Martina Sheehan, author of The Clear Mind Guide and co-creator of Mind Gardener, explains how multi-tasking has trained our brains into this situation, and how to remedy it.
It’s no secret that many people pride themselves on performing under pressure and multi-tasking, yet this habit can actually be counterproductive.
Multi-tasking trains our minds to constantly seek new information while experiencing greater difficulty concentrating on its content. In fact, scientific studies have shown that people who jump back and forth between tasks take about one and a half times as long to complete them as those who concentrate on one task at a time.
Actions that many people experience such as forgetting someone’s name moments after hearing it, not remembering where you parked your car, or passing someone you know on the street without noticing are all tell-tale signs of “busy mind syndrome”, which is associated with stress, disengagement, poor health and unhappiness.
If you are one of the 87% of people who admit to multi-tasking quite often or always, these tips from The Clear Mind Guide could help you improve your concentration, focus and clarity.
Tip 1: Tame the Busy Mind
The average person has up to 50,000 thoughts and 12,000 internal conversations every day. This constant chatter can cause stress, sleeplessness and distraction from the important things in life. Rather than trying to push the thoughts away, simply focus on what you are doing and let the chatter subside.
Tip 2: Warm up your brain
The same neurons fire in your brain when you visualise something as when you actually do it. So warm-up your brain by visualising your day progressing smoothly. This will help you focus on what you want to achieve.
Tip 3: Busy Ban
Talking about being busy makes you feel busier. 85% of people have answered the question “How are you?” with “Busy!” Ban the word “busy” from your vocabulary. Focus on what you have achieved, not what is still waiting for your attention.
Tip 4: Measure
People who are clear and focused tend to expend an even amount of energy across the day, rather than rushing around then falling in a heap. Balance the energy you give to everything you do, not giving too much or too little.
Tip 5: Safe Switching
Jumping between tasks causes neural connection to be lost and takes longer than doing one thing at a time. When you need to switch tasks, follow these 3 rules to save time and protect your brain:
- Stop the first task and consciously set it aside
- Clear your mind
- Focus your attention on the second task fully
Tip 6: Name your distraction
It is almost impossible to ignore distractions because your brain is designed to check out whether they are a risk to your survival. Instead of fighting a distraction, acknowledge it, name it, then focus back on what you were doing.
Tip 7: Excellence Challenge
You can do more than one thing at a time, but you can’t do any of them well! Strengthen your ability to focus on one thing at a time by striving for excellence. This will keep you focused, and motivate you to finish the task properly before moving on to something else.
Tip 8: Under-Think
Moments of clarity usually happen when you are not thinking about a problem you want to solve. Instead of using “down time” like sitting on the bus or walking between meetings to dwell on a problem, use it as an opportunity to clear your mind and simply enjoy the freedom of the break.
Tip 9: Smell the Roses
You will tend to feel calmer, clearer and more relaxed when in nature. Spend 5 minutes a day taking a mental break by connecting to a slice of nature. Clear your mind by really noticing the sights around you, the sounds and the sense of touch, taste and smell.
Tip 10: Mindfulness
Mindfulness reduces anxiety, regulates emotions, and improves memory, learning and problem solving. Being mindful simply means more consciously paying attention to things without the chatter of a busy mind.
Use your 5 senses to improve your mindfulness. When listening, really pay attention to what you are hearing. When eating, really taste your food. Mindfulness is one of the most important skills you can develop if you want a clear and calm mind.
The Clear Mind Guide is available from www.mindgardener.com