Why are bad habits hard to break, and what can I do about it?
Habits form in the basal ganglia and can resist effort - discover substitution strategies that replace old routines with productive ones at work....
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Wellness
Starting to lose focus? Take a well-earned (micro) break
Leaders can sustain performance and make better decisions by managing their cognitive energy as deliberately as they manage their time, writes Alyson Meister.
Rapid read:
- The bottom line: build intentional breaks into your day: step outside, breathe deeply, and spend a moment looking at something green.
- Slow, deep breathing activates the vagus nerve, which helps to regulate cortisol levels, enhance mental clarity, and strengthen resilience to stress.
- Globally, more than a third of workers feel exhausted by the end of the day, while around 20% experience burnout symptoms.
Sound judgement
The higher you climb in an organization, the more your success depends on your ability to make sound judgments, weigh competing priorities, and navigate uncertainty. According to McKinsey research, CEOs spend nearly 40% of their time making decisions, relying heavily on the brain’s prefrontal cortex – the region responsible for planning, focus, impulse control, and critical thinking.
Yet today’s work environment makes clear thinking harder. Constant notifications, back-to-back meetings, information overload, relentless pressure – not to mention our increasing dependence on AI to replace our own judgment – fragment attention and undermine our capacity for deep thought.
Three factors are depleting our most critical business resource: our brains. The first is an, “always on, always available” culture. CEOs average 37 meetings a week and spend nearly three-quarters of their working time in meetings, according to a study by Harvard Business School’s Michael E Porter and Nitin Nohria, often with little time in between to reflect, recover, process information, or even use the bathroom.
This exerts a heavy toll. Globally, more than a third of workers feel exhausted by the end of the day, while around 20% experience burnout symptoms, a McKinsey Health Institute survey found. This leads to brain fog, irritability, and poorer decision-making.
The second factor is constant distraction. Many of us multitask, assuming it makes us more efficient, and we spend 28% of the workday reading and answering emails, according to a McKinsey analysis.
Yet findings by researchers David Meyer, Jeffrey Evans, and Joshua Rubenstein show that multitasking can reduce productivity by up to 40%, while research by Gloria Mark at the University of California Irvine found that we take 23 minutes and 15 seconds on average to fully regain focus after a single interruption. Her work shows that our attention spans are also shrinking, with many of us able to focus for only about 40 seconds at a time.
Just when leaders need sharper judgment and clearer thinking, the forces shaping modern work are steadily weakening
both.
A newer, less visible threat to our cognitive function is emerging alongside these distractions. As AI becomes embedded in daily work, it can be tempting to outsource parts of our thinking to technology.
While AI can enhance productivity, research suggests that repeated reliance on it may carry a cost. A 2025 study by the MIT Media Lab found evidence of, “cognitive debt” – a gradual decline in critical thinking, creativity, and understanding that can occur when people consistently delegate thinking and problem-solving to AI. More concerning, participants who had relied heavily on AI showed reduced cognitive engagement even when later asked to think independently.
Just when leaders need sharper judgment and clearer thinking, the forces shaping modern work are steadily weakening both. The good news is that recovery doesn’t require drastic interventions. Below, I outline some well-being practices that can help you reset, recover, and focus within the working day.
Three principles for staying sharp
- Treat attention as a finite resource: prioritize deep focus, eliminate passive drains, and schedule important decisions for when your brain is at its best.
- Build in periods of, “unfocus,” recognizing that creativity and clarity depend on mental downtime and that even positive stress can reduce cognitive capacity.
- Recover as deliberately as you expend energy, making sleep, microbreaks, and detachment essential practices rather than optional luxuries.
Micro breaks, big impact
When feeling overwhelmed, it can be tempting to power through your to-do list in a perpetual state of motion. But to make better decisions, perform more effectively, and be present for others, it’s vital to learn how to stop.
Even a break of five to 10 minutes can help you reset, recover, and focus. A recent meta-analysis confirms that micro breaks boost well-being: workers who engage in short breaks feel more vigorous and less fatigued. Think of them as brief strategic pauses or rituals as you transition between high-stakes meetings. If you can, step outside. Even 40 seconds of looking at greenery has been shown to reduce mental fatigue.
However, there is an important nuance. Not all micro breaks are created equal. Breaks taken earlier in the day have been shown to contribute to greater recovery later. Take micro breaks before you need them, not after the mental fatigue has already set in.
To get the most out of your micro break, you also need to understand which of your four energy types – cognitive, emotional, physiological, or social – is most depleted, and, crucially, the type of resource you will need for your next task, activity, or meeting.
For example, if you are low on cognitive energy and feeling foggy after a busy few hours taking tough decisions or presenting complex ideas, take a gaze break by looking out of a window to reset visual processing, or do some, “box breathing” to restore your focus.
Even a break of five to 10 minutes can help you reset, recover, and focus.
If you are emotionally depleted and anxious, say, after an intense client negotiation, stand up, shake out tension, and smile intentionally. You might need a, “social vent” with a colleague or perhaps to jot down three things that went well.
To reset your physical energy if feeling sluggish, sip cold water, do a few shoulder rolls, a brief burst of exercise, or take 10 slow and intentional steps. To fill up your social tank when you notice yourself withdrawing from others, leave a quick appreciative message for someone or look at a photo that reminds you of a positive connection. Even just 60 seconds can replenish your energy and set you up for the activity ahead.
Take a deep breath and keep calm
Box breathing is a simple technique that can shift the body from a threat state to a calmer, more focused one. Here’s how to practice:
- Sit upright and breathe deeply to clear your mind.
- Slowly exhale all the air, then inhale through your nose while counting to four.
- Hold your breath for four seconds.
- Exhale through your mouth for four seconds, releasing all air.
- Hold your breath again for four seconds.
Repeat this process for four minutes or until you feel your concentration improve. You can extend the length (e.g., to seven or eight seconds) depending on your needs and practice.
Breathe your way to better decisions
Breathing is something we do without thinking. Yet when done consciously, it plays a crucial role in how we think and feel thanks to its direct link to the nervous system. The balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide also has a measurable impact on cognition, with efficient oxygen delivery to the brain supporting clearer thinking, better judgment, more effective decision-making, and improved emotional regulation.
A pilot study I conducted with my colleague Nele Dael also found that “high-ventilation” breathwork – breathing faster and more deeply than our metabolism requires, just for a few minutes as a microbreak – improved attention.
Slow, deep breathing activates the vagus nerve, which helps to regulate cortisol levels, enhance mental clarity, and strengthen resilience to stress. To calm the body and support recovery, a breathing rate of around five to eight breaths per minute is considered optimal.
While many of these practices can be woven into the workday, it’s equally important to create clear detachment protocols: no-phone periods, defined boundaries, and firm end-of-day cutoffs. Simple shifts, like moving your phone off your bedside table and using an alarm clock, can make a meaningful difference.
Engaging in purposeful hobbies can also sharpen cognitive function over time. And don’t overlook movement: just 20 minutes of exercise can enhance decision-making for up to one or two hours.
The bottom line: build intentional breaks into your day: step outside, breathe deeply, and spend a moment looking at something green. Your brain – and those who depend on your decisions – will thank you.
For more breathing exercises to promote relaxation and improve performance, check out this I by IMD article by Alyson Meister and Susan Goldsworthy.
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