Focus Session

Now I know it has been discussed in here, but I cannot find it. I group my day into focus sessions for 1:45 hour, then I take a break. My question: what is the optimum focus time? Is 1:45 even in the ballpark?
 
I don't know. Some data I can provide:

1. I had a conversation with a teacher recently, he told me the optimal time for a class would be around 35 min.

2. The european law for work in front of a computer screen is 5 minutes break (from starring a the screen) in each hour. This is based on (in the field) famous extensive swedish studies. So you get a 5 min break after 55 min starring at the screen to protect your eyes and to prevent backpain of all sorts.

3. I personally found out I am good for about 4 hours if working this way. Three hours is my personal optimum.

4. On his blog Steve Pavlina wrote he would schedule his work into 2 hours chunks because he is most productive that way.

5. There are nightowls and early risers, your biorythm should be part of the equation.
 
When I was in grad school, I got in the habit of taking a break every 45-75 minutes. That's about the length of one CD, so I had to get up to swap in a new one.

Now all my music is in iTunes, but I still find it helpful to make a clear change in the playlist every hour or so as a reminder to get up and move around.

I also have an ergonomic reminder on my computer set to take a break every hour. If I'm doing heavy reading or other focused but somewhat tedious work, I switch to a different type of task at the break. If I'm writing or editing, I take a somewhat longer break, but usually stay on the same task for up to 3-4 hours.

Katherine
 
Tony Buzan (the inventor of mind maps) says 40 minutes is the optimal amount of time to spend concentrating on something.
 
Dr. Pimsleur, based on extensive research, set up his language courses to be 1/2 hour a session. I think the length of focus time that's optimal depends on both the person and what they're working on.
 
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