To continue the analogy, I am writing somewhat from the perspective of one that’s already trained for the mental focus version of a 10k run (this is not extreme - marathons are 42k). At the end, a person who’s went from couch to 5k will notice how their running stamina has increased greatly, and a shorter run, like 2k, might not even make them break a sweat. I propose that the way one can train to have more mental energy reserves, as well as use them wisely, is similar to how one trains physical endurance. However, for mental focus it’s not commonly thought of as the same type of endurance that one can build rather it might be seen as innate, a natural talent. So I can see a clear path to building endurance in running. However, I know there are ways of going from 0 to 5k - in fact there are fitness programs like Couch to 5k that slowly ramps one up. Just imagining how sweaty and out of breath I would be, doesn’t thrill me at all. This is akin to how, as someone that doesn’t run (as exercise), it’s intimidating to think about running 5 kilometers. This is not the case, as I learned.įor many, their day-to-day studies or work might completely drain them, to a point where doing a master’s degree besides full-time work might sound intimidating, or even unfathomable.īut I encourage one to think of their amount of energy and focus to be expandable, not fixed. If you have been running at 70% battery every day, you will start to think that is your 100% capacity. Always more with lessĮnergy - a gas tank that can be expanded, not just refilled Steps to expand the mental focus gas tank.Energy - a gas tank that can be expanded, not just refilled.In this article I’ll share how I manage my energy, and how one can reproducibly expand their mental “gas tank”.
![deep work timer deep work timer](https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/blog_complete-guide-to-deep-work_8.png)
How am I not already tired out from full-time work alone? The answer is energy management and mental focus.įocusing for hours on brainpower intensive activities seems easy and routine to me now, but there was a time when it wasn’t so. Readers of this blog might know that apart from writing, I work full-time as a data scientist, develop video games as a hobby, and also speak at many conferences.