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Ask HN: How do you switch between activities?
I would like to read or study between work hours. However if I work 4 hrs in the morning, I find it difficult to study 1hr in the afternoon. At this point I just want to take break. By the time I am relaxed and ready to study, 1hr is already passed.
Has anyone experimented with any tricks to help you switch between these kinds of tasks quickly.
I want to work 4hr in the morning, take 5 min break and study 2hr in the afternoon and then work another 4 hr in the evening.
- BigHatLogan 9y agoDon't have a perfect answer for you here, but I would recommend you check out a book called "Deep Work" by Cal Newport. The book is primarily concerned with focus and how to get more out of it. It's backed by both anecdotes and research. I think you would find it interesting given your question. With that said, I'm not sure it's "possible" to do cognitively demanding tasks for 6 hours in a row with a 5 minute break after the 4th hour. At work I notice that my coworkers and I have a difficult time focusing intensely after 2 or 3 hours. There comes a point when all you get are diminishing returns. At that point I find it useful to switch tasks completely for an hour or so, to something less cognitively demanding, like administrative things I have to do as an employee.
- cryptozeus 9y agoI have read deepwork, its a fantastic book. I do try to practice what the book suggests however in real world we are all trying to juggle multiple things and its not practical to just focus on 1 thing for longer periods of time.