At work, I sit at a desk for most of the day. Meetings, meetings, and more meetings. There is an importance to how we function day to day. As humankind, we haven't always been this way. The latest book I am reading is called Brain Rules. It does a marvelous job in simplifying the best ways to get the most out of our brains. The book is split into twelve sections seen below in this sketch note I made in OneNote:
I stated it does a marvelous job in simplifying how we can best get the most of our brains, but not through tips. It is through principles, and these principles, allow you to apply these strategies flexibly to your situations. For example, I love all kinds of music. I listen to music throughout the day. But I am not a musician. John Medina outlines what capabilities musicians have that help them identify emotions below: My PerspectiveAttentionThe first section that resounds to me is attention. I hadn’t made the connection to multi-tasking, and the ability to only pay attention to one thing at a time. Makes me plan differently knowing that. Add to this the layer of multi-charged events within a 10 minute timeframe, a dash of emotion, and you have a great recipe for something to remember. StressThis section intrigues me. I love stress – the challenge of it. I feel like I am at the height of what stress can do for me to perform. There are times when I might spill over, but for the most part, I can deal with it. Some of it I think comes from a joy of problem solving.
Much of my stress comes from getting things done. By the way, getting things done is not really about getting things done. It’s about appropriate engagement. Many times I say to myself in moments of stress “I need more time.” Well guess what Einstein and Steve Jobs didn’t have more time. It’s not about time. It’s about space. Psychic bandwidth. Room to think. Room to get it simple. How much time does it take to have a good idea, make a good decision? ZERO. If you have room in your mind, you can take three minutes for a powerful conversation. But if you don’t have the bandwidth in your mind, you can spend two hours playing games on your smart phone or engaging in social media. And if you don’t have the bandwidth, you take time fixing stuff. And that drains your creativity and you become stressed out. Exercise![]() The third section that grabbed my attention was exercise. I love to exercise. I confess - I am addicted to it. John Medina states that physical activity is cognitive candy. The impact of exercise is system wide. For me personally, it is about procedures and routines. I get up at the same time and I work out - focusing on different routines every day. This particular section makes me wonder how do we incorporate more activity for our students during the day? Is it looking at learning spaces differently like in #LT8Keys? Is it incorporating more transitions into the instructional hour? I am not sure. I just know for students to have the best chance at learning, they need to move more. Brief ReflectionI really enjoyed this book. There are several items I plan on incorporating daily to get the most out of my ability to remember, control stress, and perform at my best ability. Here are some of the image creations that Eileen Heller and I created during this read:
2 Comments
Eileen Heller
8/4/2017 06:10:11 am
I continue to be amazed by the power and wonders of the human mind as I read this book and reflect on my own ways personally and professionally. A lot of the overall topics in the book were familiar: get good sleep, limit too much stress, exercise is important. However, I love reading the "why" and how they all interact together. Your paragraph about stress really stands out when you said, "but don't take on too much that you are hindered in the bandwidth of thoughts.". I find myself there a lot and when I open my mind, such as on a long run, I do open it to creativity and problem solving. Now I need to find ways to make that happen more often during the everyday. Great synopsis of a very interesting book.
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Keegan
8/9/2017 06:38:43 am
Love the infographic, Rob! This is one that I'd be interested in reading. Fingers crossed it's available on Audible🤞🏻Thanks for sharing!
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