The cognition and the immersion
We cannot do something well right after recognizing the fact that we are doing that. If you are really dubious on it, then try to recognize yourself that you are breathing now. After the cognition, breathing is not a natural one, but a kind of task to do.
I define this kind of state as the immersion. Generally, someone who is in immersion may not do other things properly. However, he or she would make a great result with it and this is the power of immersion.
Then we can ask that the cognition is always bad. Nope. The cognition is essential and the timing does matter. It is differ from people by people and it can be attained from real practice.
But remember that you might fail to get into the state soon after perceiving the timing. It seems like the circumstance that we are not able to start to sleep easily when we focus on to get a sleep. The immersion comes silently without cognition like the sleeping matter.
Then what is the meaning of the cognition? It is to arrange the result of immersion. This process is truely important and the period of time to concentrate on something would be shortened without it. Broken window theory will help you to understand. If the window of a house is broken, it can be more damaged by others. Absence of cognition breaks the window.
We need to think and choose what we should do first to get into the cycle. Normally cognition-first-immersion-last would be better. It will lead us to know what should we dip into.
This is not a kind of theory but reality and life. Anyway, the process operates when we do not notice it and in that manner, this posting could be a meta-cognition.