Take It Easy on Your Brain!

We rely heavily on our brains to help us get more done. According to research, we do it way too much. We rely on our brains constantly to remember a litany of tasks on our mental to-do lists and to help us prioritize the list so we can and take the right action.

The problem is that our brains burn through much energy and attention trying to hold on to ideas, tasks, etc. that it doesn’t want to forget. It’s called the Zeigarnik effect. Think of it as a reminder system built into our minds that keeps pinging us when we know that there are things that we need to do and can’t forget about.

What’s really happening behind the scenes is an underlying struggle between our conscious and unconscious minds. The unconscious mind wants to plan how to finish the task, but it can’t, so it gets annoyed with the feeling of it being unfinished. To shake off that feeling, it nags the conscious mind with reminders about the task. Not to finish it, but to encourage it to make a plan. Until it does, the loop remains unclosed.

While it may seem neat that our brains have the capacity to keep pinging us, it’s not wise to rely on it in that way. Not only do we still tend to forget things but think about how much more we could get out of our brains if they were unburdened from having to serve as our to-do lists and calendars.

Which is why it’s critical that we schedule our tasks. Scheduling tasks abates the nagging of the unconscious brain, as it’s satisfied that at some point we’ll get onto that task. That’s why every task, commitment, and event should be written down or saved with a time attached to it.

The first step to managing your life and time is getting every commitment, large and small, out of your head and into a trusted system, whether that’s a to-do list, blocking out time on your calendar, or an app.

Another way to help our brains is reduce decision fatigue. From the moment we wake up each day, we’re faced with a continuous flow of choices. Many are minor (such as what to wear) and some are major. Even things that don’t seem so important, like which task to complete first, can become bigger deals when we start to consider how aligned or misaligned they are with our goals and strategic priorities. Which all adds up.

When we’re confronted with too many options, we tend to feel overwhelmed, anxious, stressed or otherwise out of sorts. This is known as decision fatigue, a state of mental overload that can impede our ability to make additional decisions. And when our minds are fatigued, we tend to make worse decisions and exercise less self-control.

Here are some ways to overcome decision fatigue and boost willpower:

1.       Plan the night before. The decisions that drain us are usually the ones that we make repeatedly, like:

• What am I going to wear to work?

• What should I eat for breakfast?

• Should I go to the gym before or after work?

These can all be decided in 3 minutes or less the night before, which means you won't be wasting your willpower on those choices the next day. Take time to plan out, simplify, and design your day so that you have more mental space for the day’s important choices.

2.       Do the most important thing first. First thing in the morning is when we have the most attention, energy, and focus. Start your day by working on the most important things.

3.       Simplify. Willpower is one area of life where you can most certainly improve your output by reducing the number of inputs.

4.       Remind yourself that good enough is almost always good enough. If you need something, it doesn’t have to be the best option out there. Don’t cast too wide a net when considering the options.