The human brain is capable of roughly 4 hours of focus a day (see “Rest” by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang and others). “Focus” here is the state of flow where a person is at their level of optimal challenge- the work is engaging and leading to growth. It’s both challenging in the right way and their best work. You could also describe it as spending executive function. Any model of what people should be able to achieve that disregards this bound is folly.
- I’d say most people struggle to get 30 minutes of true focus a day. The people who are good at focus usually have a 2 hour work block in the morning, a long break of true rest, and a 2 hour work block late afternoon.
- Using the entire 4 hours, for 5 days in a row is exhausting- Saturday and Sunday will be staring at the wall.
- If you “wear multiple hats” the time to come to speed for a task for role 1, do a thing, switch, come up to speed on role 2, all come from the same mental budget. You’re just doing two (or more jobs) poorly. Related: the human brain is not capable of deliberate multitasking no matter how much you might want to believe it is.
- If you’re working below your optimal challenge level, yes, you can do more hours of “stuff.” Be honest though, you’re definitely not paying attention and engaged the entire time- that’s how cognitive economy works.
- If you’re responding to Slack messages or email while focusing, you’re not actually focused.
