With access to all the information we could want at our very fingertips, its no wonder we have busy brains, right? The convenient and instant access to information has created amazing benefits for us all but with it also comes a few new challenges.
The constant consuming of information and entertainment make for very full minds. In many cases we are over consuming. It doesn’t help that alerts and pop-ups tap into that biological response part of us all which is highly addictive!
So, what can we do to create a little quiet in our minds?
Be present and focus
The more we are simply focused in what we are doing and where we are right now – ie. being present – the more quiet and peace we can create for ourselves. Initially this focus will need to be with you focusing your whole attention into a specific activity that you’re currently undertaking. With practice over time, you can also create this quiet without doing any activity at all. How does it work? Simply do one thing at a time and focus all of your attention on what you’re doing. Call it getting into flow, into the zone… it is about getting into a space of full attention and very little, if any, mind chatter.
Create boundaries
Start small with this. It can be really as simple as turning your phone off during one meal per day, or for one hour. This is to totally disconnect from information. You can also create boundaries by reducing the flow of information to just one source. We are often receiving multiple sources of information at one time and this exacerbates the busy brain problem. For example, don’t have email open while you’re working on other projects, put your phone on silent etc.
Schedule tasks or delete them
Throw away your to-do list! Yes, I said it. I am a lover of lists of all kinds, but a to-do list rarely gets actioned. This is mainly because the to-do’s don’t have a hard deadline and aren’t actually allocated time. You need to actually allocate time to do the things on your list. Put them straight into your calendar. Then, you simply honour your calendar and do it when it is scheduled. If you don’t want to put it in your calendar, your really don’t want to do it, so completely delete it from your list and mind.
Make your decisions in advance & final
There is a crazy amount of cognitive effort that is wasted on unmade or half-made decisions. Even for simple things like “what I think I might cook for dinner”, we spend a lot of time and energy going back and forth over the options. It’s such a waste our valuable cognitive space! The best option is to decide in advance as much as possible. If you can plan all your meals for example in advance for a few days or a week, it means you won’t be using your brain space to wrangle with that. Sounds simple and small but try it! Start small and move on to bigger things. You may have heard the story that Steve Jobs only wore the same outfit every day. Why? To avoid the mind chatter and cognitive effort being spent.
Become more present in your body
When we are more present in our physical bodies, we are less occupied with our minds. Think about activities that get you in touch with your body and your senses… exercise, being in nature, cooking, dancing, sex… Any activity that helps you become more in touch with your senses and/or breathing will bring you into your body and away from the thought chatter. Some people get this from running, meditation or a creative hobby. Look for activities that help you to be present in your body to help you quieten your mind.