I recently visited a museum here in London. When I was looking at these incredible works of art, something struck me – that was, how much FOCUS the artist needed to create these masterpieces.
When our minds are at rest, our thoughts wander more and our attention span expands. We become more creative. Have you ever noticed how some of your best ideas come when you wake up in the morning, or in the shower? I know of one entrepreneur who keeps a waterproof notepad in his shower to write down his ideas!
In today’s world we are hugely overstimulated with mobile phones, social media, the internet, emails and computers. When the mind is overstimulated, we lose mental power. Think of it like a battery getting run down. A University of London study found that being constantly connected, lowers your IQ by up to 10 points. This is worse than the effects of lasing a night’s sleep or taking marijuana.
So what is the answer? A digital detox.
The same way we detox from other things in life, a digital detox is highly beneficial for the brain. It is tough to do, but it works.
Here are some tips to help:
- Use an old fashioned alarm clock to wake in the morning rather than your phone
- Your phone has settings where you can cap your time spent on social media, emails etc. Use them!
- Assign a different call ring to the VIP people and/or emergency callers in your life (e.g. your child’s school, etc.) so that you can calmly ignore other calls when you need to.
- Find something that sparks joy and which cannot involve your phone – for example you cannot check your phone while playing table tennis, or swimming or knitting. This will really hone in your focus.
- And finally, just switch your phone off for an hour. You may feel the pull, but resist. Eventually your mind will relax and allow you to focus.
Wishing you all health and happiness,
Dr. Maria
PS. Yes, I appreciate the irony of this article reaching you via email or social media!
Reference article:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7298-info-mania-dents-iq-more-than-marijuana/