You can take advantage of the mind-body connection and use environmental cues to make it easier to enter and stay in a focused state. Visual cues can be very effective to increase feelings of alertness and focus: use bright overhead lighting and position your monitor or screen directly in front of you, at or above eye level to increase levels of alertness. 

Reducing distracting environmental stimuli is key: even your favorite background music can prevent you from being able to fully focus on the task at hand. Visual distractions — even subconscious cues such as using your bedroom as an office — can require more mental resources to tune out, increasing distractibility and contributing to burnout. While it is impossible to reduce every possible distraction that may come your way, most of the protocols you can implement to optimize your workspace for focus are easy to adopt and completely zero cost.

Ultradian cycles are natural, recurring cycles that occur approximately every 90 minutes throughout the day, compared to the body’s circadian rhythm, which follows a longer, 24-hour cycle. These ultradian cycles play a key role in the ability to focus and learn effectively. If you continue to push past the roughly 90-minute ultradian cycle, it can impact cognitive function due to diminished levels of acetylcholine and dopamine. Understanding and aligning with these naturally occurring cycles in focus and concentration can enhance overall productivity and work efficiency in the long term. 

The ability to perform deep work — that is, a bout of intense focus on a single task without distractions –— is inextricably linked to these ultradian cycles. When you are truly focused on engaging with challenging tasks that demand significant mental exertion, it is crucial to take intentional breaks (10-30 minutes) to replenish the brain’s capacity to enter another ultradian cycle of deep work and sustained attention. 

One cannot overemphasize the importance of good sleep hygiene, proper nutrition and regular exercise in supporting states of focus and alertness. Supplementation protocols are just that — supplements to a foundationally healthy lifestyle — as there is not a single supplement that can fully compensate for a lack of sleep. Most of the evidence-backed supplements that support focus and alertness do so by affecting the quantity of neural pathways for acetylcholine, dopamine and adrenaline – including caffeine, alpha-GPC, L-tyrosine and phenylethylamine (PEA). 

If you choose to take any supplements to achieve a heightened state of focus and alertness, avoiding taking them every single day can help maintain their potency and effectiveness. 

Over the long term, EPA and DHA fatty acids (found in omega-3 supplements) can modulate the neural circuits associated with focus and attention, making neurotransmitters like dopamine more effective. 

Research has indicated that cognitive focus follows our visual focus, and so training one’s visual focus back to a singular target can enhance cognitive focus on a task shortly after. Establishing a regular meditation practice can improve the brain’s ability to redirect focus when faced with unavoidable environmental and internal distractions. Using do-not-disturb mode to silence phone calls and notifications — even placing your phone in a different room entirely — and reducing time spent on social media can improve your ability to focus over time.

Taking the time to intentionally de-focus and practice mindfulness between work bouts is crucial to both sustaining focus and supporting overall well-being. Moving your full attention from narrowed focus to a broader, passive awareness is a cognitive skill that can be developed over time and will make it easier to both enter and exit focused states.