How to Reduce Your Cognitive Load
A Detailed Description of a 3-Hour Technique for Focused Work
Most of you probably start the day by taking a look at your calendar. You check what happens today and jump right into the first video call. If there is any spare time between meetings you might check your emails or chat messages. At the end of a typical workday, I’ve heard many people say
“I spent all day in meetings and didn’t get anything done”.
Well, of course not. How are you supposed to get anything done properly when you switch your context every 30 minutes?! That is pure poison for your brain and your well-being. Having three 30-minute meetings in a row causes a much bigger energy loss than working on one topic for 90 minutes without interruptions. Consequences are usually exhaustion, headache, discontent, and this unpleasant voice in the back of your head that tells you: “You still need to do XYZ tonight. There is no other time slot left this week to get this done…”.
Keep reading, if this sounds familiar.
The solution is pretty simple. It’s no magic. All it takes is a little willpower at the beginning. The rest keeps flowing automatically…
What you are looking for is the ability to focus on one topic at a time and use your energy wisely. In order to get into this state, you need to take time out of your calendar. And this is the willpower part: Do yourself the favour and arrange a 3-hour working slot for your own focus time. Trust me. You will get so much more done in these three hours than in six 30-minute time slots throughout the week. Don’t let the calendar dictate your life.
In order to get into this wonderful, energetic, joyful, purposeful state of mind, I designed a Flow Working Session Template. I will give you a quick walk-through to be fully prepped to work with a free and focused mind.
The Flow Working Session Template
This is not a template that you will fill with your own content. It is more like a well-structured guiding agenda. It is scheduled for a 3-hour working session and consists of three parts: Preparation, Flow Time, and Closing.
You can use this template by yourself or in a group. I highly recommend joining a flow working session with others. Being part of a group, seeing others working (video call camera) as well, and sharing your planned tasks and achievements promotes somewhat of a commitment and makes it a lot easier to stick to the agenda. Being able to see and hear everyone while working focused and knowing they are just as concentrated as you are, pushes your motivation even more.
The template provides timeboxes for groups and people who prefer working on their own (they have a couple more minutes). Whatever you do: Stick to the timeboxes or you will lose this game. If you are working in a group, assign someone as the timekeeper. This person will also do a teeny-tiny bit of moderation: announcing the next step and moving the little marker to give everyone a better orientation throughout the board.
Before You Start
Take a look at the agendas. They might be helpful to go through the Flow Working Session, if you need more structure than the timer can provide you with. I wrote an agenda for the morning and one for the afternoon.
Preparation
The preparation phase takes 20–25 min and is essential in order to get into the flow state.
Set the Stage
Be honest with yourself and make sure you really turn off all distractions. Make sure you have everything you need to work well. Try to only take breaks between the flow time. Make sure there is no distraction from your team's chat messages. In order to truly focus, you need to adjust your surroundings accordingly.
Declutter
Answer all the questions in the given order within 15 minutes. The answers are for yourself. It is a brain dump and should help you close some mental tabs. (Btw: How many browser tabs are constantly open on your laptop?…). It works best when you use pen and paper.
When you define the tasks for this Flow Working Session, make sure to cut the subtasks really small, they should not take longer than 20 minutes, and be mild to yourself when it comes to the level of perfectionism. When you define your tasks for the Flow Working Session, make sure you have all the resources you need (e. g. no feedback or video calls with others should be necessary).
Share
If you are in a group, share your planned tasks real quick. This brings everyone in the same boat and helps commit to your own plans.
Flow Time
This is obviously the core part of the whole session and takes 149–158 minutes. Each flow time is scheduled for 45–48 minutes and you always have a break of 7 minutes.
Flow Time
When you start the first time, leave on your camera and maybe your microphones. If group members are disturbed by the sound, turn off the mic. All you need to do now is start working on the tasks you planned.
Breaks
Take a break. Use the time to re-energize. Make sure to avoid any screen or other context switch. Open the window (the real one!), get a coffee, and move your body. Stay in the zone. Do whatever your body needs right now. And do take that break! It might feel like you do not need it, but trust the process and do not overestimate your energy level. The magic of a break only works, when you take it before you need it. Thus, you can assure to keep your energy level up, but you can never regain your energy once you worked through it.
Closing
Use the last minutes in order to close the last 3 hours properly. Another mental tab, that can be closed.
Share
Share your achievements with your flow fellows the same way you shared your plans. Again this supports the commitment and you might be surprised by what the others experienced in the last 3 hours.
Check Out
Even when you did this Flow Working Session by yourself, use the checkout questions. Find out how you are feeling right now and what impact this focused work had on your energy level.
Final Thoughts
I know taking 3 hours out of your calendar is a lot to ask for most of you. But why? Do you honestly get more done when you have more meetings? I doubt it. Does it make you happy to have 20 meetings a week? Is this a sustainable way of working?
Ever since I started working with Flow Working Sessions, I am much more productive, and happier with the results, I leave my 3-hour working sessions with more energy than I had when I started (that almost never happened before) and I wonder, why I ever worked differently. Read all advantages I personally experienced in this blog post.
I say: Give it a try. Start treating your calendar differently and eventually yourself. Block 3 Flow Working Sessions right now. Have one per week and let me know how it went.
Looking for a job where you can work fully focused and enter your personal flow state of mind? Check out our vacancies.
PS: This blog post was written in flow working sessions only :).
