Developer Alex Selimov described an unusual response to an afternoon loss of concentration: stop looking at screens, sit still and stare at a wall. After trying the routine in intervals of five to ten minutes, Selimov reported that his ability to focus returned, although he also found the apparent simplicity of the exercise surprisingly difficult.
The experiment began after Selimov encountered a video by a creator named Simple Lucas. The proposed routine was straightforward: remove screens and entertainment while trying to work, then use an intentionally unstimulating break when mental energy fades. Selimov combined that idea with a soft, unfocused gaze intended to emphasize peripheral vision and an attempt to clear active thoughts.
The post places the practice against what its author sees as an environment of constant information intake. It references a 2012 paper estimating that an average person received 34 gigabytes of information daily in 2008, with exposure increasing at about 5.4% per year. Selimov extrapolated that trend to roughly 87 gigabytes, while acknowledging uncertainty about how the underlying measure accounts for the quality of video, audio and text. The supplied packet does not include the paper itself, so the estimate should not be treated as independently reviewed here.
Selimov's concern was less about the exact number than a recurring personal cycle. During periods of low motivation, media offered small, immediate rewards while making it harder to return to sustained work. In the early afternoon, he often experienced a headache, weaker motivation and slower output. More coffee could extend the workday, he wrote, but did not make it comfortable or effective.
The wall break was meant to remove the easy stream of new stimulation rather than replace it with another form of content. Selimov likened the resistance to beginning a workout: unpleasant enough to invite avoidance, yet satisfying once completed. Maintaining an empty mind for even a short interval proved demanding, but he said the result was a meaningful improvement in focus and productivity.
That conclusion has clear limits. The post documents one person's experience, with no comparison group, objective productivity measure or separation of the wall-gazing element from the breathing, peripheral-vision and thought-clearing practices used alongside it. It does not establish a medical treatment, and the supplied evidence offers no basis for claims about the nervous system or long-term cognitive effects.
As a personal workflow, however, the experiment asks a useful question: when attention is exhausted, does another burst of information provide recovery, or merely postpone it? Selimov plans to continue the routine and evaluate its impact over time. For now, its strongest claim is modest—that a deliberately quiet break felt more restorative to its author than another screen or cup of coffee.
