Focus Session

[sdann]

Now I know it has been discussed in here, but I cannot find it. I group my day into focus sessions for 1:45 hour, then I take a break. My question: what is the optimum focus time? Is 1:45 even in the ballpark?

[Cpu_Modern]

I don't know. Some data I can provide:

1. I had a conversation with a teacher recently, he told me the optimal time for a class would be around 35 min.

2. The european law for work in front of a computer screen is 5 minutes break (from starring a the screen) in each hour. This is based on (in the field) famous extensive swedish studies. So you get a 5 min break after 55 min starring at the screen to protect your eyes and to prevent backpain of all sorts.

3. I personally found out I am good for about 4 hours if working this way. Three hours is my personal optimum.

4. On his blog Steve Pavlina wrote he would schedule his work into 2 hours chunks because he is most productive that way.

5. There are nightowls and early risers, your biorythm should be part of the equation.

[Barb]

You know, I have days when I do well to focus for one MINUTE and 45 SECONDS!

[kewms]

When I was in grad school, I got in the habit of taking a break every 45-75 minutes. That's about the length of one CD, so I had to get up to swap in a new one.

Now all my music is in iTunes, but I still find it helpful to make a clear change in the playlist every hour or so as a reminder to get up and move around.

I also have an ergonomic reminder on my computer set to take a break every hour. If I'm doing heavy reading or other focused but somewhat tedious work, I switch to a different type of task at the break. If I'm writing or editing, I take a somewhat longer break, but usually stay on the same task for up to 3-4 hours.

Katherine

[rangi500]

Tony Buzan (the inventor of mind maps) says 40 minutes is the optimal amount of time to spend concentrating on something.

[WebR0ver]

Dr. Pimsleur, based on extensive research, set up his language courses to be 1/2 hour a session. I think the length of focus time that's optimal depends on both the person and what they're working on.