If you want to achieve your goals, focus is a key ingredient. But is focus a matter of willpower, or a time-management issue?
The truth is it’s sometimes willpower, and sometimes time management, but neither is the full story.
We want to introduce you to a different approach to focus, and your mental state in general. It’s all about making the most of your limited body budget.
What is my body budget?
Body budget is a way of describing allostasis – a theory about how your brain anticipates and adapts to help your body run efficiently.
Say your brain perceives a potential threat, whether it’s a dark alleyway or a coworker you’ve clashed with in the past. Your brain then orders the release of the hormone adrenaline to prepare your body to face (or run away from) that threat.
Allostasis is the idea that your brain is doing a version of this constantly – predicting what’s going to happen to you and preparing your body for it, allocating resources based on the available information it has at the time. But where does the ‘budget’ part come in?
Think of your brain like a business with a finite amount of energy to distribute around your body, in the same way that a business has a limited budget that needs to be spent efficiently. Your performance will suffer if you burn through your budget without replenishing it.
Your brain needs resources to invest in tasks that require focus like being creative or learning something new. If these resources are depleted, having been used up elsewhere, it doesn’t matter how hard you try, you just won’t have the budget to get focused.
How can I get more out of body budget?
In some cases, just introducing the idea of a body budget can give you a more productive way to approach your issues. Before you get frustrated because you’re struggling to pick up a new skill, consider whether or not you’re giving yourself a fighting chance.
There’s no getting around the fact that consistent sleep and quality nutrition are two of the best tools you have for keeping your body budget in check. But what else can you do to give your body the surplus it needs to power your focus time?
Want to get better at quiet time? Try the Silence Test.
Embrace silence
News 24 hours a day, traffic noise, screens from dawn until dusk... The modern world is a buffet of stimuli your brain has to assess and respond to. That constant shifting of attention (yep, even just scrolling social media on the couch) eats into your precious body budget.
Building regenerative quiet time into your day, or at least into your week, is a great way to give your brain a break.
Become a creature of habit
Remember, allostasis is all about anticipating what your body needs to function well, so it makes sense that a routine will give you more energy when you need it most. Aim to go to bed and wake up at similar times each day, and fuel yourself with regular meals.
Life is unpredictable enough. Having a routine 80 percent of the time will ensure you have the energy reserves needed to be agile when it matters.
Some news is good news
It doesn’t matter if it’s happening next door or across the world – your brain can interpret bad news as bad news for you. Then it starts spending vital energy prepping you for a disaster that you don’t actually have to deal with.
Staying informed is great, but try to limit your exposure to news sources that make you feel overly anxious, and aim to get your information at roughly the same time every day – preferably not before you need to do something that requires your full attention.
Spend energy to make energy
If you’re trying to boost your body budget, how does using energy through exercise help? Think of working out as an investment in your future energy levels. Studies have shown that regular exercise can boost energy and reduce fatigue.
Follow these tips and your body budget will be back in the black in no time.
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