That's space video.

Hello, it's Dr. Sahara Yusuf, your guest host for the week.

Welcome to Radio Headspace and to Thursday.

This week is all about how you can use neuroscience to improve your focus.

So you can be more productive and get more out of life.

Today is part one of two episodes where I'll talk about a technique called focus sprints,

which is the best way to get your most important work done in less time with less energy expended.

Now a focus sprint is really the bread and butter of my research work.

It is a method of working.

So how do you do a focus sprint?

The first step is you find and you set aside a block of time in the calendar, ideally in

advance.

Now why is this important?

One, hormonal.

We actually have anticipatory networks in the brain and body so that when you know something

like focus time is coming, the same way if you know a competition, a negotiation, a

big presentation you're about to get on stage, guess what happens in advance of that?

Get the butterflies, don't you?

You start to get adrenaline.

You get cortisol, you get what are called glucocorticoids, your stress hormones in the brain

and in the body, getting secreted, keeping you activated, energized, focused, motivated,

and just overall on, ready to go.

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