EP 049 Stop Fighting Your Brain | Productivity Habits Science Behind Pomodoro

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,890
What happens inside your skull
at minute one versus minute

2
00:00:02,945 --> 00:00:04,963
24 of the Pomodoro cycle?

3
00:00:05,181 --> 00:00:09,081
Well, the Pomodoro technique,
it's not just a productivity hack.

4
00:00:09,190 --> 00:00:13,663
Most productivity gurus tell you
to just focus for 25 minutes even.

5
00:00:13,663 --> 00:00:16,363
I've done this on some of my
episodes, but they don't explain

6
00:00:16,363 --> 00:00:18,163
why and, and here's what they're.

7
00:00:18,713 --> 00:00:23,131
Your brain isn't a machine that you can
just turn on or off, it is literally

8
00:00:23,131 --> 00:00:27,250
a biological system with predictable
patterns, and those patterns are about

9
00:00:27,250 --> 00:00:31,640
to change everything you think you know
about focus in the next 20 or so minutes.

10
00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:36,631
I'm gonna walk you through the complete
cognitive life cycle of a single Pomodoro

11
00:00:36,631 --> 00:00:40,836
session from the initial spike of goal
directed dopamine when you set that timer.

12
00:00:41,372 --> 00:00:45,518
To the synaptic fatigue that
kicks in at about minute 15 to the

13
00:00:45,518 --> 00:00:49,800
default mode network activation
during your five minute break, that

14
00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,281
actually makes you more creative.

15
00:00:52,390 --> 00:00:54,681
This my friends, is not productivity porn.

16
00:00:54,790 --> 00:00:58,909
This is neuroscience, and once you
understand what's happening neuron

17
00:00:58,909 --> 00:01:03,027
by neurons, the synapses by synapses,
you'll never look at your kitchen

18
00:01:03,027 --> 00:01:05,209
timer the same way ever again.

19
00:01:06,540 --> 00:01:09,022
Your success, DNA podcast, your success.

20
00:01:09,095 --> 00:01:10,300
Is in your DNA.

21
00:01:10,649 --> 00:01:11,168
What is up?

22
00:01:11,168 --> 00:01:11,631
What is up?

23
00:01:11,631 --> 00:01:12,422
What the hell is up?

24
00:01:12,422 --> 00:01:13,377
My success seekers?

25
00:01:13,377 --> 00:01:15,149
Welcome back to another
episode of Your success.

26
00:01:15,149 --> 00:01:18,995
DNA is a podcast for all my
aspiring entrepreneurs and escapees.

27
00:01:19,131 --> 00:01:22,077
Everybody out there really wants
to feel a little better and think

28
00:01:22,077 --> 00:01:25,895
a little better, and we do that by
delivering mindset shifts and habit

29
00:01:25,895 --> 00:01:29,686
upgrades, all mix with a little dose
of rebellion, helping you break free

30
00:01:29,686 --> 00:01:31,459
from convention so that you can build.

31
00:01:31,790 --> 00:01:34,490
A life aligned with
your version of success.

32
00:01:34,545 --> 00:01:37,190
You know, someone that dreams of
ditching the grind, wants a, but

33
00:01:37,190 --> 00:01:40,300
still seems to make a little bit of
time for some personal development,

34
00:01:40,300 --> 00:01:41,254
a little self-help out there.

35
00:01:41,363 --> 00:01:43,136
Go ahead and forward this episode to them.

36
00:01:43,136 --> 00:01:46,790
So, as I kind of alluded to in the
intro, I wanna make this episode

37
00:01:46,790 --> 00:01:50,554
the Definitive Guide to Your
Brain on the Pomodoro technique.

38
00:01:50,581 --> 00:01:55,463
What really happens in your neurons inside
your head during those 25 minute work?

39
00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:56,199
Session.

40
00:01:56,199 --> 00:01:59,036
So in today's episode, there's three
things I want you to come away with,

41
00:01:59,036 --> 00:02:02,363
and they are, first, we're diving
deep into the neuroscience of why

42
00:02:02,363 --> 00:02:06,918
a simple kitchen timer can hijack
your brain's attention systems more

43
00:02:06,918 --> 00:02:10,000
effectively than willpower ever could.

