Long fascinated with Montessori Education over here (and all things early childhood), and I was recently lucky to train the entire team over at City Garden Montessori School in St. Louis. We got to talking about adding Buffer Time (aka strategic breaks) into our days, and the chat started popping with the term “false fatigue.” This rung a slight bell with me, and Katie K was able to remind me about the term and meaning.
Katie explained, “In our Montessori environments, we have a three-hour morning work cycle. After the children arrive, they begin work at 8:30 in the morning. But an interesting phenomenon happens around 10:00 or 10:30am…children begin to wander, the volume increases, and they seem to have trouble making choices or concentrating. Once redirected and recentered, children then return to their work with renewed vigor and focus.”
Aha! Sound familiar to anyone? Me too!
Katie then went on to make the connection to adult behavior:
“I’ve noticed that adults are rather similar. While many of us begin our work in the mornings with a calendar check and starting in to our list of tasks, we too have a ‘false fatigue’ that can manifest in different ways. This might look like jumping from task to task, falling into distractions or chit chat with our coworkers, and a variety of other seemingly disconnected behaviors. But in reality, our brains have just done a heavy cognitive load or work – it’s natural for us to need a break, too! Once we allow ourselves the grace and space to take a break, we are better able to return to our work with renewed focus and vigor – often, we spot something we overlooked earlier in the day or we are better able to collaborate with others.”
So, what can we learn from this? For me, especially because I try to do my heavier cognitive work (professional learning design, writing, etc.) in the mornings, I can feel that “false fatigue” setting in at right about the cadence Katie describes.
- Know when your false fatigue often sets in, and make a plan for that time to take a real break. This is similar to Pomodoro breaks. If you are not sure when it sets in, try and track it using a quick tracker that notes time of day and energy levels.
- Give yourself “grace and space” as Katie wisely says. Recognize that you need the break and enjoy the colleague chat or other distraction. Remember, this is not actual physical exhaustion; your brain is just tired. You’ll be better able to get back to work if you give yourself a true break.
- Leave a “pick up point” so you can re-enter the work after a break. I often leave a juicy sentence hanging, so I can jump right back into the writing.
- Resist the urge to remain in false fatigue mode all day. Maybe you slide in, recognize it, and then regroup. A day is always salvageable!
How about you? Does False Fatigue strike you? What do you do to honor your need for a break and then to regroup?
