How to Find More Focus and Flow at Work

Dr. Marissa went Live on October 11, 2023 to discuss how we can bring lifestyle tweaks into the workplace to create an environment that stimulates more focus and flow. Many of us already know that we need to exercise, eat well, hydrate, and practice stress management skills in our lives…but how often are we incorporating these practices into the place we spend most of our day?

Here’s are some of the biggest takeaways so you can feel more focus and flow at work:

#1: Think twice before you abandon your health practices when you get stressed at work! 

When we get stressed, we tend to get rid of the very practices that will actually bring us back into a centered and calm state. We’ll forget to hydrate or schedule down time, we’ll stay up late into the night, start eating fast-food meals, sit at our desk for hours on end, and save exercise for whenever “this one thing I’m working on” is over.

But this strategy can creep up on us over time, and all of a sudden a health scare or mental health crisis forces itself front and center and threatens to derail our years of self-sacrifice and hard work. We already know that we do our best work when we’re hydrated, nourished by our foods, exercised regularly, and well-slept. . . so let’s keep those practices up when the going gets rough, and perhaps the going won’t FEEL as rough that way.

#2: Break up your desk work to stimulate the mind and body

Unfortunately, peak focus is a limited resource. Scientific research suggests that we have about a 90-minute window of optimal focus before our mind and body are ready for a break. After that point, performing a “deliberate decompression” will actually help you better be able to focus for your next task. Deliberate decompression is a period where you can allow your mind to wander for 5-15 minutes.

We recommend that you use this time to take a walk, which will boost blood flow to your brain and muscles to create a greater sense of ease in the body and focus in the mind. When you return, your body will be ready to sit again, and your mind will be fresh, ready for another 90-minute bout of focus.

 #3: Afternoon Crash?? There are a few fixes for that.

If you’re somebody who finds yourself running to the break room to grab more coffee or a sugary snack in anticipation of the afternoon slump, we invite you to pause and ask yourself what you might REALLY be using that afternoon caffeine to compensate for. . .

• A blood sugar crash caused by suboptimal breakfast/lunch nutrition choices? 
  • Instead, incorporate more protein and fiber in your meals/snacks to sustain your energy through the day.
• Chronic lack of sleep (anybody who likes to “sleep in” on the weekends or vacations!)?
  • Run a trial period where you allow yourself 9 hours in bed for 3-weeks and see the improvement in your afternoon crash.
• Poor stress management strategies that drain your motivation and energy by afternoon? 
  • Use 5 minutes of your “deliberate decompression” to sit quietly and focus gently on breathing into your belly.
• Too much sedentary activity?
  • Take a 10 minute walk or do a 5 minute movement snack to get the blood flowing again.

Once you figure out WHY you’re losing focus and flow by mid-afternoon, it becomes much easier to fix!

How to bring this to your teams?

At Movement Rx, we are in the business of creating teams that are better able to find focus and flow through our wellbeing trainings.

Sign up for our FREE webinar training: Recharge YOUR Health, Retain your People on November 16, 2023 at 4p PST so you can better connect with your team and better lead your people

This training is tailor-made for business leaders and owners, fellow veterans or not, seeking solutions to the challenges of employee retention, customer attrition and business growth. Upon concluding this session, you will clearly see how leader well-being is a primary driver of workforce well-being and performance, and will have tools to cultivate resilience, enhance health, and boost happiness as a business owner or leader. This newfound competitive advantage will empower you to sustainably serve your employees, clients, family, and yourself – today, tomorrow, and far into the future.

Sign up HERE for the Recharge YOUR Health, Retain your People Training