Recharge. The Focus Planner.
What Does Recharge Look Like?
We need to recover energy to spend energy. When we make the mistake of burning energy all day - staying focussed, madly rushing from one thing to another, stressed by timeframes and deadlines - we burnout quickly and we are unable to do our best thinking.
We need to take these regular moments to Recharge, if we want to perform at our best over the medium and long term. But to Recharge, we have to know some fundamental principles about how our bodies and brains recover energy most effectively.
Take a look at the video to find out more.
Recharge FAQ's
How often should I Recharge?
Every 90 minutes of full intensity we need a 6-15 minute break. Another 20-30 minute recharge every day would also be great if you can get it. In the Focus Planner we just focus on getting one good quality Recharge period in each day.
I feel like I can work for hours at a time. Do I need to take Recharge breaks?
Yes. Even if you can sustain the effort, your quality of thinking starts to diminish as well as focussed attention and behavioural control. You can go for longer periods if you are doing 'Auto Pilot' work.
I can't take time to leave my desk. I have too much to do!!
This is a false economy. Our advice is: take a break, then work for another period at high intensity...... you'll get more done.
Getting out of work and back to the kids is enough Recharge for me. Is that ok?
That depends. Sometimes family can be stressful. If this is the case, then this isn't really a Recharge moment. You need to carve out another 20-30mins. Often when people do this on the way home from work, they feel better able to give their family time full attention.