The following thought model is recommended

Let’s take the example of a flashlight.

Each flashlight has a rechargeable battery with a certain amount of energy. The selected brightness levels low, medium or bright have an influence on the energy consumption of the battery.

Understanding concentration simply – standard battery

Depending on how long (duration) and at which brightness level (intensity) the flashlight is lit, the battery is used to varying degrees. If the battery is low, the highest brightness level should not be selected. If you do, you will soon find yourself with a flat battery. The required charging time of the battery is then correspondingly long.

Understanding concentration simply – mental battery

Let’s move on to concentration. Concentration also requires mental energy. The measure of “mental energy” is called alertness or attention. We can direct or focus our attention on a task. Attention is used to varying degrees depending on how long (duration) and how tense or strained (intensity) we concentrate on a task.

When we gain an overview of the tasks at hand, we are merely orienting our attention. Aligning or orienting is the preliminary stage to further processing. No task is processed at this point. Only when we start working on a task do we have to perform and expend more mental energy.

The difficulty of the task determines how hard we have to work mentally and how much energy we use in the process. This is where we start talking about concentration. For easier tasks, it is sufficient to tense your concentration. More effort is required for difficult tasks. We have to make an effort to concentrate. If we concentrate hard for a long time or even continuously, i.e. without breaks, the charge level of the mental battery decreases more quickly. An empty “mental battery” means a lack of concentration.

Understanding mental burnout simply

What does mental burnout mean? Mental burnout is related to an empty “mental battery”. However, unlike a flashlight whose battery is empty, we do not run out of “light”. A lack of concentration is noticeable in the typical PIRKA early warning signs of a lack of concentration. It is very difficult to continue to concentrate. More and more time is needed to complete tasks. More careless mistakes occur, which are only recognized with a delay. We feel mentally exhausted and, due to the noticeable concentration restrictions, we call ourselves to order more and more often: “Pull yourself together now … Make an effort … There’s still time!”. This state of mental exhaustion can last for weeks and months. How is this state maintained? See also PIRKA® observe, name and evaluate burnout.

Simple examples help to better understand decreasing and lacking concentration and the consequences of mental burnout.

Mental burnout is maintained by not allowing the necessary recovery time. For various reasons, people do not wait until their mental battery is fully recharged. In most cases, there is a considerable amount of work and a corresponding deadline pressure at the workplace. As soon as we realize after a break that we can concentrate again, i.e. that we have mental energy, we continue working quickly. The following problem arises: It is noticeable that energy is present. But there is no indication of how much! The usually small amount of energy is quickly used up again due to the mental effort. A vicious circle!

Charging time of a flashlight.

The charging time of a flashlight is always the same after a complete discharge.

Charging time mental battery.

The longer we try to continue working despite a lack of concentration, the longer it takes to recharge our mental battery. Here is an example: If you continue to work for 200 minutes despite early warning signs of a lack of concentration, it takes around 110 minutes to recharge your mental battery. Nobody has that much time at work.

The PIRKA offer

With early warning signs of decreasing concentration and early warning signs of lack of concentration, PIRKA offers the opportunity to individually assess the current “charge level of the mental battery”.

With the help of the exhaustionE, PIRKA also offers orientation “loading times” that make it possible to assign the length of the required recovery time to the corresponding early warning signs of decreasing and lacking concentration.

The exhaustionE 50/10 and 25/5 protocol offers you a scientifically based and tried-and-tested procedure for monitoring and documenting the “state of charge of your mental battery” and thus contributing to maintaining your personal ability to concentrate throughout the day.

You can also use

PIRKA® Early warning signs of decreasing concentration
PIRKA® Early warning signs of lack of concentration
PIRKA® Active reliefs that support our ability to concentrate
PIRKA® Noticing work disturbances
PIRKA® exhaustionE – Protocol 50-10 and 25-5
PIRKA® Hunger and ability to concentrate
PIRKA® observe, name and evaluate burnout

© 2024 PIRKA® Wolfgang Smidt. The content provided on this website is protected by copyright. Any use requires the prior written consent of the author. The information and advice provided has been compiled to the best of our knowledge and carefully checked. However, it is no substitute for expert psychological and medical advice in individual cases.

Try it out!

PIRKA wishes you every success with the application.

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