The Secret Of Cognitive Gears, A Novel Approach To Unlocking Sustainable Performance In The Workplace By James Hewitt
The world’s most successful companies are laser-focused on finding solutions for enhancing efficiency and productivity. However, even senior executives struggle to understand what workers need to sustain high performance without burning out in the process. For example, despite 80% of executives saying wellbeing was their top priority, 89% of workers reported work life is getting worse. So, what’s the solution for unlocking human potential without jeopardizing the balance between work and rest that all humans need? Human performance scientist, keynote speaker, and consultant James Hewitt says science provides answers.
Hewitts’ boutique advisory firm combines findings from cutting-edge academic literature, in-house research featuring data from some of the world's highest-performing companies, and frameworks based on work with top endurance athletes to uncover his client's leading drivers and inhibitors to sustainable performance. He’s provided these keys to success to some of the most demanding and high-performing companies, from Fortune 500 financial institutions to leading start-ups, technology companies and beyond.
Across industries, many workers are struggling. 22% of employees are burnt out at the average organization. The cause? After reviewing the evidence, James’ firm has concluded that an ‘always-on’ culture is a likely suspect. While our smartphones and laptops have facilitated greater flexibility in working locations, improved communication and enhanced productivity, the ability to work anywhere, anytime, has blurred boundaries between work and home life. Consequently, many workers find that they work longer, faster and more intensely.
Data from 31 countries reveals that workday length has increased by over 13%, and after-hours work rose by 28% during the last two years. Analyses of public datasets have discovered that the share of employees reporting that they work at very high speed has increased by 22 percentage points over the last 20 years. The proportion of employees who strongly agree that their job requires that they work very hard also increased by 16 percentage points during the same period. For over 15 years, Hewitt has been exploring how to address these challenges of overwork and ‘under-rest’. The answer can be found in a surprising location.
Studies of the world’s best endurance athletes indicate they ‘polarize’ their training, working at sustainable intensities for long periods or in high-intensity bursts while minimizing time at moderate intensities. This way, they maximize their adaptation to training while reducing fatigue. Hewitt has translated this principle to the workplace through a framework he describes as ‘Cognitive Gears’, enabling workers to increase productivity, improve recovery and reduce unhelpful stress levels.
The framework presents three cognitive gears, each representing a type of work to be completed:
- Low Gear: Rest, recovery, creative ideation, and consolidation.
- Middle Gear: Interaction, multi-tasking, and meetings.
- High Gear: Applying concentrated effort, attention, and focus.
James’ firm works with individuals and teams to organise their days in relation to each cognitive gear. The initial challenge is that most workers spend too much time in cognitive middle gear. For instance, about 42% of people multitask during meetings, and 84% always keep their inbox open in the background. Seventy per cent of new emails are opened six seconds after receiving them. It then takes 23 minutes for an employee to get back up to speed on their original task following these interruptions. According to Hewitt, workers exist in a state of “constant partial attention”. Consequently, the first step is often to reduce Middle Gear time. This could include eliminating unnecessary calendar items and developing focus skills to improve meeting quality. Data indicate that this approach can reduce time spent in meetings by 21%.
Reducing middle-gear work frees time for more focused, high-cognitive gear efforts. However, it’s critical to protect focus during this time. Smartphone owners interact with their phones an average of 85 times a day. The mere presence of a device can reduce cognitive performance by 10% and drastically reduce productivity. Hewitt advises clients to hide their phones and use the Pomodoro technique to concentrate in 25-minute bursts, interspersed with 5-minute ‘low cognitive gear’ recovery periods. Hewitt often reminds his clients that “idle time is not a waste of time”. For example, even a short walk outdoors can double your creativity and improve the likelihood of producing a novel, high-quality idea. And don’t forget sleep. Sleeping 6 hours per night for two weeks can impair cognitive performance equivalent to going an entire night without sleep. However, we often don’t notice the effect, as this reduced performance becomes the ‘new normal’.
James has delivered science-based workshops, keynote speeches, and consulting for some of the most demanding companies across the world. His main takeaway is that many employees have fallen into an addictive trap that confuses busyness with productivity. “The Cognitive Gears framework provides shared vocabulary, helping employees to share their problems, identify solutions and regain a sense of control, unlocking positive spirals in many aspects of life and work”, says Hewitt. “It’s common to see people take back control of their calendar and find that they have more time for sleep and better nutrition, which gives them the energy to start exercising again, improving their performance at work, almost as a by-product”. By being clear about where to focus high cognitive gear effort, minimizing middle-gear ‘pseudo work’ and task-switching, and being more disciplined about rest, organizations can build a foundation for sustainable high performance where teams can achieve higher productivity with less stress.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.