I’ve been following farnam street lately and I am loving their content. I also recommend the Knowledge Project podcast. Shane Parrish is a great interviewer.
So so many thoughts on this.
I used to feel super guilty and pressure myself to “work better” when I’m not in focused mode. Somehow, I thought that if I were not constantly in focused mode, my work was of lower quality. [I used to be SO guilty of taking social media “breaks” because I’d attempt to be in focused mode for too long.] There would be days when I’d get upset about interruptions. Some days I still fall into this trap.
And this is so true about reading, and relevant to the incredible articles on readup:
<< Think of how your mind works when you read. As you read a particular sentence of a book, you can’t simultaneously step back to ponder the entire work. Only when you put the book down can you develop a comprehensive picture, drawing connections between concepts and making sense of it all. >>
The term "cognitive tunneling" is such a good way to describe the sensation when the focusing begins to stall. It's definitely important to accept (and even enjoy!) the need for oscillating between modes and also make sure you're really getting some good diffusion instead of distraction. I still sometimes catch myself unconsciously typing "reddit.com" into the address bar when my focus begins to fade.
I’ve been following farnam street lately and I am loving their content. I also recommend the Knowledge Project podcast. Shane Parrish is a great interviewer.
So so many thoughts on this.
I used to feel super guilty and pressure myself to “work better” when I’m not in focused mode. Somehow, I thought that if I were not constantly in focused mode, my work was of lower quality. [I used to be SO guilty of taking social media “breaks” because I’d attempt to be in focused mode for too long.] There would be days when I’d get upset about interruptions. Some days I still fall into this trap.
And this is so true about reading, and relevant to the incredible articles on readup:
<< Think of how your mind works when you read. As you read a particular sentence of a book, you can’t simultaneously step back to ponder the entire work. Only when you put the book down can you develop a comprehensive picture, drawing connections between concepts and making sense of it all. >>
The term "cognitive tunneling" is such a good way to describe the sensation when the focusing begins to stall. It's definitely important to accept (and even enjoy!) the need for oscillating between modes and also make sure you're really getting some good diffusion instead of distraction. I still sometimes catch myself unconsciously typing "reddit.com" into the address bar when my focus begins to fade.