With summer school starting soon or a summer with goals that are eager to manifest, get your tasks or work done more efficiently and quickly by doing focused bursts of work. We call them Power Sessions. Whether this be tasks that need to get done or actual school work, the brain will stay more focused if it knows there is only a designated amount of time to get it done. 

Have you ever had an entire day to get something done that maybe should take an hour or less, and you just stall and stall, feel guilt or not, think about how you should do it, maybe get started, and it literally takes you all day for whatever reason to get it done? And maybe you’ve felt the opposite of where you had the shortest amount of time to get something done you expected would take a lot longer, and you miraculously got it done? The brain knows. 

They say the optimal amount of focused time is 25 minutes. We’ve found that depends. If you are doing a writing project, stopping when you are in your flow is not ideal, and this can be the case with anything. However, when you are not doing something you enjoy to the point of achieving a flow state, set a focused amount of time, literally set a timer, and work for that amount of time. You can start with 10 minutes and work your way up to find that sweet spot, or you can start with 25 minutes, see if that works for you and adjust accordingly. So the idea is to do a Power Session, take a small brain break, and repeat 3 more times until you take a longer break. There is no perfect formula, but the baseline is 25 minutes of focused work and a 5 minute, or 20% of focused time, brain break. The break should be used for movement, breathing, hydration, and/or a snack. This is not the time to check emails, social media, or watch television. It’s a time to tune in vs. tune out. These activities do not rejuvenate the brain but drain it, so the point is to nourish your brain during the brain breaks and then get back to work for another Power Session. So give it a try. 

1. Decide what tasks or work you would like to complete.
2. Clear off your workspace and remove all distractions.
3. Set a timer for your first Power Session.
4. Work.
5. Take a break for 20% of the time you worked. 
6. Repeat steps 1-4 three more times.
7. Take a longer break, about 30 minutes and start again from step 1 until you are done with everything you need to do.