"Location, location, location" applies to productivity, too. Here are three neuroscience habits to shift your desk from scattered to focused.
Your brain is a contextual learner, and right now it’s learned that your desk equals stress.My 8 year old took over my office with 3D printed dragons and resin ducks.It was the one room in our house that wasn’t covered in construction paper crafts and stuffed animals.
It was where I got work done. But then my daughter got older…her toys multiplied…she needed a desk of her own…and my once organized office was turned into a blanket fort every weekend.Then I realized I didn’t need an office with a perfect Pinterest aesthetic to get my brain to focus., Scottish researchers D. R. Godden and Alan Badley had scuba divers listen to a list of words. The test? Would they remember more words if they were tested again underwater or on land?This happens because our brains are context-dependent learners. Your brain learns based on cues from your senses.We’ve all heard the health experts sound the alarm about screens in bed. And how the light messes with your brain’s natural sleep-wake rhythms.If you hop into bed and grab your phone to scroll, or answer emails, or do anything other than sleep, you're training your brain that bed=Just give your desk a neuroscience glow-up.At this very moment, your brain is filtering an almost infinite amount of sensory information. It’s making lightning-fast decisions about what’s important and what can be ignored.at the University of California, Los Angeles found that when women described their homes as cluttered or unfinished, they had higher levels of cortisol .Do a 5-minute declutter of your workspace. Declutter your desk at the end of each day, so you start your day with a space primed to focus.I like my space organized. But I don’t want it to feel like a DMV waiting room. Adding plants can make a positive difference, and there’s science to back me up.Adding plants to your workspace can activate your brilliance.A focus activator is a cue that tells your brain it’s time to get to work — not time to go through emails, answer messages, or scroll throughIt doesn’t need to be complicated. Keep in mind that our brains are contextual learners. So a visual cue works great.Writing by hand activates more of your brain, and it’s a unique way to signal your brain that it’s time to work . Your focus activator could be putting your favorite coffee cup on your desk, a brief breathing exercise, or a mantra that you say. The key: Only put out your focus activator when you want to focus, so you don't teach your brain that it means anything goes. Giving your desk a quick neuroscience glow-up will save you time every week. But more important than saving time, it’ll save you brain power.Godden, D. & Baddeley, A. . Context-dependent memory in two natural environments: on land and underwater. British Journal of Psychology, 66, 325-331. Lee, K. et al. . 40-second green roof views sustain attention: the role of micro-breaks in attention restoration. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 42, 182-189. Saxbe, D. et al. . No place like home: Home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36., is a psychologist with expertise in clinical psychology and neuropsychology located in Calgary, Canada, where she’s the founder of Rocky Mountain Neurosciences. She is also the host of The Bold Life Podcast.Self Tests are all about you. Are you outgoing or introverted? Are you a narcissist? Does perfectionism hold you back? Find out the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today.
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