For the New Year, many people set goals, make plans and make wishes. In this article I want to talk about that part of moving towards a goal that few people talk about - recovery and rest. About why this is important, and why without it procrastination increases, fatigue accumulates and goals are not achieved. I’m willing to bet that most will not read to the end of the article ;) Let’s start with the fact that man is a biological and social being at the same time. Biological reactions are more ancient and simpler, associated with survival. A danger has appeared - the “fight or flight” reaction is activated, a creature of the opposite sex is nearby - the reproduction mode is activated (evaluation of a potential partner, flirting, and everything that follows) and so on. Things get interesting with social reactions. The brain evaluates the adequacy of potential actions and allows or prohibits their implementation. For example, a person takes your things and leaves with them. In the case of a robber, there will be one reaction, and in the case of hotel service, another. The evaluation and selection of possible actions is carried out in the prefrontal cortex. It is she who is responsible for setting goals, choosing ways of behavior and allowing or prohibiting automatic reactions that the limbic system triggers. So, today we are talking about the prefrontal cortex. This is the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the cerebral hemispheres. It is responsible for cognitive, in other words, cognitive and behavioral functions, as well as for abstract concepts such as time, conscience, honesty, betrayal, reliability and many others, where we are not talking about an object, but about any property taken separately from the subject. For reference: cognitive functions include: perception, processing and analysis of information, memory (memorization, storage and reproduction). And also logical relationships, construction and implementation of plans are also found here. Spatial orientation, speech, attention and, of course, the language we speak. Or languages. In general, all the most complexly organized processes of interaction between a person and the environment in which he is located occur in the prefrontal cortex. And it has its own operating patterns. I often say that a person has one tool with which he acts - attention. We deal with where our attention is. We develop where our attention is. We miss things in their lives that we don't pay attention to. And this applies to goals and plans, relationships, personal development, and changes. Just one tool for everything. The modern world is built in such a way that our attention is difficult. It jumps from point to point, from topic to topic, from bookmarks to links on a dozen pages. As a result, a common occurrence is when a person is tired, but the job is not done. How the prefrontal cortex works. Like everything in our body, the work of the prefrontal cortex is cyclical. Tension and relaxation alternate. This is the key to successful work, whether in setting a goal, at least in memorizing, or in training a skill. The approximate time that a person can maintain concentration without loss of productivity is about 30 minutes. Next, rest is required. And if you think that this is not enough, then I will upset you - this is a lot. The concentration of attention per approach from 2000 to 2015 has decreased significantly, research tells us. And if in 2000 people on average could concentrate attention for 12 seconds, then in 2015 it was only 8.5 seconds. This is a one-time concentration of attention on something. In addition to concentration, there is the concept of stability of attention, which determines how long a person can intensively concentrate. So, this particular time, in practice, does not exceed 30 minutes. What to do with it I know that above there was a lot of scientific information that is not always needed in life. However, it is important for further understanding. In order for you to work successfully, you need to rest. The “tension-relaxation” cycle, on which all the work of the body is built, works for all activities.