partially done.
Identify stopping points for larger projects that can be done in stages. You will experience a mental completion reward cocktail, even if it is a smaller milestone.
Simply checking off an item on your list has the same effect. Why not reward ourselves along the way for the same job?. This incremental reward technique does wonders for sustaining motivation.
Neuroscience of why it works: The Zeigarnik Effect is rooted in the brain's tendency to remember and prioritize uncompleted tasks. Incomplete tasks create a mental tension, known as the "need for closure," prompting the brain to prioritize finishing what has been started, thus improving task completion rates.
Think of using these techniques as an investment in your future time bank. Creating a structure that prioritizes your energy and health first, fueled with efficient action techniques is a sustainable and efficient strategy.
These time management techniques align with neuroscience principles, acknowledging the brain's inherent tendencies and optimizing productivity by working with, rather than against, its natural processes.
The stress reduction and goal achievement gleaned with this approach is mental gold. Working smarter promotes mental health, efficient action, and longevity of body and mind.
“You can learn to unlimit and expand your mindset, your motivation, and your methods to create a limitless life. When you do what others won’t, you can live how others can’t.”
- Jim Kwik
Have questions? Need help to create your brain-based time management system?
Don’t hesitate to reach out for a complimentary coaching session on how to get started.