SYNC YOUR BODY CLOCK

Lining up your most mentally taxing tasks with your natural peaks of focus is key to concentration, says

Mark. Her research has found that, on average, these high points occur around

10am in the morning and around 2-3pm in the afternoon.

There are, however, variations around these times, depending on whether you’re more of a morning lark or a night owl

(what’s known as your ‘chronotype’). “If a person is an early type, their peak focus would be earlier – before 10am,” explains Mark. “And if they’re a late type, their peak focus will be later.”

So, how do you work out what your chronotype is? One way is to complete the ‘morningness-eveningness questionnaire.’ The self-assessment was developed by Prof Jim Horne way back in 1976 and you can find examples of it online.

“But you can also keep a diary and, every 30 minutes, note down what your level of focus and engagement is. You can then map out your focus over the day,” says Mark. “Do this for several days, ideally over a week, to try to get a good sense of your regular focus times.”

Once you’ve worked out when your peak concentration times are, the next question is how long should you work for without a break? The annoying answer is that it varies.

“The length of your peak focus times depends on several things,” says Mark. “Firstly, the task itself – does it require a lot of effort, or not? Then consider the amount of resources you have available – did you take good breaks to replenish spent resources? Also, how much motivation do you have to work on the task (focus declines with less motivation)? Finally, there’s the amount of stress you experience – we need some amount of stimulation to focus, but too much stress impacts our ability to sustain focus.”

And, while it’s often easier said than done, the best way to stretch your length of focus is, according to Mark, to make sure that you start your day after a night of good, high-quality sleep.