Everyone’s life has a particular rhythm…
Whether the rhythm of your life is balanced can make the difference between suffering or peace. As the tides perpetually ebb and flood, so does the current information into your mind. Are you allowing too much or too little to flow in? Do you get flooded with information, formulate your own thoughts, but never take a moment to articulate that information with others? Or do you take in too little information, and flood those around you with a gambit of poorly organized and researched opinions? Or do your conversations with people hang by the skin of a grape because you haven’t thought about what you really need out of the conversation? The amount of information we take in, absorb, and release should be balanced, if it’s not, it can create anxiety, depression, brain fog, and endless loops of meaningless material.
There is little doubt we live in an age of bombardment, a constant stream of information is constantly flowing into our minds in the forms of social media, news, calls, texts, emails, and so on. Some bombardment can be constructive, for example, attending a thought-provoking lecture on a topic you're fascinated with. Ultimately, bombardment is the inflow or input of information beyond our capacity to absorb it, therefore, we do not have an input problem, we have both a retention and output problem.
How do we go about retaining what we’ve learned and articulating our thoughts in a way that makes sense and leaves a meaningful contribution to our audience?
Psychologist Jordan Peterson, has articulated —likely being very aware of this process— some great insights on how to best articulate your thoughts and beliefs; suggesting we speak on matters in which we know approximately three times as much as we share with others. Basically, our fund of information on topics of discussion should greatly exceed the content we release, in order for it to both be articulated well, and contain an element gravitas for our listeners.
Controlling our input in a manner that allows us to "steep" in what we’ve absorbed is a great way to build a clean and organized mental “fund" of information, one that will be more easily accessible to us when needed. So how do we retain what see/do/hear in a way that allows us form a mental compendium of useful information? We “uni-task” and reflect. We eliminate outside distractions, and focus on the subject at-hand.
Uni-tasking
We all know those people who claim they are excellent multi-takers, perhaps you are one of them. Let’s do a quick experiment, try this; count in your head from 1-10 as fast as you can without messing up, go… Next, go from A-L as fast as you can without messing up…. Ok, easy right? That’s because you uni-tasked. Now try this, combine the two in sequence as fast as you can in your head, A1, B2, C3, and so on… It’s much harder isn’t it, especially wen you start getting to about G. This is because your brain is not designed to do two executive functions simultaneously. Sure we can drive a car and talk on the phone at the same time, but as traffic collision reports would credit, we are not nearly as good as driving when our attention is divided. Multi-tasking is simply divided attention. Persons who are successful in conversations, relationships, vocations, (and vacations for that matter), are simply more gifted at eliminating distractions of things that don’t really matter; mind-clouding junk.
When you’re uni-tasking you’re at your best because you are simply being mindful of the moment. How can I get better at uni-tasking? Well, that’s easy, try this type of meditation (there are many other types), it only has three steps:
Sit still and don’t move — adds blood flows the the motor regulation centers in your brain, those that are related to impulses (centered in our limbic system).
Focus on Breath
When your mind wanders (because it will) simply bring it back — this adds blood flow the left-prefrontal cortex, which is the area of your brain that helps regulate impulses.
These steps can be seen as mental pushups, and start to improve your life steadily when you want to concentrate on something, regulate emotions, or be more present in the moment. This form of meditation in particular is very helpful for mind-wandering, which is the kryptonite of uni-tasking.
Time to Reflect
Then —and this is really the missing ingredient for so many— we should allow for time to mentally process what we have learned. Our minds need time to marinate on topics as they come, before it moves on to the next. Here’s a great example, it is suggested that to learn we need to read as slowly as 100-200 words-per-minute (wpm), to comprehend 200-400 wpm, and to skim 400-700 wpm. This means in order to absorb, we have to marinate ourselves in the material, sometimes reading the same paragraph several times, highlighting it twice, or cutting it out and pasting it on our foreheads! So this begs the question, how long should I reflect? Suggesting a specific formula for absorption is difficult given the lack of context (personality type, IQ, EEG data, etc.) however, as a general rule of thumb, you should allow yourself, roughly the same amount of time dedicated to reading for mentally processing. For me, it’s helpful when reading something I really want to be able to articulate later, to allow myself twice the amount of time reading for absorbing; then I can put the into context of how I’d like to apply it to my life. Neurologically speaking, this is essential because it creates new neural pathways linked to creativity; taking precious resources away from the well-trodden pathways linked to addictions (we all have them - think t.v., cellphones, social media).
The next important step is to capture and apply. Ask yourself, "what does this information mean for me?” and “How can I apply it to my life?" I’ll capture it in my own words by writing it down and refreshing the material at a later time. It may sound like a lot, but it’s essential if you really want to know what you’re speaking or writing on, and if you want people to take you seriously or follow you. If a simple inquiry throws-off your entire position, then you really haven’t penetrated the surface of the lightly-treaded material you’re expressing yourself on. Mark Twain said, “get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” Lastly, when you marinate on what you’ve just learned, you’re doing mental pushups and don’t even know it. This is a form of meditation and get’s better with time.
Key Points:
Reflect
Capture
Apply
Time for Sharing with Others
We live in a social world riddled with many who express their strong opinions on a particular subject in which they have not explored in any depth further than the headline of an article contained within in the first line of an endless sea of search results. Their opinions turn quickly to anger and defensiveness at the mere hint of probing further, which usually is linked to the listeners sheer curiosity. Therefore, it would be prudent to place emphasis on exploring why you hold your current opinions and explore the facts on both sides of the argument, remember, every coin has not two, but three sides, the third being the hardest to see and encapsulates the others. Mark Twain (since he’s fresh on my mind here) said we should “have strong opinions, but held loosely.” Always be prepared on no matter how much you think you know, others may know more, or at least can guarantee another angle. Lastly, ask yourself this, "Is there something in which I believe strongly about, in which I actually know little about; have I been trying to convince others of that belief? Ultimately, a life filled with purpose stands on the twin pillars of Growth and Service to Others, we should therefore pay attention to the rhythm of information in our lives. One last thought, if you are ready to articulate what you’ve learned, be sure you have a receptive audience! Remember, people who want your advice, usually will ask for it.
Snapshots:
Effective multi-tasking is a myth for most everyone.
Speak on what you know at least three times as much.
Uni-tasking is a mindful way of reducing life’s junk.
Meditating by sitting still and focusing on breath can help you become less distracted.
Allow time to marinate on what you’ve learned (it’s like a bath for your brain).
After you capture what you’ve learned, think of how you want to apply it to your life?