Where’s my phone?
I ask this question at least five times a day.
Many of you might not lose your phone because it's always in your hands, but how often do you forget where you kept the keys or your favorite pen?
We forget things because our mind has become drunk money jumping from one app to another, from one task to another, from one thought to another in microseconds.
Every day, we’re testing how much our brain can do at once without knowing how dangerous it is.
If your phone notifications are on, you’re a bait to all those apps, the tasks you’re working on, and the other tangents going on in your mind.
How Many Loops Can You Hold At Once?
Let’s take the example of Instagram.
When you use the app, you are connected with so many of your friends from all walks of life, and you tend to have multiple conversations; you’re supposed to be on various tangents. And all of this takes place when your feed is already providing dopamine shots one after another.
You receive a text, you receive a meme, or you review a celebrity cheating, all while trying to keep that conversation going and keep an eye on how many likes your recent post has garnered.
At this point, your brain has already done more than it was supposed to.
But then there five more Apps like IG and 10X more loops you’re entertaining.
The mind is not still.
It has become a simulation yo-yo, and no matter how hard you try to keep up, you fail to keep up with everything.
The human mind is not built to entertain so many loops. Research done at the University of Oregon suggests that the human brain has a built-in limit on the number of discrete thoughts it can engage at one time.
You may feel invincible to challenge your mind by engaging in endless loops and multitasking, but it’s affecting your brain efficiency can lead to short-term memory loss.
Neuroscience suggests that switching between tasks drains your cognitive resources and takes up to 40% longer to finish a task.
If so many things are happening with your brain, how will you remember where you kept the keys anyway?
According to research from RescueTime, people generally spend an average of 3 hours 15 minutes on their phones, with the top 20% using over 4 hours and 30 minutes. Most people check their phones around 58 times every day.
These thoughts are the results of Algorithm Gods
It could range from Amazon Big Billion Sale to your friend in married in the Hamptons. These unfished thoughts stay in your mind and appear when you’re trying to concentrate or write in our case.
In a nutshell, your mind becomes a slave to these algorithms. There’s so much happening in your mind every damn minute. If you meditate, you have some hours and minutes where your mind is at rest.
I have noticed that most of these thoughts are repetitive. They come back after some days or even years. And I find myself following the same thought pattern that I had followed the first time I had them. It’s a vicious cycle.
But if you don’t, you’re constantly thinking one thing or another.
Writing is thinking on a piece of paper. If your mind is a trash can, you are not going to get things done. As William Zinsser wrote in his book On Writing Well
“Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.”
What’s the solution?
Distract Your Distraction
One way would get clear-headed would be to reducing your screen time. Ever wondered why authors before the internet era wrote so much? There’ was hardly anything to distract them.
Turning off your notifications and keeping your phone in the next room are tips I took when I was at the peak of my distraction cycle. There is enough written about digital minimalism and how it’s helping many people be conscious of using technology.
It doesn’t limit to the writer; this implies to all kinds of creators.
We think we need to read one more article or one more video before recording ours, but as much as it's helping you gain some more insights, it’s also procrastinating your creative project.
It’s what I call a Smart Procrastination where you feel you’re working, but you’re pushing back the work you’re supposed to do. Or you’ll keep juggling like the ball you see in the cover image between research and a half-written article, half filmed videos, or your half edited podcast.
To exercise this
I took several personal experiments challenges to cut my screen time.
I stopped using Instagram cold turkey and saved 2–3 hours every day. It allowed me to create a space where I wasn’t disrupted by notifications.
You can create such personal challenges to optimize your time online.
Focusing on what you’re doing at present and trying to use less technology for leisure. I came down from 30 to 5 times asking about where my phone was 😅
I am taking baby steps.
Last Week’s Finds
Lesson of the week
Do one thing extraordinary and not 100 things above average.
Book of the week
I am not reading anything this week. Needed a break but listening to some random audiobooks.
Video of the week
I listened to Tim Ferriss after a long time. This episode was a compilation of lessons from Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, and Ray Dalio.
Quote of the week
“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”
— Nhat Hanh
Song of the week
I am welcoming this month with Earth, Wind & Fire’s September. I love this band, and thank god I founder a happy September song (Wake Me Up When Sep Ends by Green Day is too depressing). As a 90s kid, I love 70s and 80s music way too much. It has a whole different vibe.
Creation of the week
I working on some pieces behind the scene. I don’t know when I will publish them.
Sharing the snippets on Twitter is fun and a great way to document my brain miles.
If you enjoyed any bit of this email, feel free to share it with your friends.
I will see you next Sunday with something new and experimental.
Have a fun and exciting week ahead :)
Love and light
Shreya