When doing hyperfocused work, you concentrate intensely on one task.
And it’s this narrow focus that drains your attention span over time.
To properly replenish your attentional resources during your break, you should do the exact opposite.
But most people don’t. They spend their break continuing to focus narrowly. On social media. On email. On YouTube.
Because of this, they don’t properly recharge. And when they resume work, they're not refreshed. Their focus wanes. And they wonder why they're distracted.
Instead, keep an open, diffuse focus during break. In other words, deliberately defocus.
What does diffuse focus look like?
Your gaze is soft. Your eyes take everything in within their peripheral vision. When looking at something, you don’t exclude everything else. You see it altogether.
And your mind does the same, expanding its awareness to notice all sensations coming in at once.
The takeaway: To properly replenish your attentional resources, skip the scrolling. Don't watch or read anything. Maintain an open, diffuse focus instead. You'll feel more energized and will perform better.
PS - If you think about it, we actually spend most of our day in a very narrowly focused state (exacerbated in recent years by smartphones which, by their size, demand a narrow focus). Unless practicing meditation or mindfulness, we rarely give ourselves this type of rejuvenating break.
