Overstimulation

BRAIN BURNOUT

Do you sometimes feel you're brain is like a TV set with a stuck channel switching button? I do. I think the years of cramming as much in to my day all at the same time, have taken a toll - I'm getting brain burnout.

I posted earlier in the year about Inspiration Overload and the need for better time management to do all the things we want in our lifetimes. Since then, I've thought more about this modern-day phenomena of having so many information channels open to us and what it could mean trying to digest everything all at the same time. Learning is fun and work is rewarding too. I get a kick out of both and like the feeling of delivering under pressure and the rewards of completing a set of tasks for myself - often before most people have got out of bed these days. It's like a game and feels like you're creating time when you manage everything so efficiently - juggling responsibilities and learning new stuff in that limited window of time. It's been my key motivator for getting up so early every day. However, I'm starting to feel a little like a pinball machine and not sure it's doing me as much good as doing less and focussing more on one thing at a time.

My mornings start with a glance at the calendar & to do-list, then I'll have a series of windows open on my computer that will contain the inspiration and reference materials ready to ingest, learn and write about. As I only have a limited time-frame to work within, I'll often be 'multitasking' in order to get everything done and there's many reasons to suggest why juggling multiple tasks is best avoided.

Multitasking is a myth
Research confirms that what we are in fact doing, is flicking back and forwards between each task - as our brains can only manage one set of instructions at a time. In doing so, we are losing valuable time in the switch - which, over a period, shows a decrease in productivity and can actually do us harm. Each time we complete a little task like answering an email/text or completing a to-do, there's a release of dopamine in our brains that gives us that 'rewarding' feeling.

It's been shown in studies on rats that we can become addicted to these reward 'hits' in the same way a drug addict will be addicted to a cocaine buzz. Repeated and sustained periods of information bombardment can tax our brains in a way to cause exhaustion, anxiety and in some recently shown cases with gamers, even death.

Get organised
Having so much digital house-keeping to do can cause a lot of stress. This means over time, an increase in levels of cortisone. In the good old days before always-on technology, there were times spent away from computers and now smart phones, when you could focus on just the one task - and quietly use your brain. It is great having a mini-computer in our pockets but we have to keep on top of everything that this technology brings us. We need to get organised and this book by Daniel Levtin should help - The Organised Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload.

Creating folders for keeping your email in-box clutter-free is just one of the fixes you can make, but understanding how our brains have evolved and work will help us to understand our limitations more. My digital content/connectivity has gotten to the point where I'm now getting sick of my phone buzzing away with notifications and I fear burnout if I don't switch off more from having this level of connectivity.

I'd like to remove myself completely from the digital world at some point like this guy did, but for now it's all about managing the time I'm exposed to it. I've stripped back on subscribed newsletters, switched my email app to manual checking for new mail and removed most of the notifications from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and any of the other non-important apps on my iPhone. I've added a sign-off to my email which states the times I will be checking mail and my working hours. Arguably, the best thing to do, is ditch the mobile all together and switch back to a regular phone, but that's difficult to reverse unless everyone does it.

We can certainly take some time out to be mindful as we see from the teachings contained in this post - watch the video under the heading: An Ancient Practice, A Modern Need. But if we still wish to stay connected, it should only be in moderation. Maybe there's an app out there that restricts the phone's functionality, in essence, only allowing short periods of time throughout the day via a stop watch, with pre-determined minutes for using the phone for anything other than calls. If there isn't - someone make it please!