Willpower is a limited resource. From the book Attention to the Most Important, we learned why the will fails at the most inopportune moment and what to do if you want to make the right decisions from morning to evening.
Willpower is like a muscle
According to research data, to ensure life during the day, a person makes from 23 to 35 thousand decisions. Moreover, in most cases, we are not even aware of the choice. Scientists at Columbia University, led by Sheena Iyengar, have found that the average American consciously makes about seventy decisions a day.
When making a decision or making a choice, we exercise the part of the brain that is responsible for executive function. In many ways, the brain is like muscles: you can train it, make it stronger. However, under excessive workload, when you have to make too many decisions, small and global, it works less efficiently.
With the number of decisions we have to make during the day, coupled with the huge amount of information that the brain processes, it is often overworked. As a result, it becomes more difficult for us to concentrate, the acuity of attention is sharply reduced. Fatigue and stress make him more vulnerable to distractions. Therefore, we often plunge headlong into some unimportant business - for example, watching TV - and avoid serious conversations at the end of a long, difficult, hectic day.
What to do
To protect the brain from overload and increase concentration, you need to reduce the amount of information you perceive and reduce the number of decisions you make every day. Well-known business leaders such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have come up with algorithms and rituals to avoid overwhelming themselves with choices and to channel willpower and intelligence into the big decisions of the day.
Former US President Barack Obama believes that everyday small decisions distract him from what he really needs to focus on: “I only wear gray or blue suits because I try to make as few decisions as possible. I can't think for a long time what to wear or what to eat for dinner. I have to make too many other decisions, more important. "
Strategy "Sunday Assault"
Set aside 15 minutes every Sunday to plan your wardrobe for the entire week. Review what activities are on the work schedule and decide what clothes are right for them. It is advisable to empty the section in the closet and hang the selected outfits there. Solve this question on Sunday, and on the rest of the days focus on pressing matters.
Philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote: “Our lives are consumed by little things. Simplify. Simplify. " What can you simplify in your life so that you don't strain your brain and will once again and focus on the most important people, affairs and hobbies?
Based on materials from the book Attention to the Most Important.
Willpower is like a muscle
According to research data, to ensure life during the day, a person makes from 23 to 35 thousand decisions. Moreover, in most cases, we are not even aware of the choice. Scientists at Columbia University, led by Sheena Iyengar, have found that the average American consciously makes about seventy decisions a day.
When making a decision or making a choice, we exercise the part of the brain that is responsible for executive function. In many ways, the brain is like muscles: you can train it, make it stronger. However, under excessive workload, when you have to make too many decisions, small and global, it works less efficiently.
With the number of decisions we have to make during the day, coupled with the huge amount of information that the brain processes, it is often overworked. As a result, it becomes more difficult for us to concentrate, the acuity of attention is sharply reduced. Fatigue and stress make him more vulnerable to distractions. Therefore, we often plunge headlong into some unimportant business - for example, watching TV - and avoid serious conversations at the end of a long, difficult, hectic day.
What to do
To protect the brain from overload and increase concentration, you need to reduce the amount of information you perceive and reduce the number of decisions you make every day. Well-known business leaders such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have come up with algorithms and rituals to avoid overwhelming themselves with choices and to channel willpower and intelligence into the big decisions of the day.
Former US President Barack Obama believes that everyday small decisions distract him from what he really needs to focus on: “I only wear gray or blue suits because I try to make as few decisions as possible. I can't think for a long time what to wear or what to eat for dinner. I have to make too many other decisions, more important. "
Strategy "Sunday Assault"
Set aside 15 minutes every Sunday to plan your wardrobe for the entire week. Review what activities are on the work schedule and decide what clothes are right for them. It is advisable to empty the section in the closet and hang the selected outfits there. Solve this question on Sunday, and on the rest of the days focus on pressing matters.
Philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote: “Our lives are consumed by little things. Simplify. Simplify. " What can you simplify in your life so that you don't strain your brain and will once again and focus on the most important people, affairs and hobbies?
Based on materials from the book Attention to the Most Important.