44
00:02:10,245 --> 00:02:10,627
And why?

45
00:02:10,627 --> 00:02:14,772
Francisco Cillo accidentally reversed
engineered, you heard prefrontal

46
00:02:14,854 --> 00:02:19,981
cortex's natural ultradian rhythm
when he invented the prow technique.

47
00:02:19,981 --> 00:02:20,636
Second.

48
00:02:21,177 --> 00:02:25,568
I'm taking you minute by minute through
what actually happens in your brain

49
00:02:25,731 --> 00:02:30,640
during a prow cycle from the neo
epinephrine spike at minute zero to the

50
00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:36,259
theta wave invasion around minute 20,
and why your EEG will tell a completely

51
00:02:36,259 --> 00:02:37,963
different story than what you think.

52
00:02:38,531 --> 00:02:39,895
You are actually experiencing.

53
00:02:39,895 --> 00:02:43,740
And then third, we're exposing the
massive mistake most people make

54
00:02:43,740 --> 00:02:45,159
during their five minute breaks.

55
00:02:45,377 --> 00:02:49,359
That completely sabotages the
neurological recovery process.

56
00:02:49,495 --> 00:02:52,768
And why checking your phone
during break time is like asking

57
00:02:52,768 --> 00:02:55,631
your exhausted marathon runner
to sprint yet another mile.

58
00:02:55,631 --> 00:02:55,659
Okay.

59
00:02:56,936 --> 00:03:00,290
So let's dive in here, and once
again, let's share something that's

60
00:03:00,290 --> 00:03:03,700
going to fundamentally change
how you think about productivity.

61
00:03:04,027 --> 00:03:07,409
The Pomo technique isn't
just a time management hack.

62
00:03:07,409 --> 00:03:07,927
No, no, no.

63
00:03:07,981 --> 00:03:09,995
It's a brain management
hack you might say.

64
00:03:10,586 --> 00:03:12,659
Or you might just say it's
just brain management.

65
00:03:12,822 --> 00:03:18,086
And every productivity guru who tells
you to just focus harder is ignoring

66
00:03:18,140 --> 00:03:23,022
40 years of cognitive neuroscience
research that proves your brain has

67
00:03:23,022 --> 00:03:27,495
predictable patterns of attention,
fatigue, and recovery that you cannot

68
00:03:27,495 --> 00:03:30,277
override with just willpower alone.

69
00:03:30,468 --> 00:03:31,286
Okay, so.

70
00:03:31,536 --> 00:03:33,527
Let's imagine this here,
if we can for a moment.

71
00:03:33,718 --> 00:03:36,118
It's, it's 2:30 PM on Tuesday.

72
00:03:36,172 --> 00:03:40,018
You're sitting at your desk, was a project
that has been haunting you for weeks.

73
00:03:40,209 --> 00:03:43,072
You've been quote unquote,
working on it for two hours.

74
00:03:43,072 --> 00:03:46,645
But if we're honest with each other,
you've probably spent more time checking

75
00:03:46,645 --> 00:03:51,036
your emails, scrolling social media,
or even reorganizing your desktops

76
00:03:51,036 --> 00:03:52,809
and actually making any progress.

77
00:03:53,027 --> 00:03:54,472
Your brain's feeling a little foggy.

78
00:03:54,745 --> 00:03:57,990
Your motivation is somewhere
between zero and maybe negative 10.

79
00:03:58,418 --> 00:03:58,745
Now.

80
00:03:59,250 --> 00:04:02,140
Picture yourself reaching
for a simple kitchen timer.

81
00:04:02,413 --> 00:04:03,586
Could be one of those round ones.

82
00:04:03,586 --> 00:04:06,095
Could be ones with a, could be one
of those ones with a sand in it.

83
00:04:06,313 --> 00:04:07,731
Maybe even it's your phone.

84
00:04:08,031 --> 00:04:10,513
Maybe it's an old analog one
from your kitchen drawer.

85
00:04:10,813 --> 00:04:13,404
You set it for 25 minutes.

86
00:04:13,595 --> 00:04:18,040
The moment you press start something
shifts and you can actually feel it.

87
00:04:18,395 --> 00:04:20,740
Your posture straightens ever so slightly.

