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This is Part 1 of a 3 part series on how to avoid playing life on "Expert+ Mode"
My house was a disaster. After 15 years, we finally decided that the drywall cracks and popped nails needed to be addressed - and we’d repaint everything in the process! While I was excited for the refresh, I did not anticipate how messy and disruptive it would be. To save money, we did parts of the work ourselves, so the project moved slowly. The furniture was huddled in the center of the rooms, the kitchen was unusable, and the dust… Drywall dust is a special kind of persistent.
When everything was finally returned to its usable, dust-free state, I was able to realize how the disarray had cut into my productivity. Looking at my freshly ordered house, I felt a surge of energy to get work done, including finishing things that plagued me during the renovation project.
This prompted me to investigate how my environment was impacting my productivity.
My living room during the reconstruction
The Physical Tax
The Physical Tax
The condition of my physical space is the easiest to assess. I have my paper piles - taxes, sorting, interesting articles, things to discuss with my husband, etc. Chaotic, to be sure, but there is some order in the chaos - I can find everything when I need it. My organized clutter is no problem, right?
It turns out I was wrong. Keeping track of the physical things takes a lot of mental energy. When there is chaos in our world, our brain expends energy keeping track of it all. For example - if my car keys always go in the basket by the door, I am not keeping a mental note of the fact that yesterday I wore my gray vest and tucked the keys in that pocket, which I left by the back door because I let the dog out. So, when I’m ready to leave, the keys are in the basket and I don’t have to go through mental gymnastics to remember exactly what happened the last time I had them. I certainly can keep track of the gray vest pocket by the back door (and retracing your steps is a terrific way to find lost items!) but all of these details are take mental energy that we aren't using productively. When I sit down to work, the surrounding chaos is a constant reminder of things that need to be done - that I am not working on at the moment. My brain will take note of them and serve up thoughts about overwhelm and inefficiency. Research confirms that clutter is associated with lower self-esteem, depression, and procrastination (Ferrari, et al).
The Open Mental Loops
The Open Mental Loops
But my physical space isn’t the only source of clutter in my life. Small annoyances create chronic, daily inefficiencies - the burned out hallway lightbulb, the printer toner that needs to be ordered, the sticky drawer in the kitchen, the email that I’ve been avoiding, the scrap books I want to create for my children.
Each unfinished project leaves an open loop (Masicampo et al). Our brains are wired to dwell on these open loops, stealing precious mental energy from productive pursuits.
The Digital Traffic Jam
The Digital Traffic Jam
The final brainpower thief is digital distractions. At this point, I am fully aware that we don’t multitask. For those who are not aware, when we think we are multitasking, we are actually switching tasks and refocusing our brain on the different tasks, paying a cognitive tax with every switch.
What isn’t often discussed is that we also pay that tax just keep the distraction at bay. Simply having your phone on your desk impairs cognitive performance, even if it is turned off (Ward, et al)! The TV in the background, twenty open tabs, or desktop notifications all create a mental traffic jam that slows down deep work.
How to Stop Playing on "Expert+ Mode"
How to Stop Playing on "Expert+ Mode"
It is tempting to believe that if I could just organize everything perfectly, close all of the open loops, and withstand the constant enticement from my phone, I’d be perfectly productive. This is a fallacy - life happens and clutter and unfinished projects will always creep back in and we will always be susceptible to the Siren song from our phones. Instead of perfection, I’ve been able to capitalize on the knowledge about clutter’s impact on my productivity and reduce the friction:
Close the Loops: I have a plan to incrementally address unfinished projects to close the open mental loops.
Clear the Workspace: I clear my immediate workspace before starting a high-focus task.
Physical Distance: I leave my phone in a different room during deep work.
These environmental alterations allow me to avoid playing life on "Expert+ Mode" by reducing my cognitive taxes.
References:
Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity.
Adrian F. Ward, Kristen Duke, Ayelet Gneezy, and Maarten W. Bos
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2017 2:2, 140-154
Consider It Done! Plan Making Can Elimiate the Cognitive Effects of Unfulfilled Goals.
EJ Masicampo and Roy F Baumeister.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Published online. June 20, 2011.
Procrastinators and Clutter: An Ecological View of Living with Excessive “Stuff”.
Joseph R. Ferrari, Catherine A. Roster, Kendall P. Crum, and Matthew A. Pardo
Current Psychology. Published Online: 08 September 2017.
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