Some Elements of Smart Brain Productivity

i) Focus

(remember concentration, energy, attention, etc are finite or scarce resources; like time, they need to be managed:

“…Being ‘always on’ therefore narrows our focus. We become blinkered, unable to see alternative perspectives or novel ideas. We work harder, but not necessarily better……Research on ultradian rhythms show that performance peaks in cycles …”

Michelle Gibbings, 2025e

Prioritise your important, critical, urgent work for high energy-periods, and more mundane work, such as administration, for low-energy periods.

Be careful of multitasking as it is essentially fast task-switching; it can degrade your performance.

There are times when speed is important like in a crisis, but overall slowing down yields better results:

“…Strategic reflection sessions, walking meetings, or even quiet time before decisions can surface insights that rushed discussions overlook. It is wise to operate with a variable cadence, where you sprint where execution demands it and cruise for reflection and synthesis…”

Michelle Gibbings, 2025e

NB As sleep is the ultimate brain rest, be sure to support sleep hygiene: get good quality and adequate quantity of daily sleep.

“…Chronic sleep restriction erodes working memory, emotional regulation, risk judgements, amplifying bias and error..”

Michelle Gibbings, 2025e

(for more details, see elsewhere in the Knowledge Base))

ii) Codify

(set clear team operating principles, including meeting practices, focused work blocks and notification norms. Make team norms explicit and agree on how progress will be measured. Focus on outcomes rather than activities; eg., problem-solving quality, decision accuracy, rework rates, customer resolution times, and tested innovation output. These outcome-based measures reflect the team’s cognitive capacity, which depends heavily on how well their brains are rested.)

iii) Reinforce

(celebrate outcomes; normalise reflection and rest so that people are more willing to dissent, share risk, innovate, etc so that performance improves; measure what matters.)