How to distract yourself for productivity

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Scientists talked about how videos with cats will help in solving complex problems.

We all strive to make the most of our time. But psychologists and neuroscientists advise the opposite. Sometimes you have to waste time. This will boost your creativity.

This is the conclusion reached by a psychologist at the University of California, Jonathan Schooler. Simple external tasks, during which the brain is distracted, stimulate creativity, he said.

Skoler and his colleagues conducted such an experiment. Participants first figured out how to use everyday objects in an original way, and then they took a basic test. After that, they were divided into four groups. One group immediately returned to quests for unusual use of items. The second was given a difficult task as a memory, the third was given an easy task during which you can distract yourself, and the fourth was allowed to rest. The best results were in the third group.

“What surprised us most was that an easy task was more useful than doing nothing,” says Skoiler. "I think the point is that during it the brain does not focus on one thing."

Thoughts quickly replace each other, associations arise. And this leads to creative ideas.

Dutch researchers came to similar conclusions. According to them, it is easier for us to make a difficult decision if before that we were briefly distracted. During the experiment, participants were given a list of cars with all the pros and cons. Based on it, it was necessary to assess the quality of the machines. Some participants were given time to think, others were given an unrelated task. As a result, the second group evaluated the cars more sensibly.

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have confirmed these findings. They monitored participants' brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging. It turned out that decision-making processes occur at the moments when we think subconsciously. The areas responsible for subconscious thinking continue to process the information received, even when we are distracted. Simply put, we can watch cat videos and ponder math problems.

Get distracted by something that has nothing to do with your problem. If you're solving a math problem, play sports instead of puzzle games.

It's also helpful to distract yourself with inspirational pictures. Only they shouldn't be related to your life. Therefore, you should not log into the social network during a break. Seeing someone's vacation photos will only make you upset.

If you want to usefully distract yourself, don't look at pictures of your friends' kids on Facebook. Better to be amazed by unfamiliar children on YouTube.