88
00:04:21,022 --> 00:04:22,222
Your breathing shifts.

89
00:04:22,413 --> 00:04:26,340
There's a subtle but real sense
of urgency that wasn't there

90
00:04:26,613 --> 00:04:28,004
as little as 30 seconds ago.

91
00:04:28,168 --> 00:04:32,395
Imagine working for those 25
minutes, really, really working.

92
00:04:32,586 --> 00:04:37,304
No email, no notifications, no
quick checks of anything, just you.

93
00:04:37,500 --> 00:04:40,363
The task and that timer
ticking in the background.

94
00:04:40,636 --> 00:04:41,863
And here's what's remarkable.

95
00:04:42,027 --> 00:04:46,118
When that timer finally dings,
you'll look up genuinely surprised.

96
00:04:46,281 --> 00:04:48,981
Not because you were bored or
waiting for it to end, but because

97
00:04:48,981 --> 00:04:53,127
you were so absorbed that time
seemed to just compress and whiz.

98
00:04:53,127 --> 00:04:56,918
By now, imagine taking a real
five minute break, not checking

99
00:04:56,918 --> 00:04:59,318
your phone, not answering emails.

100
00:04:59,977 --> 00:05:03,604
Maybe walking to the window,
stretching, grabbing some water,

101
00:05:03,604 --> 00:05:08,213
whatever it is, and then you sit back
down for the next 25 minute cycle.

102
00:05:08,459 --> 00:05:10,340
But this time you're
not starting from zero.

103
00:05:10,368 --> 00:05:11,568
You are resuming something.

104
00:05:11,568 --> 00:05:16,150
Your brain has already been quietly
processing during that five minute break.

105
00:05:16,390 --> 00:05:17,318
The experience.

106
00:05:17,481 --> 00:05:19,254
Well, that's not willpower, my friends.

107
00:05:19,500 --> 00:05:21,818
That's neuroscience in action.

108
00:05:22,036 --> 00:05:25,772
And once you understand what's happening
inside that amazing brain of yours,

109
00:05:25,963 --> 00:05:31,036
during those 30 minutes, you realize why
this simple technique has survived over

110
00:05:31,036 --> 00:05:35,586
three decades, while countless other
productivity systems have come and gone.

111
00:05:36,131 --> 00:05:39,650
First, lemme go ahead and walk you through
exactly what's happening inside your

112
00:05:39,650 --> 00:05:44,177
head during the complete polando cycle,
right minute by minute, minute one.

113
00:05:44,231 --> 00:05:47,177
This is the goal directed
behavior activation.

114
00:05:47,286 --> 00:05:49,336
The moment you set that timer before.

115
00:05:49,895 --> 00:05:54,204
You've done a single second of actual
work, your prefrontal quartets,

116
00:05:54,204 --> 00:05:57,450
that's the region right behind
your forehead, is responsible for

117
00:05:57,450 --> 00:05:59,413
planning and sustained attention.

118
00:05:59,495 --> 00:06:03,122
It snaps to attention like
a 20 year soldier, right?

119
00:06:03,177 --> 00:06:07,322
You've just created what psychologists
call goal directed behavior.

120
00:06:07,568 --> 00:06:11,359
You've externalized an intention
and told your brain, attention.

121
00:06:11,386 --> 00:06:11,877
Attention.

122
00:06:11,931 --> 00:06:12,804
This is a task.

123
00:06:12,913 --> 00:06:15,286
This is the boundary, and
there's the finish line.

124
00:06:15,586 --> 00:06:15,859
Right.

125
00:06:16,159 --> 00:06:20,440
Your brain immediately begins releasing
neo epinephrine, which is essentially

126
00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,222
your neurochemical starting pistol.

127
00:06:23,331 --> 00:06:24,559
This isn't motivation.

128
00:06:24,695 --> 00:06:28,977
This is your brain's alertness
system coming online.

129
00:06:29,195 --> 00:06:31,868
You can almost hear it like starting
an engine, but here's the key.

130
00:06:32,004 --> 00:06:35,168
This happens because you
invoked Parkinson's law.

131
00:06:35,249 --> 00:06:38,713
The observation that work expands
to fill the time available

132
00:06:39,150 --> 00:06:40,459
by giving yourself only.

