Restore before demanding work, not just after

Schedule nature exposure ahead of cognitively demanding tasks.

Why it works

Because directed attention is a depletable resource, starting demanding work already fatigued caps your performance. Restoring beforehand means you enter the task with more of the resource available, which is often more valuable than recovering after the damage is done.

How to do it

1. Identify your most attention-demanding task of the day.
2. Place a short nature break or walk immediately before it, not after.
3. Protect that window so the restoration is not eaten by other work.

Evidence

Follows directly from the depletion-and-recovery model in Attention Restoration Theory: more available directed attention at task onset should support better focus. (mechanistic)

The pre-task timing specifically is a reasonable inference from the theory rather than a separately trialed protocol; most studies measure restoration after depletion, not before a target task.

Common mistake

Only reaching for nature once you are already burned out, when a pre-emptive dose would have protected the harder work in the first place.