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Your Brain At Work: Strategies For Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, And Working Smarter All Day Long (2009)

by David Rock(Favorite Author)
4.07 of 5 Votes: 1
ISBN
0061771295 (ISBN13: 9780061771293)
languge
English
genre
publisher
HarperBusiness
review 1: More awareness of how the brain works means having more effective strategies for working around pitfalls, inefficiencies, and other mind tricks. Favorite bits of advice:Everyone has a director, the voice within your brain -- focus on the mind itself. This attention helps change the function, and ultimately, the structure of the brain. - Conscious thinking involves deep complex biological interaction in the brain among neurons- Mental processes all take varying degrees of effort, like prioritizing, which takes up the most effort ... prioritize prioritizing instead of other conscious activities (emailing, etc.)- Conscious thinking is a precious resource to conserve- Use the brain to interact with info instead of trying to store it- Schedule blocks of time for different modes... more of thinking- Multitask only between thinking and automatic routines- Switching tasks uses energy; the more you do it, the more mistakes you make- You can only focus on one conscious task at once- Do only one accuracy-demanding task at a time- Distractions are exhausting; we are distracted easily and because we think about ourselves / our situation- Being always on, as well as lack of sleep, can drop IQ; disconnect- Inhibit distractions to focus- Each time you inhibit something (or, brake a mental process), you lessen your ability to do so over time- Inhibition = catching an impulse when it first emerges, before it turns to action- Have language for mental patterns- Clear your mind before embarking on difficult tasks- Peak mental performance requires a certain level of stress- KNow your levels of awareness and interest throughout the day- Insights occur more frequently when you are happy and relaxed- Simplify problems to their salient features, reflect from a high level, watch for the tickle of subtle connections preceding insight, and stop and focus on insights when they occur- Quiet your mind and see if more connections arise- For insights, take a break and do something light and interesting- Use your director to observe your emotional state- Be conscious of what arouses your limbic system arousal and work out ways to reduce them, before arousal kicks in- Notice emotions as they arise, and if strong, shift attention to another stimulus- Assign words to emotions and label them to reduce arousal- Limbic system has towards (pleasant stimulus) and away (danger, super strong reaction - run!!); brain wants to minimize away and maximize towards- Brain wants certainty and autonomy (feeling of control) and has strong emotions that work towards that- Create choice and perception of autonomy whenever you can (so that lack of autonomy is repositioned)- Reappraise: reinterpret, reorder, normalize, reposition- Expectations alter the brain's perception- Notice your expectations- Set expectations lower; exceeding them feels good- Social connections are vital, as are food and water- Connecting on a human level is very important; share personal stories; empathize- Brain classifies as foe or friend; foe is default without positive cues- Fairness is very important to the brain and to relations; people react to feeling unfair- Fairness tied to autonomy or certainty is highly emotional- Unfairness is felt at a very primal level; to accept unfairness, one must reappraise- Punishing unfairness feels rewarding- Men are less empathetic with someone who's been unfair; women do- SCARF: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness ... these are all significant drivers of behavior- Just speaking to ppl of higher status activates status threat- People protect and build their status, subconsciously- When everyone tries to be high status, we lost ability to relate- Trick your brain for a status reward by betting against yourself -- you gain status against yourself- Reduce status threats by lowering your own via sharing own humanity and mistakes; give possible feedback- Instead of offering solutions or answers, give feedback that helps people think through their own thinking, getting them to their own internal thought (without too much detail)- Instead of external feedback, help people give their own feedback--reward them for activating their own director- Problem-solving and giving feedback don't work as well; spark strong threat response- Bring people to their own insights to get them back on track- Brain is constantly changing- Focused attn changes brain ... however, attention goes easily to the threat- Creating long-term change requires paying regular attention to deepen new circuits, especially when they are new- Be aware of people's emotional states when you want to facilitate change- Don't try to influence people when in a strong away state- Remember SCARF to shift people into toward state- Use solution-focused questions that focus people's attention to the circuits you want to bring to life- Invent ways for ppl to bring repeated attention to new circuits-
review 2: A deeply researched and well written book on the neuropsychology of several everyday, mostly work related, cognitive process (attention, anxiety, motivation, expectation, collaboration).Generally really good, although I'm sure it suffers from the "A study has shown..." syndrome, where a lot of stuff doesn't quite replicate, has smaller effect sizes and/or there is a bunch of complicated confounders... but in any case I found it to be a really accessible review of research.Maybe one further problem with the proposed solutions is that pretty much all of this boils down to two advices:A. mindfulness meditation / noting and B. "just knowing about this concept sort of helps a bit"Where A is still pretty damn hard and B helps only really, really little. less
Reviews (see all)
Regina
This book is the kind of psychology book i have been yearning for days. Highly recommended!!
linsiwoo
Excellent introduction to neurological psychology delivered in an easy to digest format.
Khushi0901
the concept of engaging the Director in you is a game-changer. SCARF model
Drashanon
Great book to learn more about yourself.Markus
Noah
great book! very insightful and interesting!
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