133
00:06:40,500 --> 00:06:44,999
25 minutes are actually giving
yourself exactly 25 minutes.

134
00:06:45,136 --> 00:06:50,345
You've compressed the available time,
forcing your brain into productive

135
00:06:50,454 --> 00:06:55,500
urgency rather than open-ended
drifting to and fro like the Cs.

136
00:06:55,554 --> 00:06:57,640
Now, minutes one through 10.

137
00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,199
This is your focus ramp and
dopamine engagement timeframe.

138
00:07:01,304 --> 00:07:01,495
Okay.

139
00:07:01,795 --> 00:07:05,068
Your prefrontal cortex is
now fully online, right?

140
00:07:05,095 --> 00:07:08,968
It's burning through glucose and oxygen
at a rate that would probably shock you.

141
00:07:09,050 --> 00:07:14,586
Your brain is only 2% of your body weight,
but during intense concentration, it

142
00:07:14,586 --> 00:07:17,090
can consume 20% of your total energy.

143
00:07:17,959 --> 00:07:21,749
The prefrontal cortex becomes
the single mo most metabolically

144
00:07:21,749 --> 00:07:25,486
expensive structure in your entire
body, even if you're a weightlifter.

145
00:07:25,513 --> 00:07:28,077
I'm just saying, okay, but
here's what most people don't

146
00:07:28,077 --> 00:07:29,195
understand about dopamine.

147
00:07:29,468 --> 00:07:31,104
It's not just about reward.

148
00:07:31,159 --> 00:07:33,095
It's the neurochemical of motivation.

149
00:07:33,718 --> 00:07:34,890
Goal pursuit.

150
00:07:34,972 --> 00:07:39,609
Your ventral segmental area begins
releasing dopamine into your nucleus,

151
00:07:39,636 --> 00:07:41,900
acumens and prefrontal cortex.

152
00:07:42,036 --> 00:07:47,054
Creating this feedback loop, you're
working toward a definite endpoint and

153
00:07:47,054 --> 00:07:51,036
your brain can sense the finish line
is right around the corner, right?

154
00:07:51,281 --> 00:07:55,400
Each minute of progress generates
a small but real dopamine

155
00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:57,090
signal that says, keep going.

156
00:07:57,422 --> 00:07:58,704
You are almost there, right?

157
00:07:58,704 --> 00:07:59,877
Like a good coach would.

158
00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:04,022
This is where the Pomo Dero technique
leverages intrinsic motivation.

159
00:08:04,322 --> 00:08:06,995
You're not working because someone
is standing over your shoulder.

160
00:08:07,486 --> 00:08:08,249
Just keep going.

161
00:08:08,249 --> 00:08:08,577
Keep going.

162
00:08:08,577 --> 00:08:09,286
You can do this, right?

163
00:08:09,368 --> 00:08:13,840
You are working because you made a
commitment to yourself with that timer

164
00:08:13,895 --> 00:08:18,777
as a witness, research consistently
shows that intrinsic motivation produces

165
00:08:18,777 --> 00:08:23,549
deeper engagement and better cognitive
outcome than external pressure does.

166
00:08:23,659 --> 00:08:24,940
Just telling you the facts right here.

167
00:08:24,995 --> 00:08:27,259
Now, let's talk about
minutes 10 through 20.

168
00:08:27,518 --> 00:08:30,981
This is the plateau and
the invisible decline here.

169
00:08:31,118 --> 00:08:32,018
I guess you could say.

170
00:08:32,045 --> 00:08:34,227
Here's to me is where it gets
a little bit fascinating.

171
00:08:34,418 --> 00:08:38,181
Decades of research on sustained
attention consistently finds that

172
00:08:38,181 --> 00:08:43,227
attention quality starts declining
at about 15 and 30 minutes.

173
00:08:43,445 --> 00:08:46,663
For most of your cognitive tasks,
your prefrontal cortex is running

174
00:08:46,663 --> 00:08:48,709
low on its primary fuel adenosine.

175
00:08:48,954 --> 00:08:52,281
This is the same molecule that makes
you feel sleepy, and it's building

176
00:08:52,281 --> 00:08:54,463
up as a metabolic rib product.

