Have you ever dragged yourself through the last lesson of the day, barely able to keep your eyes open - and it’s maths?
I remember sitting in a double maths class on Friday afternoons. It wasn’t just unproductive; it was a disaster. Tired, bored, and counting down the minutes, we accomplished next to nothing.
Why did those lessons feel so impossible?
It turns out the answer lies in how our brains work. In her brilliant book, How to Have a Good Day, Caroline Webb explains that our productivity crashes for two reasons: decision fatigue and lack of downtime.
This isn’t just a theory. There’s fascinating research that shows why breaks, reflection, and timing can make or break our ability to learn, perform, and succeed—whether in school, work, or life. Let’s dive in. The Evidence
My class full of the undead on Friday afternoons in double-maths is not quite going to cut it. We need more evidence. Webb cites some research that serves just this purpose: A. A study of 1000 parole decisions by judges in Tel Aviv found that if you appeared in front of the judge early in the period, when the judge was as fresh as a dasiy, you had a 65% chance of getting parole. If you appeared near the end of period or session, your chances were close to 0%. Burnt-out judges are HARSH!
B. At the University of Pennsylvania, a study of hospital workers found that long hours without a break saw an increase in failing to follow basic safety and hygiene protocols like washing hands, wearing masks, not licking the windows (no, sorry, just my dog) etc...
C. Harvard University neuroscientist Saber Sami stuck people inside MRI machines (they volunteered) and measured brain activity while clicking buttons on a keypad to match images they were shown. They naturally improved over the 6 HOURS they spent inside the MRI, but researchers noticed that during rest periods, the connections in their brains became STRONGER even while not doing anything except thinking about cheese sandwiches.
D. Harvard Business School found that when asking volunteers to add up numbers with two decimal places to make a total of 10, those people who spent a few seconds reflecting after each task on what worked and what didn't, improved at a far quicker rate than those who just blazed ahead without pause. In a subsequent study, the same researchers found that volunteers did 23% better on a test when they took 15 minutes each day to review and reflect on what they had learned that day and how they might improve. Time to stroke your beard and reflect for 15 minutes.
E. Florida State psychologist K. Anders Ericsson found that world-class athletes, chess players, and musicians worked most effectively in 90 minute blocks with breaks in between. Ah ha!
How can this help you?
Make important decisions and do the hard stuff when you're fresh and full of beans. Do the most difficult things earlier in a block and not at the end.
Be sure schedule a break between activities. When you finish one thing and start another, you NEED a break to be at your best.
Reflect at the end of a task and at the end of the day on what you did and how you could do it better.
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