To afford things like food, shelter and outrageous tunnel tolls, most of us operate brain rental schemes. We rent out our brain capacity for eight or so hours a day, to perform tasks that are generally not quite as fun as beach volleyball.
Our ability to pay for stuff is intimately tied to how well this grey lumpy organ inside our head can function. Unfortunately, our brains are under attack. Like neurological versions of the Hamburglar, there are many things attempting to steal our attention away.
Emails, ads, news, alerts, messaging, two-factor authentication requests, the watch that is telling you to move, the lurking parking inspector who is freaking you out, the colleague who is overexplaining the thing, the tempting smell of the coffee that the person overexplaining the thing is holding – all of these take our brains away from the actual task we are hoping to direct our attention towards.
Our attention is precious. Human brains work best when they are focused on just one thing. While we may believe we are amazing multi-taskers, we are not. Multi-tasking is really just our brain switching attention from one thing to another. This is hard for us and generally results in us doing both things poorly. If you ever attempt to scale a fish whilst driving a car, it is unlikely to end in a positive way.
Constantly switching attention is very tiring for our brains. When we are cognitively fatigued, our brains don’t function nearly as well. Cognitive fatigue doesn’t just affect how we process information; it also affects where we process it.
When cognitively fatigued, instead of engaging the full capacity of our frontal lobes, we may process information using our amygdala. This is unfortunate, because our frontal lobes are absolute champions at complex reasoning. They can do things like entertain multiple options, consider other people’s feelings and make reasoned evaluations as to what course of action would likely deliver the optimum outcome.
When relying on our amygdala, we tend to manage tasks in a more basic and direct manner. Like the embodiment of a Nike ad, we just do it. We may use force over delicate coaxing, shouting over polite requests, or poorly considered immediate action over patient waiting.
As operators of brain rental schemes, it makes complete sense to consider how we can make our brains most valuable. Here are three incredibly useful steps you can use to boost your brain value.
1. Protect it from all those attention burglars
To provide your brain with some immediate peace, turn off the notifications, the dings and the shaking of the smart watch. Instead of checking emails and socials constantly, clear space to work with undivided attention on that task which is most important. It is also valuable to establish clear boundaries and set realistic expectations around your availability or responsiveness. When you begin treating your attention as precious, others may start to regard it the same way. With far fewer distractions, you can now shine at that thing someone has specifically hired your brain to do.
2. Train your brain to retrieve your attention
Learning mindfulness is like gaining an inner golden retriever that faithfully brings your attention back, whenever it goes for a wander. Our brains are naturally wired for distraction. It is entirely normal for them to be on the lookout for things that are scary, shiny or less boring than the thing we are currently occupied with. In a world of endless distraction, having the ability to retain and return focus is a superpower that makes your brain incredibly effective and valuable. Even short, simple practices can be highly restorative for your attention, so next time you’re tempted to go for a scroll, perhaps take some out to train your mind’s inner golden retriever instead.
3. Learn to recognise when you’ve slipped into reactive mode
When we are tired, stressed and cognitively fatigued, we start to rely much more on our amygdala than our pre-frontal cortex. Tell-tale signs that this has occurred may include sending messages in ALL CAPS, getting unreasonably angry at inanimate objects, or ending up with chips everywhere because we relied on brute force to open the packet rather than gently tearing it or searching for some scissors. Mindfulness enables us to develop meta-awareness so that we can step back at these times, re-engage our pre-frontal cortex and become the rational, considerate person who does fewer ill-considered things and is generally much more agreeable to be around.
By learning a few foundational mindfulness skills (and treating our attention as precious) we can become more focused, productive and creative. We can make better decisions, make fewer mistakes and maintain a polite, considerate demeanour, even when things get a bit stressful. Come promotion time, this may set us apart from those easily distracted others who lack focus, cause problems and instigate messy chip explosions.
With the cost of everything now getting ridiculous, increasing the rental price of our brains is a very sensible thing to do. Being able to keep up with inflation is however not the only reason to take these steps. When we claim back our attention we can feel more peaceful, centred and less rushed. We can be more self-compassionate, take more joy out of what we do and hold onto more of our energy for the things and people we love.
Like to learn more? Register now for our upcoming Disrupting Distraction webinar.
Want to experience A Little Spot of Calm? Register now for our 5-part mindfulness mini-series where you can experience short, daily, guided practises.
Ready for some mindfulness right now? Explore guided practises on Mindarma’s Brain Food platform.