177
00:08:54,599 --> 00:08:58,990
On the EEG, you would start seeing what
neuroscientists call the theta shift.

178
00:08:59,209 --> 00:09:02,863
Theta wave activity, which is the
electrical signature of sharp focus

179
00:09:03,027 --> 00:09:05,018
begins giving away to theta waves.

180
00:09:05,236 --> 00:09:08,836
Theta waves are slower, they're more
diffused and they're associated with.

181
00:09:09,413 --> 00:09:10,940
Your mind wandering, right?

182
00:09:10,940 --> 00:09:13,531
Like you're sitting in class and
you're like, oh, look over there.

183
00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:13,831
Okay?

184
00:09:14,022 --> 00:09:15,659
Uh, but here's the critical insight.

185
00:09:15,795 --> 00:09:19,586
This shift happens before
you actually feel distracted.

186
00:09:19,777 --> 00:09:24,795
Your brain's electrical signature tells
the story of declining attention several

187
00:09:24,795 --> 00:09:29,486
minutes before your conscious experience
actually catches up and realizes it.

188
00:09:30,081 --> 00:09:33,763
There's also a, a synaptic
fatigue starting to happen, okay?

189
00:09:33,981 --> 00:09:38,454
The neurons involved in your task are
firing over and over and over and over

190
00:09:38,454 --> 00:09:42,981
again, and the synapsis connecting
them begin to lose their efficacy.

191
00:09:43,118 --> 00:09:44,099
Neurotransmitter vesicles.

192
00:09:44,881 --> 00:09:48,672
Deplete receptor sensitivity
starts to decrease.

193
00:09:48,700 --> 00:09:50,690
The circuit doesn't stop working.

194
00:09:50,854 --> 00:09:54,536
The circuit just gets noisier
and it gets less precise.

195
00:09:54,563 --> 00:09:57,727
Imagine you're firing a water
gun and all of a sudden the water

196
00:09:57,727 --> 00:10:00,863
spray starts to scatter around
and it's, it's still working.

197
00:10:00,863 --> 00:10:01,168
It's just not.

198
00:10:01,481 --> 00:10:03,036
Working as good as it was.

199
00:10:03,309 --> 00:10:08,081
This is exactly why these timed work
intervals are so powerful because

200
00:10:08,081 --> 00:10:13,509
they impose external structure on
the cognitive decline that you cannot

201
00:10:13,509 --> 00:10:16,509
reliably detect from inside yourself.

202
00:10:16,536 --> 00:10:20,686
Even this aligns perfectly with your
brain's natural ultra DN rhythms.

203
00:10:21,268 --> 00:10:25,495
Those 90 to 120 minute cycles of
alertness and fatigue that govern

204
00:10:25,495 --> 00:10:27,104
your attention throughout the day.

205
00:10:27,186 --> 00:10:28,686
That's what those are
called, ultra D and rhythms.

206
00:10:28,904 --> 00:10:33,513
So that brings us to minute 20 through
25, and this is the deadline effect.

207
00:10:33,595 --> 00:10:37,577
Something remarkable happens
inside these final few minutes,

208
00:10:37,631 --> 00:10:42,268
even as your prefrontal cortex
experience genuine metabolic strain.

209
00:10:42,949 --> 00:10:43,795
Oh God, I'm so tired.

210
00:10:43,904 --> 00:10:47,831
Your performance often holds
steady or even spikes a little bit.

211
00:10:48,104 --> 00:10:48,513
Why?

212
00:10:48,731 --> 00:10:53,395
Because the approaching deadline triggers
another burst of neo epinephrine.

213
00:10:53,477 --> 00:10:55,686
Your brain knows that the end is near.

214
00:10:55,686 --> 00:10:57,077
It can see the finish line.

215
00:10:57,077 --> 00:10:57,377
You've seen.

216
00:10:57,540 --> 00:11:00,754
If you've ever run some sort of long
distance and you finally see this

217
00:11:00,759 --> 00:11:04,550
finish line, you get that burst of
energy and it musters the resources.

218
00:11:04,754 --> 00:11:08,027
For that final sprint that
straightaway, this is the same

219
00:11:08,027 --> 00:11:10,209
phenomenon marathon runners experience.

