I’ll admit something right away, I’ve never been someone who can sit and focus for hours on end without feeling restless or drained. For a long time, I thought that meant there was something wrong with me. In school, I’d look around and notice classmates who could read, study, or work for what felt like endless stretches of time. Meanwhile, my mind would wander after ten minutes, and I’d feel guilty about needing to get up and walk around. It took me years to realize that struggling to sustain focus for long stretches doesn’t mean you’re broken or incapable. It simply means your brain works differently. And instead of fighting against that truth, I’ve learned to work with it. I am still learning to work with it. One of the most effective tools I’ve discovered along the way is something called micro-breaks.
What the heck are these micro-breaks you may be asking? Micro-breaks are fortunately exactly what they sound like, tiny pauses built into your day to give your mind and body a chance to reset. Unlike long coffee breaks or hour-long lunches, these are short, intentional pauses that might last anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes. They can be as simple as standing up to stretch your legs, back, or arms. It can be something simple like looking out the window and focusing on something in the distance in nature. One of my personal favorites is taking a few deep, intentional breaths or using a form or grounding technique in order to calm myself down. Or maybe you don’t have the space to move or you’re not into the breathing exercises, that is totally fine! Other things like taking a minute to get a drink of water or walking around your desk or down the hallway of wherever you are can be just as beneficial.
I’ll admit, at first these things may seem insignificant. Because I have also asked myself how much difference can a 90-second pause really make? But in my experience, those small resets add up to something powerful the more you do them and the more you train your mind to react to them. It gives me better focus, lower stress, and a sense of actually sustaining energy throughout the day instead of crashing halfway through like I used to.
One thing I’ve noticed in myself, and I see it in many of my clients too, is that attention span isn’t about willpower. We often believe that if we can’t stay glued to a task for long stretches, it’s because we’re lazy or not disciplined enough. But the truth is, our brains weren’t designed to focus endlessly and that not all brains were designed the same way. Research suggests that the average person’s attention span naturally ebbs and flows in cycles. After about 20 to 40 minutes of concentrated effort, mental fatigue starts to creep in. That’s not a personal failing; it’s just biology. And if you happen to have ADHD or a learning style that thrives on stimulation and variety, sustaining focus may feel even harder.
Here’s what I have found and believe the key to be, struggling to focus doesn’t mean you’re incapable or defective. It means you may need to approach productivity differently. That’s where micro-breaks come in to play as they allow you to honor the natural rhythms of your brain rather than pushing against them thinking you can just make them change and go against the way your brain has always worked.
For me, I was the kid who was always getting distracted by anything that would pass by or catch my eye. My nickname throughout my childhood was ‘space grace’ because I could not stay on task to save my life. This honestly really affected me mentally to where I didn’t know what was wrong with me and from there it seeped into my athletics, school work, and every day life. It took me pretty much all of high school to understand the way my brain worked, and because of this I was able to get through my college career with a 3.85 GPA. When I first started hearing about and started to try to incorporate micro-breaks, I worried they would slow me down. I thought, “If I stop working every 20 minutes, won’t I just get less done?” However, the opposite turned out to be true. Instead of slogging through an afternoon in a haze, I’d take a quick pause every so often to do something else not related to whatever task that was at hand, and when I came back, I could actually think clearly again. Tasks that normally felt overwhelming seemed more manageable. I was less irritable, and I didn’t feel that end-of-day crash that used to leave me exhausted and frustrated with myself.
I also noticed that my creativity improved. Sometimes stepping away for just a minute or two gave my brain the space it needed to make new connections. That’s often when solutions to problems I’d been stuck on would suddenly pop into my head.
If you’re curious about trying micro-breaks for yourself, here are a few tips I’ve found helpful and that seem to be the easiest to pick up and keep into your everyday routine if needed:
1. Set a timer or reminder: It’s easy to forget to pause when you’re in the middle of something, so I sometimes use a timer to remind me every 30–45 minutes if I know I am going to be doing a long study session or putting my attention on something for longer.
2. Keep them short and intentional: A micro-break doesn’t need to derail your workflow. Even a 60-second pause to stretch your shoulders can reset your focus.
3. Move your body: Physical shifts help your brain register the break. Stand, walk, stretch, or change your environment, even if it is briefly.
4. Give your eyes a rest: If you’re staring at a screen, look away at something across the room or outside to reduce strain. Sometimes even blue light glasses can be helpful to have for this.
5. Experiment with what works for you: News flash guys, everyone is different! Some people love quick deep-breathing exercises, while others prefer grabbing a glass of water or stepping outside for fresh air. Figure out what is effective for you and stick to it!
Here’s what I hope you take away: needing breaks doesn’t mean you’re weak or incapable. It doesn’t mean you’re falling behind, and it certainly doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. It simply means your brain has a rhythm and when you learn to respect that rhythm, everything becomes easier. Micro-breaks are not a sign of weakness. They’re a tool for resilience. They’re a way of saying, “I value my focus enough to protect it.” And when you give yourself permission to take those small pauses, you may find, like I did, that you’re able to get more done, feel less stressed, and actually enjoy the process a little more.