Study or work for hours, losing complete track of time? Say hello to hyperfocus!

Sometimes (or often!) I get absorbed in reading or watching videos about my favourite subject - personal and spiritual development. I can go for hours, lost in a neverending rabbit hole just because I find the subject so so interesting! Barely noticing I haven't had a drink or moved my body as I have been concentrating so hard. Eating up the knowledge with passion.

My son is the same, he'll stay up late at night working on a project. 5 hours at night until the early hours of the morning. Not because he doesn't understand the topic, but because he has such high standards that his work must be perfect - or outstanding! Perfectionism and getting the details right is a thing for our family.

As great as it feels at the time though, unfortunately this kind of obsessive behaviour can result in difficulty getting enough sleep, stiffness, tense neck and shoulders from lack of movement. Poor food choices and not drinking enough water. It also means that our brain can get exhausted very quickly as if it has run an ultramarathon without a break.

Does any of this sound familiar? Do you see this in your children? Or maybe it's you that loves to learn intensely about a favourite subject?

So what strategies do you have in place to prevent this from becoming a long term problem?

The first step is always awareness. When you become aware of a pattern of behaviour you are already one step further than you were. When you become conscious of how something may not always be a healthy option you can come up with strategies to temper your own intensity.

One thing I always do is set alarms so I have an external warning of how much time has passed. I have a "time to stop working" alarm each day. Afterall, when we are dedicating all our attention to one thing, giving some of that precious attention to the time is not very appealing!