220
00:11:10,209 --> 00:11:14,381
In that last mile, the body is
depleted, but the brain seeing and

221
00:11:14,381 --> 00:11:18,745
sensing that finish line releases
a surge of neural chemical energy.

222
00:11:18,963 --> 00:11:24,036
The Poland Daro structure actually
optimizes this natural attention rhythm.

223
00:11:24,199 --> 00:11:24,254
Okay.

224
00:11:24,804 --> 00:11:28,677
That brings us now to the five minute
break, and this ladies and gentlemen, is

225
00:11:28,677 --> 00:11:30,422
where the real magic actually happens.

226
00:11:30,477 --> 00:11:35,168
The moment you stop focus work, a
completely different neural network

227
00:11:35,168 --> 00:11:40,840
activates the default mode network
or DMN, this network first identified

228
00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,509
by researcher Marcus Elle isn't,
it's not your brain going quiet.

229
00:11:44,986 --> 00:11:48,586
It's your brain lighting up in
a completely different pattern.

230
00:11:48,886 --> 00:11:53,440
The DMN is associated with
self-referential thinking, future

231
00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:58,431
planning and memory retrieval, and as
well as internal narrative construction.

232
00:11:58,622 --> 00:12:02,959
You could call this the space where
you ha will find your imagination,

233
00:12:03,150 --> 00:12:05,468
reflection, and even integration.

234
00:12:05,522 --> 00:12:09,586
Research shows that creativity
doesn't happen during focus.

235
00:12:09,654 --> 00:12:15,518
It happens during the break when your DM
N can freely associate between the ideas

236
00:12:15,518 --> 00:12:18,409
that your focused attention kept separate.

237
00:12:18,954 --> 00:12:21,599
Here's where most of the people out
there are gonna sabotage themselves.

238
00:12:21,736 --> 00:12:24,190
They're gonna spend their
break checking their phone.

239
00:12:24,327 --> 00:12:28,527
This activates the same prefrontal
attention circuits that you're

240
00:12:28,527 --> 00:12:30,409
actually trying to give a rest to.

241
00:12:30,599 --> 00:12:34,527
You're essentially asking your
exhausted prefrontal cortex to do

242
00:12:34,527 --> 00:12:36,572
even more work during the window.

243
00:12:36,572 --> 00:12:39,981
You really designed for it
to sit and rest and recover.

244
00:12:40,199 --> 00:12:44,345
The most effective breaks involve
what researchers call active rest.

245
00:12:44,522 --> 00:12:48,177
Walking, stretching, just staring
out the window, looking at the

246
00:12:48,177 --> 00:12:49,540
birds, looking at your dog.

247
00:12:49,677 --> 00:12:50,550
Maybe pet your dog.

248
00:12:50,550 --> 00:12:51,040
How about that?

249
00:12:51,286 --> 00:12:55,731
These activities allow your
prefrontal cortex to recover while

250
00:12:55,731 --> 00:12:59,113
the DMN does its integrative work.

251
00:12:59,195 --> 00:12:59,522
Okay.

252
00:12:59,631 --> 00:13:03,804
Alright, so that brings us to the
Zy Garic effect and the cognitive.

253
00:13:03,863 --> 00:13:08,418
Tension when you stop mid
task at the 25 minute mark.

254
00:13:08,554 --> 00:13:09,781
Okay, maybe your task isn't done.

255
00:13:09,781 --> 00:13:13,409
Maybe it is done alright, but, but if you
stop mid task at the 25 minute mark, your

256
00:13:13,409 --> 00:13:18,290
brain holds that unfinished work in a
state of, it's called cognitive tension.

257
00:13:18,536 --> 00:13:22,599
This phenomenon discovered by
psychologist BMA Cogni, creates.

258
00:13:22,740 --> 00:13:25,631
A poll, a motivation to return.

259
00:13:25,740 --> 00:13:29,695
You're not starting from cold when
the next pomodoro cycle begins.

260
00:13:29,777 --> 00:13:34,031
You're resuming something that your brain
has already been quietly processing during

261
00:13:34,031 --> 00:13:39,813
the break at a molecular level, this cycle
of focused work and rest mirrors activity

262
00:13:39,813 --> 00:13:42,486
dependent plasticity in neural networks.

