The Power of “Boring” Breaks for Focus
Many people struggle to transition into deep work because their breaks or previous activities were too stimulating (e.g., social media, video games). According to Andrew Huberman, high sensory input creates “attention residue” that lingers even after the activity stops.
- The Solution: Before starting work, reduce sensory input and allow yourself to be bored. Sit still for a minute doing absolutely nothing to clear your mind.
- The Experiment: The author plans to switch to low-stimulus breaks, such as walking or cleaning, rather than consuming digital content.
Training: Shorter Sessions, Higher Intensity
The author is shifting their strength training philosophy from standard progressive overload (increasing volume) to “training to failure.”
- Old Method: More sets (5), leaving energy in reserve.
- New Method: Fewer sets (3), but performing every exercise until the last rep is physically impossible. This aims to maximize muscle stress and adaptation in less time.
Journaling and Messages to the Future
Maintaing a 5-year journal provides immense value by allowing you to converse with your past self, tracking fears, plans, and achievements over time.
- Alternative Method: If a physical journal is too demanding, use tools like futureme.org to send emails to your future self (e.g., 1-2 years ahead).
- What to write: Promises to keep, vacation reminders, life snapshots, or predictions about the world to test your foresight.
Analyzing Time vs. Importance
Recent data shows young adults are spending increasing amounts of time alone on activities they personally rate as having low importance (e.g., social media, passive consumption). The author suggests a practical exercise: List your top 10 non-work activities and rate their true significance. Often, there is a misalignment between time spent and value received.
Tools and Tracking
- Trello Update: Trello is recommended for visual planning (travel, content calendars). A new update allows users to generate board templates via AI prompts.
- Daily Coding (Blue vs. Green): A new simple tracking method involves marking each day as either “Blue” (Survival: maintenance tasks) or “Green” (Growth: significant progress or changes).
Mentoring question
If you listed the top 10 activities you spend your free time on, how would you rate their importance, and does your time investment align with that value?
Source: https://52notatki.substack.com/p/lepsza-praca-starszy-dziennik-krotszy