Reframing limbic friction: How to deal with strain during focused work

There's one thing that all of us face when tackling focused, "deep" work: a feeling of strain – especially during the first 10 to 15 minutes of a bout. If you want to improve your ability to focus deeply, understanding and dealing with that feeling is key. 

Your brain evolved to save mental energy whenever feasible. So it tries to hand over as much work as possible to your reflexes. That's why collaborative work – like checking e-mail or group chat – often is like candy for your limbic system. Working in a reflexive, bottom-up way is easy, just as reaching for that cookie on your desk.

Focusing intensely on a challenging task requires top-down control. Your prefrontal cortex goes to war with your limbic system, which consumes a lot of mental energy. Like staying away from that cookie, working in a reflective, top-down way feels hard.

Andrew Huberman of Stanford University has come up with an excellent term for that phenomenon: limbic friction. The strain you feel during limbic friction is caused by the release of a chemical in the brain called norepinephrine. In the body, that chemical goes by a name that all of us know: adrenaline. 

On top of norepinephrine, which makes you alert, your brain then releases a second chemical: acetylcholine. Acetylcholine enables you to focus deeply. In short, norepinephrine and acetylcholine are necessary for our brain to focus. So, limbic friction is not an annoying byproduct, but the precondition to making progress on challenging focused work.

In terms of mastering focus, reframing that feeling of strain is critical. When you encounter limbic friction, do three things: First, remind yourself that it is a sign of your brain getting ready to solve the problem at hand. Second, remember that you need to give it at least 10 to 15 minutes to get going. Third, note that how you deal with limbic friction is self-reinforcing: Following through will make it easier to perform that feat the next time you are trying to focus deeply.

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Until next week,
Christian