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Semi-Rad: Experience the Joy of Not Bringing the Noise
Let Your Mind Wander
Studies show that letting your mind wander activates it. It makes you more productive and goal-oriented, as you have provided your mind with some space, to play around and grow.
If you are sitting, you will automatically pick up your phone (or iPad), so a better way is to go running or hiking, with the phone turned off, and let your mind refresh itself doing anything, daydreaming, singing or planning.
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Key Ideas
Taking good breaks
This is important for your daily productivity. Good breaks can leave us feeling refreshed and energized. It can reduce mental fatigue, boost brain function and keep us on-task for extended periods.
The wrong sort of breaks might make us more vulnerable to boredom and make us want to take breaks more often. It can leave us depleted and drained.
The brain and goal management
The prefrontal cortex of the brain is mainly responsible for goal management. It orchestrates attention, working memory and other cognitive resources to help us get what we want.
For a challenging task, briefly taking our minds off the goal can renew and strengthen motivation. Doing activities that rely on different brain regions is best to restore focus.
Going Natural
Exposure to nature restores the mind. One study showed better working memory scores for people after a walk in a natural environment, but not in an urban setting.
If you are unable to go into nature, find plants, fresh air or a fish tank. Sit down, take a deep breath, and notice the details of nature. Research shows that even looking at some pictures of nature can work.
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Developing mastery
Fun is the experience of developing mastery. When we acquire new skills and recognize valuable patterns, our brains reward us with a shot of pleasurable sensations.
Games and learning
Games are optimal learning environments:
- Feedback loops are short, fast and adapted to your skill level.
- Challenges grow as you develop new skills.
- Failures are learning opportunities because every time you make a mistake, you get a hint about how you can do better next time.
Boredom and learning
Boredom is what we feel when our brain decides that there's nothing worth learning. It's the brain searching for new information.
And even games become boring at some point because they eventually run out of things to teach you. That's when you stop playing.
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Key Ideas
Cluttered digital lives
If people's physical lives were anywhere near as cluttered as their digital lives, their kitchen sinks would be full of dishes, their closets would be jammed, and their houses would be in chaos.
But our digital lives are limited to our devices, so we don't notice how messy they are. Our news feeds are filled with updates we don't care about. We're subscribed to 100 podcasts but listen to only a few.
Become a Digital Minimalist
We can reclaim our time and our attention. Unlike a physical space, we can wipe the slate clean in our digital environment.
If you clear apps from your phone, nothing will happen. You can always reinstall the ones you use.
Digital Declutter
- Clear your browser history.
- Unsubscribe from newsletters, podcasts, blogs, and anything else you consume.
- Delete all the apps that are currently on your phone and desktop or laptop (as long as you don’t have to buy a new version of anything).