I heard an interesting quote yesterday:
“Your brain can’t work as hard and as long as your body.” – Omar Zenhom, The $100 MBA Show
This got me thinking about our days and routines.
Research has shown that our brains can do deep work for about 90 minutes.
Longer times can cause cognitive fatigue.
We stop doing our best work and we are just doing work.
My Perspective
Rather than trying to push through and “do more” why don’t we plan to work with our brain.
We could schedule our days with 90-minute work cycles.
Taking breaks to be a brain “palette cleanse”.
We could shift from mental load to physical.
Go for a walk.
Lift some weights.
Dance.
Just move.
Or we could shift to spirituality.
Meditate.
Sit in stillness.
Reflect.
The activities for brain breaks are endless, but they can’t be cognitive.
No reading.
No scrolling social media.
No email.
Your Turn
Do you have more challenges finding time for deep work or taking breaks from work?
What do you do to take a break from cognitive work?
How long do you typically do deep work?