Early warning signs of lack of concentration

Early warning signs of a lack of concentration are normal signs of exhaustion as a result of mental effort. With a little practice, the early warning signs can be observed and named in everyday life.

Early warning sign EWS No. 1 and early warning sign EWS No. 2 of decreasing concentration are noticeable first. Early warning signs of lack of concentration follow.

•  Thinking is slowed down and no longer effective.
• Problems remembering things or recalling knowledge.
• Feeling of emptiness in the head.
• Difficulties finding words.
• Attention blocks lasting 2 – 4 seconds.
• Thought processes must be started repeatedly.
• Difficulties in making a decision.
• Noticeable fatigue after mental effort.

Important note

Organic diseases with similar early warning signs must be ruled out by the doctor.

Early warning signs are not the result of the effects of medication, alcohol or drugs.

If you react to EWZ 1 and EWS 2 in good time, you will save yourself EWSs due to lack of concentration!

Please note the exhaustionE to restore the ability to concentrate.

After the early warning signs appear, you should take a break, the duration of which is based on the individual early warning signs EWS 1 and EWS 2. Anyone who continues to work beyond EWS 2 despite having difficulty concentrating must make more and more effort to remain focused and therefore concentrated. This mental effort results in

1. that our thinking is increasingly slowing down. This can be seen in the early warning signs of a lack of concentration.
2. that the break requirement increases continuously beyond EWS 2. For this reason, the time (t) beyond EWS 2 must be measured with a TIMER and the break requirement calculated individually with 10+(t ÷ 2).

PIRKA suggests relaxONnaming^® during the pause, relaxONnaming^® the surroundings and relaxONnaming^® colours as a time-out.

*(t) corresponds to the time from which work continues beyond EWS 2, i.e. despite difficulties in concentrating. Measure the time (t) with a TIMER and calculate 10+(t ÷ 2), as the need for breaks beyond EWS 2 increases steadily over time! Example: If work is continued for 100 minutes beyond EWS 2 despite existing concentration problems, the recovery time is calculated as follows: 10+(t ÷ 2) with 10+(100 ÷ 2) = 60 min. Such a long recovery time is not feasible in everyday working life! To avoid long recovery times, you should react promptly to EWS 1 and EWS 2.

Use the 50/10 and 25/5 exhaustionE protocol to document, assess and support your ability to concentrate in everyday life.

In the following examples, it should be noted that, in contrast to EWS of decreasing concentration, EWS of missing concentration varies from person to person and can occur at different times. To calculate the break length 10+(t ÷ 2), the only decisive factor is how long work continues from EWS 2.

He had noticed EWS 2’s difficulty in concentrating. But the assignment still had to go out today! He decided to carry on working despite EWS 2, partly because he was used to it and partly out of curiosity as to whether the early warning signs of lack of concentration described above would really occur. He kept the TIMER on his cell phone running. After 50 minutes in the lack of concentration zone, for example, he noticed that his thinking was slowing down and becoming sluggish and started doing the math. 10+(50÷2) resulted in a necessary break of approx. 35 minutes. Where would he find the time? He had no choice but to continue working with a lack of concentration.

Many people feel compelled to continue working, with the result that work can only be completed slowly due to a lack of concentration and careless mistakes increasingly occur.

Concentration is like a rechargeable battery. The later we react to early warning signs of decreasing and lacking concentration, the longer the necessary charging time (the need for a break). Once the battery is “empty”, which in humans does not lead to “switching off”, we also have the problem of extended charging time. The longer we continue to work, the longer this becomes. Then we very often make another mistake. The long “loading time” (break), if it is taken, makes us nervous because the work stops. When we feel better again and the “first bar of the battery indicator flashes”, we usually think as follows: Now we can do something again. So much has been left undone. It’s best to get going again quickly. Our mental battery is then quickly drained again and we are once again confronted with a longer break, which is not possible at work; a vicious circle called burnout.

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

PIRKA® Noticing work disturbances
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
PIRKA® Understanding concentration problems and mental burnout
PIRKA® Early warning signs of decreasing concentration
PIRKA® Early warning signs of lack of concentration

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