263
00:13:42,654 --> 00:13:48,681
The ventral pigment area and the nucleus
acumens combine their dopamine dance.

264
00:13:48,763 --> 00:13:52,636
Even during the breaks, my tongue
tripped over all those words right there.

265
00:13:52,636 --> 00:13:53,754
I hope you're falling all always through.

266
00:13:53,754 --> 00:13:58,199
But basically they're maintaining the
motivational thread that you need.

267
00:13:58,254 --> 00:14:00,354
The Pomo structure doesn't just.

268
00:14:00,622 --> 00:14:01,931
Feel like it's effective.

269
00:14:02,095 --> 00:14:06,540
It's operating at the level of
synaptic architecture, physically

270
00:14:06,540 --> 00:14:10,795
strengthening the neural circuits
involved in what it is you're learning

271
00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:12,322
or what it is you're producing.

272
00:14:12,677 --> 00:14:14,586
It doesn't just feel effective.

273
00:14:14,586 --> 00:14:14,640
It.

274
00:14:15,018 --> 00:14:16,927
It actually is more effective.

275
00:14:17,090 --> 00:14:20,581
And if this deep dive into neuroscience
of focusing is blowing your mind right

276
00:14:20,581 --> 00:14:23,936
now and hopefully it's blowing your
mind, even as my tongue is tripping

277
00:14:23,936 --> 00:14:26,990
over some of these words I've practiced
a few times, sorry about this.

278
00:14:27,045 --> 00:14:30,209
You need to get on the Unleash
Your Success DNA newsletter.

279
00:14:30,236 --> 00:14:34,163
'cause this is exactly the kind of
science bat contrarian insight that

280
00:14:34,163 --> 00:14:37,681
I share every week with inspiring
entrepreneurs and nine to five escapees

281
00:14:37,681 --> 00:14:41,936
and everyone out there who's just
refused to accept surface level.

282
00:14:41,995 --> 00:14:43,195
Productivity advice.

283
00:14:43,304 --> 00:14:46,850
Each issue delivers more mindset
shifts and more habit upgrades.

284
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:51,486
Again, with more doses of rebellious
thinking to help you build not just

285
00:14:51,486 --> 00:14:55,004
a life, but maybe even a business
aligned with your version of success.

286
00:14:55,195 --> 00:14:59,913
No fluff, no recycled tips, just truths
about how your brain and everything

287
00:14:59,913 --> 00:15:03,868
else actually works, and how to use
that knowledge to your advantage.

288
00:15:03,872 --> 00:15:04,009
Okay.

289
00:15:04,477 --> 00:15:07,313
So let's back up for a moment
here and ask the question.

290
00:15:07,504 --> 00:15:09,113
Okay, so what, Tracy?

291
00:15:09,140 --> 00:15:12,549
Okay, so here's why this matters
beyond just getting shit done.

292
00:15:13,281 --> 00:15:18,763
We're living in an intention economy where
your ability to focus deeply is literally

293
00:15:18,954 --> 00:15:20,536
becoming your competitive advantage.

294
00:15:20,563 --> 00:15:24,518
So many things in our life are
just yanking our focus away.

295
00:15:24,790 --> 00:15:30,599
So massaging and enabling that ability
to focus is going to be your competitive

296
00:15:30,599 --> 00:15:33,927
advantage out there in everything
in life, while everyone else is.

297
00:15:34,004 --> 00:15:37,795
Fragmenting their attention across
notifications across social media

298
00:15:38,013 --> 00:15:40,631
and across constant task switching.

299
00:15:40,877 --> 00:15:41,749
Yeah, multitasking.

300
00:15:41,749 --> 00:15:43,168
I need to do a whole episode about that.

301
00:15:43,222 --> 00:15:48,868
Understanding this level of neuroscience
of focus can give you a superpower, man.

302
00:15:48,868 --> 00:15:51,759
You could just feel the cape coming
off of your shoulders right now.

303
00:15:51,759 --> 00:15:55,331
The bigger paradigm here is that
most productivity advice treat

304
00:15:55,331 --> 00:15:57,377
your brain like a computer.

305
00:15:57,377 --> 00:15:59,899
That should just work harder
when you tell it to right.

