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To do this, you need to understand what you want to achieve in a day. This way you can immediately get down to the most important thing.
Do not start the day with small-scale work that does not carry value, does not help to move towards long-term goals. For example, with the analysis of mail and notifications. They take up time and distract from the important things. Take care of them after you complete the main task.
Starting the morning with the important thing, you will get into the flow state. After that, it will be easier to cope with other things.
No wonder it's hard for us to concentrate on one thing if we're constantly distracted by notifications and messages. According to The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress scientists, it takes about 23 minutes on average to restore attention after a minor distraction.
If you constantly switch from one to the other, the result of the work will noticeably decrease.
So forget about multitasking, do one thing at a time. To concentrate better, add a time limit to all items on your to-do list and try to meet it.
Try the Pomodoro method for this. Work on the task for about half an hour, then take a five-minute break and get back to business or start a new one.
Think of any famous scientist, entrepreneur, or historical figure — they were all constantly engaged in self-education. Follow their example and learn something new regularly. And it doesn't matter where you will study a subject: in a university classroom or on your own, sitting in your favorite coffee shop. The main thing is that you have a sincere interest.
It is not necessary to allocate a lot of time for this. Find windows in your routine and learn what you're interested in. Try to do this regularly. Look for as many sources as possible to broaden your horizons. Read books and articles, watch videos, sign up for online courses. Take a look at sites where people share their opinions.
We usually think vertically: we go step by step, analyze, rely on facts and generally accepted approaches. As a result, we get one expected result. Lateral thinking challenges established methods, breaks the rules, combines different possibilities and gives many results.
As Shane Snow, the author of the book "Turbo Effect. How to achieve extreme success in an unrealistically short period of time", lateral thinking involves looking at the problem from unexpected sides. It will not work if you do the same thing over and over again. By putting more effort, you may still fail to achieve your goal. We need to change the usual approach. This is where lateral thinking helps.
Those who regularly train mindfulness note Mindfulness meditation-related pain relief: Evidence for unique brain mechanisms in the regulation of pain reduction of pain and stress. Research confirms Dispositional Mindfulness Co-Varies with Smaller Amygdala and Caudate Volumes in Community Adults that such training changes the brain. MRI scans show that the amygdala, which is responsible for emotional reactions, is slightly reduced in size. And the prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and control, is compacted.
To develop mindfulness, it is not necessary to meditate for half an hour. Just pay attention to what is happening around you as often as possible. Try to notice if you are lost in your thoughts and feelings, and return to the present moment.
When we stop dwelling on the past and worrying about the future, we begin to appreciate the little things and see opportunities that we didn't pay attention to before.
By spending even five minutes a day consciously, you will gradually become calmer to react to events, make better decisions and interact with others.
Reading makes the brain work, trains it in the same way as physical activity pumps the body. It develops thinking, teaches you to notice the connections between phenomena and draw conclusions. He guides through time, space and history, introduces new ideas, feelings and knowledge.
The brain while reading can be compared to a symphony orchestra. Its different departments interact to understand the text, just as musical instruments sound together to create a single melody.
Unlike watching and listening to information, reading requires a lot of effort from the brain, which means that it ultimately brings more benefits. It gives you time to think, process the data and present what is described. Additional bonus: daily reading slows down Life-span cognitive activity, neuropathologic burden, and cognitive aging age-related cognitive impairment.
We unconsciously search for and notice information about what we already know something about. This cognitive distortion protects our established worldview, but does not give us a broader view. Therefore, it is important to look for other points of view that are not similar to yours. In addition, it is an excellent source for new ideas.
Be interested in other cultures and languages, and the structure of other industries. Do not dismiss the opinions of others, be open to discussion. Read about what you usually ignore. Try to find something informative in everything. Without sincere interest, you will learn automatically and learn little. To get interested, talk to people from a field you are not used to. Find something in common, do something together, read about those who have achieved a lot in this activity.
If you feel that you are stuck in some area, take a break. Think about where you're going to go if you keep going the same way. Evaluate if you are making progress. Sometimes it's enough just to change the situation and break out of the usual routine. For example, to walk a little. Movement and fresh air will help you find new ideas.
It's useful to turn off notifications from time to time and be alone with yourself.
Sit in silence without being distracted by your phone and other devices. Relax or think about what you didn't have enough time for. Shut yourself off from the outside world and draw energy from within yourself.
And don't forget to be positive. Move on, try new things. Watch a comedy, draw, play. Relax, fool around, let yourself be free. It will fill you with energy.
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