Sustain or cycle

The longer you remain seated and focus on a task, the shallower you breathe, and the less oxygen gets to your brain. Therefore, quickly step away from your work and cycle your attention every 20 minutes. Quickly stepping away from your work to get a drink of water, walk around the block, or go to the bathroom to splash water on your face allows you to consciously regulate your breathing and get more oxygen to your brain (so you can extend your focus session).

During your mini work breaks perform “box breathing” like Navy Seals do before combat:

• take a deep four second inhale,
• hold for four seconds,
• exhale for four seconds,
• hold for another four seconds
• repeat for the entire work break.

When you move during your mini work break, you can replenish the neurochemicals you need to focus. Dr. Andrew Huberman says, “Physical movement activates pathways in the brain that increase dopamine, which is the basis for epinephrine (aka, adrenaline) and all neural energy.” In other words, a short movement period can provide the fuel to focus intensely and continue producing at a high level.

Source: Insights from Manage Your Day‐to‐Day by Jocelyn Glei