306
00:16:00,377 --> 00:16:03,731
Yeah, well, that's not what it is
because your brain is a biological

307
00:16:03,731 --> 00:16:08,586
system with predictable patterns
of energy, attention, and recovery.

308
00:16:08,886 --> 00:16:13,549
Just like your body, when you align
your work habits with your neurobiology,

309
00:16:13,549 --> 00:16:17,777
instead of freaking fighting against
it, you don't just get more productive.

310
00:16:18,013 --> 00:16:21,859
You get more creative, you get
more innovative, and you get more

311
00:16:21,859 --> 00:16:26,604
capable of deep work that actually
will move the needle towards

312
00:16:26,604 --> 00:16:27,995
the success you're looking for.

313
00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:31,349
This is about more than time
management or creativity, I think.

314
00:16:31,668 --> 00:16:34,749
I think it's more about
cognitive sovereignty, right?

315
00:16:34,804 --> 00:16:38,949
You are taking control of your mental
resources instead of just letting them be

316
00:16:38,949 --> 00:16:45,031
hijacked by a world designed, literally
designed to fragment your attention.

317
00:16:45,113 --> 00:16:48,440
Your brain isn't broken when it
can't focus for hours straight.

318
00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:48,495
No.

319
00:16:48,631 --> 00:16:52,968
Please understand that it's working
exactly as it's designed to.

320
00:16:53,213 --> 00:16:56,240
The problem is not your
willpower, it's your strategy.

321
00:16:56,527 --> 00:16:58,818
So here's your whisker
wisdom for this episode.

322
00:16:59,345 --> 00:17:03,245
Tomorrow, try one scientifically
informed Pomo Duro cycle.

323
00:17:03,381 --> 00:17:06,109
Set a physical timer for 25 minutes.

324
00:17:06,300 --> 00:17:09,027
Choose one task when that timer dings.

325
00:17:09,027 --> 00:17:12,081
At the end of it, take a
real five minute break.

326
00:17:12,354 --> 00:17:13,854
No phone, no email.

327
00:17:13,990 --> 00:17:15,599
Just active rest.

328
00:17:15,818 --> 00:17:18,295
Pay attention to what you
notice about your energy.

329
00:17:18,804 --> 00:17:24,040
About your focus and about your motivation
compared to your usual work pattern.

330
00:17:24,368 --> 00:17:27,177
You're not just testing a a
productivity technique here.

331
00:17:27,177 --> 00:17:27,504
No, no.

332
00:17:27,777 --> 00:17:32,359
You are conducting a neuroscience
experiment on yourself and the results.

333
00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:33,240
I'm willing to bet.

334
00:17:33,772 --> 00:17:37,154
Will change how you think about
your brain's capabilities.

335
00:17:37,181 --> 00:17:41,927
Listen, Francisco Cillo didn't set
out to reverse engineer the human

336
00:17:41,927 --> 00:17:46,372
brain when he grabbed a tomato
shaped timer back in the 1980s.

337
00:17:46,563 --> 00:17:51,281
He was just a frustrated college student
trying to focus for 10 freaking minutes.

338
00:17:51,845 --> 00:17:56,045
What he accidentally discovered was
a method that aligns with how your

339
00:17:56,045 --> 00:18:01,363
prefrontal cortex metabolizes glucose,
how your dopamine system responds to

340
00:18:01,363 --> 00:18:06,409
defined goals and how your synapses
physically consolidate learning through

341
00:18:06,409 --> 00:18:08,945
cycles of activation and recovery.

342
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:10,290
The science is clear.

343
00:18:10,509 --> 00:18:15,336
Your brain has rhythms, and when you
work within those rhythms instead

344
00:18:15,336 --> 00:18:17,354
of against them, everything changes.

345
00:18:17,518 --> 00:18:21,881
Not just your productivity, but your
relationship with the work itself.

346
00:18:22,427 --> 00:18:26,300
You need to stop fighting your
biology and start leveraging it.

347
00:18:26,572 --> 00:18:29,136
Your attention is your
most valuable resource.

348
00:18:29,354 --> 00:18:31,427
It's time you start treating it like one.

349
00:18:31,672 --> 00:18:33,213
Think successfully and take action.