[Lifestyle] ‘Intensity sprints’ can help you focus better — but what are they?

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The quest for sustained focus at work often leads individuals down various paths, each offering promises of enhanced efficiency and goal attainment. One such path, championed by content creator Ali Abdaal, shines a spotlight on a technique he dubs “intensity sprints.” Departing from the conventional wisdom of consistent, steady work, intensity sprints advocate for short bursts of focused activity. Abdaal, a former NHS (National Health Service) doctor, says, “There’s all this stuff about how consistency is really the most important thing and how a small amount of consistent, focused work every day will help you get to your goals. But often it can be really hard to just do the same thing for a very long period of time.He continues, “So, setting aside two or three or 4 hours, taking myself to a coffee shop, leaving my phone behind, crucially, and just having my laptop, and in that three or four hour block of time, just making as much progress as I can and kind of turning it into a bit of a game, having some music, getting myself a coffee. “And I found that when I was writing my own book, it was those bursts of intensity in which I made the most progress, rather than slow and stable consistency over time.”Organisational psychologist and HR consultant at That Culture Thing, Gurleen Baruah, agrees, “Intensity sprints are one of the very effective strategies to beat procrastination, analysis paralysis, and really get things done.” Here are the psychological mechanisms at play when intensity sprints are applied to achieve high levels of focus and productivity:*Intensity sprinting is basically time blocking in your calendar and removing all distractions from around you, including putting away the phone. This also includes setting an alarm for say 2 or 3 hours depending on the task at hand and really diving deep into the work. Psychologically, it makes the mind focused on the task at hand with intense deep work. When people are in flow and in the moment without distractions, the brain works much faster and more effectively. *Secondly, in order to get into the flow state (as suggested by Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his groundbreaking book ‘Flow’), it takes time to get into it. And if there are distractions, the mind wanders, and when you get back to the task, it will again take you time to get into the deep zone, hence your value on time gets reduced. Intensity sprints, therefore, come to your rescue where you intentionally design time blocks so that you don’t get distracted. You do this by blocking time on your calendar, keeping the phone away, having a ‘do not disturb’ post-it note on your desk, or even using headphones with instrumental music.

https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/workplace/intensity-sprints-work-workplace-job-productivity-ali-abdaal-9309062/