🥁 Let’s Talk About Your Ultradian Rhythms

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This week: You’ve heard of circadian rhythms, but what about ultradian rhythms?

Let’s run through how these natural cycles impact your productivity — and how to use them to your advantage!

🤔 What’s an Ultradian Rhythm?

An ultradian rhythm is a biological cycle that repeats several times in a day.

These patterns regulate everything from your appetite to your body temperature.

Ultradian rhythms also affect your productivity levels and ability to focus for an extended period.

🕵️ How it Affects Your Productivity Patterns

Your body’s natural ultradian rhythm for focusing lasts about 2 hours across 5 phases. Let’s take a closer look at each one!

Your body’s natural ultradian rhythm for focusing lasts about 2 hours across 5 phases. Let’s take a closer look at each one!

🎢 Phase 1: Ramping Up

You’ve started your task. You might be struggling to settle, or feeling locked in right away.

As you work, your brain is using up its fuel: oxygen and glucose. This intense activity generates byproducts (aka “cellular waste”) that can slow you down.

🏔️ Phase 2: Ultradian Peak

At about 90 minutes in, you’re going strong — but you’ve also used a lot of fuel and built up mental debris.

🚠 Phase 3: Going Down

Between 90 minutes and 2 hours, your focus and energy levels start to fall, and you’re more easily distracted.

😪 Phase 4: Ultradian Trough

After 2 hours without stopping, you’re really feeling the burnout. You may feel grouchy or unable to focus. Caffeine cravings also tend to hit around this phase.

This is your body’s way of telling you to take a break as soon as you can.

⚡ Phase 5: Recovery

Time for a break! (And a healthy snack to replenish your focus reserves.)

Meanwhile, your brain is clearing away the debris and filing away all the important info from the last 2 hours.

After about 20 minutes of downtime, you’re ready to restart the cycle!

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Now, let’s dive into tips for following your ultradian rhythms for productivity.

🚨 Consequences of Skipping Breaks

What happens if you skip the recovery phase and keep working after hitting your low point?

You may be able to retain some focus — but you’re also more likely to:

• Get distracted easily

• Feel irritated or fatigued

• Complete fewer tasks than you planned

• Perform worse on the tasks you do finish

• Give in to bad habits and unhealthy cravings

🎯 How to Follow Ultradian Rhythms for Peak Productivity

Now that you’re up to speed on ultradian rhythms, here’s how to follow them for next-level focus!

👁️ Start noticing

The first step is observing your rhythms. Every 30 minutes or so, check in with yourself to see how you’re feeling.

If you think you need a break, take one!

⏱️ Set a timer or stopwatch

One reason the Pomodoro technique is so effective is because it works with your body’s ultradian rhythms.

Use a Pomodoro timer app (like Flocus!) to keep tabs on the time and follow your rhythms more closely.

🏈 Make a gameplan

When writing down your to-dos, don’t just say what you’ll do — say when you’ll do it.

If specific times are too restrictive, try a simple numbered list instead. Dump all your tasks into a list, then go back and number them in the order you plan to complete them. Do this digitally or with pencil so you can easily re-order as needed!

💆‍♀️ Honor your unique rhythms

Everyone’s rhythms are different. Some people thrive with longer work sessions, while others need more frequent breaks to maintain peak productivity.

Whatever your rhythm looks like, make time to fuel up with healthy snacks and lots of water!

🪅 Flocus Picks

A curated list of things worth sharing.

• 26 Ways to Spend Your Breaks (Article) — Stumped on how to spend your breaks? We’ve rounded up some ideas on the blog!

• lofi garden (Playlist) — Zone in or zen out with this Spotify playlist, combining mellow lofi beats with sounds of nature.

• Best Foods for a Healthy Brain (Article) — This Healthline article breaks down the best foods for boosting your brainpower.

🖥️ Check out Flocus, our free, browser-based dashboard, for more tools to help you follow your ultradian rhythms! Featuring a custom Pomodoro timer, ambient sounds, aesthetic backgrounds, and more.

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Ultradian rhythms keep your brain and body functioning at their best. By honoring your natural productivity cycles, you can unlock peak focus and efficiency!

Until next Sunday,
Flocus Team