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These 4 'harmless' habits are sapping your brain power
Multitasking
Each time we try and batch unrelated tasks together, we tax our brain and use up energy in the transition.
To stop making multitasking a habit, you need to set boundaries around what you will be working on when. Give yourself longer chunks of time to complete one thing at a time, and shut down other distractions such as email when you’re working on something.
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Checking the headlines
The news can bring negativity: our impotence to do anything about most of what we hear can lead to a sense of hopelessness. It saps mental energy and focus.
Opting out of following the news won’t work for everyone, but try setting some clear boundaries around it. Consider deleting, even for a while, apps that you’re tempted to open all the time.
Toxic comparison
To break free from the temptation to compare, audit your social media feeds.
If you find yourself thinking about how your life matches up to a friend’s when you’re not on social media, try to shift your perspective. Think about their human traits, vulnerabilities, and things that you have in common. When you change your mindset, you can move from a place of jealousy to a place of empathy.
2 types of comparisons
- Downward comparison (comparing ourselves to those less fortunate): It activates the brain’s “lack” network, emphasizing our insecurity and focuses on safeguarding the status quo at the expense of risk and adventure.
- Upward comparison (comparing ourselves to those we envy): it can excite feelings of envy and low self-esteem.
Both of these types of comparison can be bad for the brain
Comfort eating
The first trick is to notice you’re doing it: Is it out of boredom? A self-soothing activity? Or some type of mechanism for coping with stress and anxiety?
Try to keep a diary for a few days. Spot the patterns. When you notice your cues and responses, you’ll learn to pause before you eat, rather than doing it automatically.
Multitasking
Each time we try and batch unrelated tasks together, we tax our brain and use up energy in the transition.
To stop making multitasking a habit, you need to set boundaries around what you will be working on when. Give yourself longer chunks of time to complete one thing at a time, and shut down other distractions such as email when you’re working on something.
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You Are Not Your Thoughts
You can decide what thoughts to ignore in your mind
The only way to stop identifying yourself with your thoughts is to stop following through on all your thoughts ✋ . Instead, decide to live in the present moment—where you don’t have time to think, only to experience.
4 Steps to stop overthinking 🧠
1. Raise your awareness throughout the day.
2. When you raise awareness, immediately start observing your thoughts.
3. Only limit your thinking to specific moments that you need it.
4. Enjoy your life! Let go of all your thoughts about yesterday and tomorrow.
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Social Proximity Effect
You’ll mirror the habits of the people you spend the most time with.
There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s simply a characteristic of humans and many other species. But it und...
Harness the Social Proximity Effect
... to improve any part of life: spending time around people with good habits will cause you to develop good habits.
For example: to improve your odds of starting a business, it will be hard to do from inside a cubicle surrounded by other people in other cubicles. To improve your odds of actually starting, find a friend who’s already done it or search for a local entrepreneurs get-together.
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Emotional weight
There are certain foods that, when we eat too much of it, will bring health consequences. Similar to how eating certain foods can affect our physical wellness, thinking in specific ways can als...
Setting unrealistic expectations
Expectations are our idea of how we think the world should look. This may involve how we should feel, what we should have achieved, and how other people should be treating us.
We could set up expectations that are too high based on arbitrary rules and then become frustrated when we can't meet it.A good rule of thumb is if we are not working diligently toward something, or there is no proof for what we expect, then it may be unrealistic.
Making unfair comparisons
There are advantages to social comparisons, like ensuring that we are reaching certain developmental milestones. But unfair comparisons can cause you to feel inadequate and incompetent.
Online social networks provide a platform for social comparisons. It is important to question the purpose of this kind of contrast. How will comparing yourself to others affect you?
To avoid undervaluing your well-being, make social comparisons that are purposeful and fair.
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Sticking to a healthy lifestyle
Staying in shape is mostly about program compliance.
It’s not about having the best fitness program, but about having one that’s good enough, eating less junk food and making sure you...
Off limits foods
Successful dieters usually declare certain foods to be completely out of bounds, or allowed only during occasional designated cheat meals, rather than expecting themselves to eat everything in moderation.
Saying no to bad habits
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The right place for your first rendez-vous
When choosing the right place for your first date, take into account the risk that things might not work miraculously well from the first try. Therefore, better go for simple places, like pubs, for...
Keep the conversation going
If you are planning your first date with somebody, make sure to pay a special attention to the topics you want to engage in throughout the date. Keep the conversation smart and the exchange of experiences alive.
Shape your mindset
When going on a first date, make sure your mindset is a positive one, no matter what your previous dating experiences felt like. Embrace the fear of a possible failure while hoping for a pleasant outcome.
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Shockingly Unproductive
- Studies show that employees spend more than five hours per day reading and replying to emails. While it may seem like urgent work, email is not the best kind of work.
Facilitate Deep Work
A few smart strategies that can be deployed:
- Installing pods for deep work while having common areas for collaborative work.
- Wearing headphones that are easily seen to signal that you are not to be disturbed.
- Turning your office into a library, following the same culture of quietness where everyone is hushed and respectful.
Email is not Real Work
Real work, by definition, should be rare, valuable and cognitively demanding.
Email does not check any of these boxes, and is, therefore, a pseudo work.
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Habits define your energy levels
Tine is not the basis for productivity. Energy is.
Having all the time in the world won’t help you if you’re exhausted for most of it. Having good habits help in keeping yo...
Sleep is the foundation of our energy
Poor sleep means you will start to underperform.
Research says 7-8 hours are pretty much mandatory if you’re going to stay cognitively sharp in the long-run.
Napping benefits
Even if it may feel lazy, napping has a range of cognitive benefits.
This is particularly true if you’re doing a lot of learning since the short burst of sleep can help with memory.
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Spend Time Outdoors
Spending time outside of your apartment can lift your mood.
If you are unable to get outside, add greenery to your space, for some plant therapy.
Volunteer
People who volunteer are likely to have higher self-esteem, psychological well-being, and happiness.
Help someone else out who really needs it.
Eat Healthier
Regularly eating foods that are filled with nutrients can help you feel more positive and energetic. You will feel better mentally too.
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Discover Your Values
Being able to achieve a success metric is hard, but knowing which metric to achieve is even more important. Discover what you value and choose your own metrics for success, otherwise, your environment will dictate it for you, which could be unfulfilling for you.
Work towards your own idea of success and don’t let “FOMO” make you feel like a failure because you’re not meeting someone else’s metrics for success.
Peter Drucker
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Meaningful productivity
The best work happens in short intensive deep work spurts (1–3 hours, no distractions).
Your best thinking will actually happen while you’re away from your work, “recovering.” B...
The first 3 hours of the day
...are your most precious for maximized productivity.
Your brain is most attuned first thing in the morning, and so are your energy levels. Consequently, the best time to do your best work is during this time.
The “90–90–1” rule
Spend the first 90 minutes of your workday on your #1 priority, nothing else.
Zero distractions. Just get that work done.
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