We’ve all heard about the benefits that come from focusing instead of multi-tasking but there is growing acknowledgement that too much single-minded concentration can be detrimental as well. According to psychologist Dr. Srini Pillay, “the brain does its best work when it’s allowed to toggle between focus and unfocus.” In his interview with NPR, Dr. PIllay said that an “overconsumer of brain fuel is overfocusing” and that the key is letting your mind wander.
For me, wandering is a slippery slope because I would have the tendency to wander for too long, but what I have found helpful is to alternate between doing work that requires serious brainpower (like writing or preparing a workshop) and those tasks that are less demanding (like putting together a PowerPoint or assembling handouts.) A colleague calls it switching between “mindful and mindless,” a strategy that she uses to accomplish her work.
We all have moments when our energy is less than peak. Rather than stare unproductively at a computer screen or blank page, it is best to move on to another task that matches our energy level. For example, some nights you write pages in your dissertation, while other nights you mindlessly enter citations into your reference list. At your best moments you deep dive into grant writing, while during low times you collect all the appendices that accompany the proposal. After concentrating on preparing your speech, you spend time completing your travel reports rather than moving directly into your next taxing project.
The notion of toggling between tasks not only fuels your brain, it provides you with some personal grace. You don’t always have to be working at full bore; you may actually increase your capacity through an irregular rhythm.
Source: Too much Focus is Draining. Here’s A Better Strategy. by Stephanie O’Neill and Audrey Nguyen, NPR.org, March 21, 2021.
