Blueprint #1: Maximize your focus for productivity

Your 3 actionables

• Timebox important tasks

• Perform breath work for 10–15 minutes

• Listen to binaural beats (40 Hz), white noise, or brown noise

Keep reading if you want a bit more detail on these 3 actionables. A full reference list is available at the bottom of the blueprint.

To-do lists do NOT work¹⁻²

Making a to-do list gives an instant dopamine kick because we think that we've taken a very important step in accomplishing our goals. This often leads us into a false sense of belief that we got something done. To-do lists also have the following issues:

• They inevitably become long (i.e., too many choices). If you have 10 things on your list, it becomes difficult to decide which one to focus on. When that happens, we usually focus on the easier tasks, as opposed to the more important tasks. Why? Well, because it gives us that sweet dopamine kick every time we cross something off our list.

• There is often not enough context for items on a to-do list. After a while, every item seems to have the same priority.

Timeboxing works³

Timeboxing was rated as the number 1 most effective productivity hack in a study performed by Harvard Business Review. What does it entail? Very simple. Put your task into your calendar instead of on a list. It works because of the following reasons:

• When you allot a specific time period to work on a task, you have committed to doing it at a certain time for a specific length of time. Whereas, with a to-do list, it's more like "Oh, I hope I can get to it today or tomorrow."

• If time is left open in your calendar, it will get eaten by other things (Parkinson's Law). So, it's important to block time off for a specific task.

• You feel more committed to that task.

Timeboxing is used by nearly all project management teams in all major industries—even in sports, to help athletes commit to a specific training schedule with a deadline.

See the following picture, which shows 3 projects—exactly when they need to be worked on (the day and time) and for how long. This is far better than just having them on a to-do list and hoping you'll get to it. The bonus benefit of updating your calendars like this, is that all your teammates know that these times are booked off and that you're working on these specific projects. 

Breath work⁴⁻⁶

Breath work has been known to be quite effective at all sorts of things, one of which is to improve your focus. By breath work, I mean breathing exercises. There are a lot of them out there and this specific one is used even by navy seals.

There is a region in our brain called the "Pre-Botzinger Complex", which is just a bunch of neurons that activate during the inspiratory phase of breathing (the active part of our breathing cycle). When their activity decreases, we exhale our breath, passively (it just happens on its own). 

The activation and deactivation of this region leads to reduced stress and improved mood (almost immediately), which allows you to focus better on the task at hand and even make better decisions. 

Try a breathing exercise known as "Box Breathing": 

You may get dizzy if it's your first time doing any type of breathing work, or if you're generally out of shape. If you do get dizzy, just stay calm and sit for a while (breathing normally) and it will pass. Make sure you are doing breathing exercises in a safe environment (e.g., not while driving, near any machinery, etc.).

Play around with the timing and find what works for you best. Personally, I do 5s inhale, 5s hold, 7s exhale, 5s hold. Works really well for me. And I do it first thing in the morning, while walking my dog between 6:00–6:30 am.

Binaural beats and noises⁷⁻¹¹

Binaural beats: When two beats of slightly different frequency (for instance 300 and 340 Hz) are presented separately to the left and right ears, the hearer detects a single beat that differs in amplitude at a frequency equal to the difference between the two beats (40 Hz); a perceptual illusion known as the binaural auditory beat. 

Recent studies have shown that beat stimulation significantly affects functional brain connectivity and modulates intracranial power and phase synchronization. Basically, there is significant evidence that binaural beats in the gamma frequency can influence our cognitive processing:

• Low gamma frequency (1 to 30 Hz) binaural beats are associated with mental relaxation.

• High gamma frequency (40 hz) binaural beats are associated with alertness and concentration (focus)

White noise is the sound you get when you combine all the different audible frequencies of sound in equal intensity at the same time. The name white noise comes from the analogy to white light, which contains all the light frequencies in the visible range.

Brown noise is deeper and stronger in the lower-frequencies and without the higher-end frequency sounds of white noise and pink noise. Brown noise is often compared to the sound of a rumbling waterfall, a distant thunder or the gentle rumble of the ocean. Common benefits associated with brown noise are relaxation, improved focus and sleep improvement.

Pink noise is deeper and stronger in the lower-frequencies than white noise but not brown noise. In my research, I could not find support for pink noise improving focus in any way. Pink noise is more associated with improved sleep.

And that brings us to the end of this blueprint. As with anything, consistency is key. Make sure to implement the 3 actionables mentioned. Do it with intention and be serious about making a significant change to maximize your productivity. 

Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

Talk soon,

References:

1. Daniel Markovitz. Harvard Business Review. 2012. Available at: https://hbr.org/2012/01/to-do-lists-dont-work. [Accessed September 2022]. 2. Kelsey Alpaio. Harvard Business Review. 2021. Available at: https://hbr.org/2021/01/i-tried-4-to-do-list-methods-heres-what-worked. [Accessed September 2022]. 3. Marc Zao-Sanders. Harvard Business Review. 2018. Available at: https://hbr.org/2018/12/how-timeboxing-works-and-why-it-will-make-you-more-productive. [Accessed September 2022]. 4. Smith, JC, et al. Science. 1991;254(5032):726–9. 5. Andrew Huberman and Jack Feldman. Andrew Huberman. 2022. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgKkG44MGo. [Accessed September 2022]. 6. Levinson DB, et al. Front. Psychol. 2014;5(1202):1–10. 7. Calderone DJ, et al. Trends Cogn. Sci. 2014;18(6):300–9. 8. Turow G, Lane JD. Music, science, and the rhythmic brain: Cultural and clinical implications. 2011;122–36. 9. Reedijk SA, et al. Front. Psych. 2015;6:82. 10. Colzato LS, et al. Psych. Res. 2015;81(1):271–7. 11. Ross, B., Lopez, M.D. Sci Rep. 2020;10:7002.

DISCLAIMER (Last updated September 25, 2022)

Remember guys, even though I'm an MD, I do not practice medicine. I am simply providing education in these "blueprints" (newsletters). Please use common sense and do not mistake information provided here for professional advice of any kind.