Thinking Clearly

• Don't over caffeinate yourself

  

  Caffeine can help, but more is not better.  When you’ve overdosed on caffeine, the thoughts start to flit unpredictably below the fog so you can’t tell which is the one you need or how to retrieve it.

  5 Helpful Tips To Eliminate Brain Fog And Think Clearly

• Don’t talk too much

  If you’re lucky, brain fog will attack when you’re blocking someone from the coffee machine. They will startle you when they ask you to move aside and apologize for frightening you. Don’t come clean. Smile graciously and make a joke about the funny weather you’ve been having. 

  5 Helpful Tips To Eliminate Brain Fog And Think Clearly

• Be poised. Distract or redirect

  If brain fog attacks on a date or at work, don’t sweat it! Make sure they don’t catch that moment your eyes start to glaze over. Take a sip of coffee, make a joke.  Remember your cues: maintain eye contact, nod at regular intervals and keep a neutral facial expression. Worst case scenario, they’ll think you’re conceited.

  5 Helpful Tips To Eliminate Brain Fog And Think Clearly

• It will happen

  Brain fog happens to everyone to different degrees. Don’t be angry. Your tantrums won’t change anything. Accept it and learn how to deal with it.

  5 Helpful Tips To Eliminate Brain Fog And Think Clearly

• Go with it

  Over time, you will conquer even your most challenging mental difficulties.  Your thoughts may not be linear, but they can be rearranged to create coherence and communicate with others. Your mind may not always be clear, but you’ll develop strategies to use at a moment’s notice.

  5 Helpful Tips To Eliminate Brain Fog And Think Clearly

• Train yourself to think

  

  The words you habitually use when you're thinking (and then expressing those thoughts) mold how you see the world. For example, people who habitually think (and speak and write) the word "hate" tend to find an ever-increasing number of things to hate. When you train yourself to speak and write using clearly defined words arranged into concise sentences, you're training your brain to think more clearly .

  Train Your Brain to Think More Clearly

• Mentally edit out fuzzy buzzwords

  While most business buzzwords are simply annoying (like saying "utilize" rather than "use"), some are so fuzzy and vague that they automatically lead to confused thinking. Mentally editing out the fuzzy, vague buzzwords when you are talking, speaking, listening, or reading gradually clears your mind of the confusion they create, thereby making you smarter.

  Train Your Brain to Think More Clearly

• Simplify your business writing

  If you find yourself writing or reading long, complex sentences at work, edit and reedit them so that they express the gist in fewer words.  Do this repeatedly and over time you'll automatically accustom your brain to shorter, clearer wordings.

  Train Your Brain to Think More Clearly

• Play the "one syllable" game

  The concept is simple: Try to communicate business ideas using words of only one syllable. This exercise trains your brain to use smaller, easier-to-understand words rather than complex ones.  Since complex words tend to "complexify" your thoughts (and your expression of them), habitually using common words leads toward clearer thinking.

  Train Your Brain to Think More Clearly

• System 1 Thinking

  

  The main function of System 1 is to maintain and update a model of your personal world, which represents what is normal in it. Consider driving your car from home to work on a quiet road. You understand the tasks involved, such as using your car's indicators, accelerating, decelerating and so on, but breaking down exactly what you did to reach the office safely, step-by-step is difficult. Driving your car along a familiar route is intuitive.

  A Nobel Prize Winner Explains How to Finally Think Clearly

• System 2 Thinking

  

  System 2 thinking informs how you focus on a particular task by using expert knowledge and focusing or applying conscious effort. Consider driving to work and encountering an accident. This unexpected change demands you pay attention to your environment and monitor your behavior.

  A Nobel Prize Winner Explains How to Finally Think Clearly

• How to Use System 1 and System 2 Thinking Together

  If you feel a gut reaction after meeting a hire, it's probably System 1 thinking. But you can mitigate the risk of hiring the wrong person by engaging System 2 thinking. Check their references. Ask probing questions. Validate your gut reaction with other members of your team. The trick is to be aware of switching from one system to the other. It’s useful to understand when you are thinking on autopilot, when you are paying attention and what's inside your mental toolbox.

  A Nobel Prize Winner Explains How to Finally Think Clearly

• High-pressure moments as a (fun) challenge

  

  Most people see "pressure situations" as threatening, and that makes them perform even less well.  But, "when you see the pressure as a challenge, you are stimulated to give the attention and energy needed to make your best effort."  To practice, build "challenge thinking" into your daily life.

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• One of many opportunities

  Is this high-pressure situation a good opportunity? Sure. Is it the only opportunity you will ever have for the rest of your life? Probably not. Before an interview or a big meeting, give yourself a pep talk: "I will have other interviews" (or presentations or sales calls). 

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Focus on the task

  

  Instead of worrying about the outcome, worry about the task at hand. That means developing tunnel vision. When you keep your eye on the task at hand (and only the task at hand), all you can see is the concrete steps necessary to excel.

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Plan for the worst

  "What-if" scenarios can be your friend. By letting yourself play out the worst-case outcomes, you're able to brace yourself for them. The key here is that you're anticipating the unexpected. Instead of panicking, you'll be able to (better) "maintain your composure and continue your task to the best of your ability."

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Take control

  In a pressure moment, there are factors you have control over and factors you don't.  Focus on the factors you can control , not on the "uncontrollables," that could intensify the pressure, increase your anxiety, and ultimately undermine your confidence.

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Remember your past success

  Remembering your past success ignites confidence. You did it before, and you can do it again. Once you're feeling good about yourself, you'll be better able to cut through anxiety and take care of business.

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Be positive

  Belief in a successful outcome can prevent you from worry that can drain and distract your working memory. Anxiety and fear are stripped from the equation, allowing you to act with confidence.

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Get in touch with your senses

  When you're under a deadline and the world feels like it's crashing in, you're particularly prone to making careless errors. To depressurize the situation, focus on the here and now. Tune into your senses. What do you see? What do you hear? How's your breathing?

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Listen to music

  By listening to music, you're able to literally distract yourself from your anxiety.

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Create a pre-performance routine

  The idea here is to create a (brief) routine that you go through in the minutes before you present or perform, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry suggest. A "pre-routine" prevents you from becoming distracted, keeps you focused, and puts you in the "zone" by signaling to your body it's time to perform.

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Slow down

  When you're in a high-pressure situation, it's natural to speed up your thinking. It can lead you to act before you're ready.  Slow down. Give yourself a second to breathe and formulate a plan. You'll think more flexibly, creatively, attentively, and your work will be all the better for it. 

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure

• Share the pressure

  Telling someone else about the pressure you're feeling has been proven to reduce anxiety and stress. Sharing your feelings allows you to examine them, challenge their reality, and view a pressure situation in a realistic manner.

  13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure