The ability to be productive is not only in the ability to make the most The available time. You can also improve that capacity by understanding some cognitive biases and “psychological triggers” of the brain to use them in your favor.
Such and as they point out in Fast Companyyou don’t need more hours in the day. You need to adapt your work to match the cognitive peaks of your brain and “deceive it” to Maintain motivation. These are some cognitive strategies to be more productive with less effort.
1- tune in with your ultradian rhythms
Unlike Circadian cycleswhich last 24 hours delimiting rest periods, Ultradian cycles They are much shorter and repeated every 90 or 120 minutes.
The brain is Designed to work in cycles of high concentration limited to those periods between 90 and 120 minutesfollowed by small laps of lower energy. Trying to give the maximum beyond those cycles is a waste of time. The brain needs to rest To recover energy. Ignoring that rest makes mental fatigue appears, worsens concentration and, with it, stress increases because tasks are extended more than expected.
The key is in Organize the day in blocks of deep work 90 minutes with pauses of 10 to 20 minutes between them. Implementing three of these daily cycles usually translates into greater productivity and better quality of the tasks performed.
2- The most difficult first
Would you run an Ironman just after a marathon had run? Not to be That you are Verdelissthe most likely answer is not, because the first test has already burned all your energy. In this case, the brain works in a similar way.
The prefrontal cortexresponsible for complex executive functions, shows its greatest efficiency in the early hours of the day when we have rested well. The key is think about your brain as a battery. Which is 100% at the beginning of the day, but little by little it reduces its load (cognitive capacity). Use that energy strategically.
Take advantage of the first two or three hours of your day to address demanding or very creative tasks that will consume “more energy” or that require greater concentration. Administrative, routine tasks or those meetings in which relevant decisions should not be made, they can wait for later. Doing it backwards would be to waste that valuable energy throughout the day, to get exhausted to the marathon.
3- Sorry, the brain is not multitasking
Although everything points to doing several things at once is the best way to advance them all, scientific research They have demonstrated That is not so. In fact, trying to do several things at once is even 40% less efficient What to do them one after another.
According to a Published study in Nature By scientists at Stanford University, he points out that those who perform multiple tasks at the same time, often They get worse results in tests of attention, memory and alternation of tasks that those who perform only.
Therefore, instead of trying to move all the tasks at the same time, it is convenient to make groups of similar short tasks and reserve blocks of time to complete them (one after another). Thus, small distractions are reduced that interrupt your concentration With the excuse of “it’s just a minute.”
4- Concentration triggers
Although sometimes it costs us to recognize it, the human being It is an animal of customsand our brain is able to detect signals from the environment to prepare to face certain tasks. An example is the “cognitive triggers” described by James Clear, author of the best seller ‘Atomic habits‘, as a method To create habits.
To give you an example, the way back to your house at the end of the work prepares your brain to enter a “rest mode”, in the same way as preparing a bath with candles and aromatic salts predisposes to entering a mental state of relaxation.
Create fixed signals or rituals to immerse yourself in deep work, such as order the table Before starting it, putting certain music or systematically opening your task app, can help you make the brain entered the right state.
The research From the University of California they demonstrated that these actions, apparently small and symbolic, act as psychological switches that tell your brain: “It’s time to concentrate.” The repetition of these habits reinforces the approach and reduces the adaptation time that the brain needs between one task and another.
5- The brain is not to remember
A joint study of the University of Waterloo (Canada) and the University College London, says the Human working memoryIt can only handle between four and seven simultaneous elements.
The research demonstrates that by downloading information, either In writing in a notebook or digitally In an apptension in the cognitive system is reduced and bandwidth for problem solving and creativity is released.
To the free the brain from the burden of having to remember thingsthe Zeigarnik effect is avoided, a phenomenon that puts a name to the brain obsession to end The tasks that you have already started. If you have to remember, for example, that you have to go looking for a laundry jacket, your brain will be constantly recovering that information until you complete it, interrupting your concentration in that process.
6- A carrot for your brain
Maintain motivationin addition to physical factors, it is also very conditioned by the brain. Again, our animal instinct responds to positive stimuli. As an ass that needs to follow an unattainable carrot to continue walking.
The human brain reacts to immediate and visible rewardsso marking an objective as completed activates the Dopamine system that provides well -being and happiness.
Taking that into account, Do not plan your tasks as long -term achievementsbut as small frequent achievements that activate the brain reward system. These frequent awards reinforce behavior and generate the impulse to continue with the project and avoid falling into boredom and loss of motivation.
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