Hyper-thinking- App or trap?
How much of your day do you spend hyper-thinking?
Typical symptoms include:
- You cannot resist the urge to click through your e-mail links meaning your e-mail time expands exponentially
- You suddenly realize you have spent the last hour clicking through site after site (and are not sure where you started )
- You feel secretly a little disappointed when you see no new messages in your mailbox
- Your favorites list is a veritable library (without the Dewey Decimal system!)
- You find your self twitching to tweet or text.
66% of online Americans use social networking sites today, up from just 20% in 2007. A recent Experian study showed how addictive it is: 43% of online Americans visit social media sites multiple times each day
Warning: the brain is a serial processor-that means that every time we switch to a new task we lose processing time and energy, so the myth of multitasking is more productive is just that-a myth. We all know that to be at our best—we need quality think time and the research proves that to be true.
What is a hyper thinker to do?
- Establish specific times of the day that is protected from hyper thinking—at least one hour at a time, so your brain can actually process without switching and creating distraction. This requires turning off the sound of your e-mail beeping, phone vibrating or ringing at each message and mentally letting yourself free for that time frame.
- Get off the instant gratification train: Most people do not expect a 24 second response. Let your colleagues and friends know your average response time and, unless your job is social media, recognize that one hour away at a time might actually give you some fresh ideas to share online!
- Be efficient—create blog posts and tweets in advance using programs like Tweet-U-Later, HootSuite and Twaitter; Or tools like jott or copytalk to capture your ideas on the fly when you are not glued to your computer
- Get your adrenaline kick by taking a quick jog, walk, or any other form of physical activity. Data shows that it will increase your creativity, energy, lessen depression and improve retention—just for starters.
What do you do to manage your hyper thinking? Share best practices and I will incorporate them in my upcoming writing. Or am I wrong? Is hyper thinking the wave of the future? Let me know!