Jennifer George is a productivity geek and Web addict who writes the
blog Lifemuncher. In the real world, she is a fundraiser for UCLA and
a graduate student in clinical psychology at Capella University.
Jennifer George is a productivity geek and Web addict who writes the
blog Lifemuncher. In the real world, she is a fundraiser for UCLA and
a graduate student in clinical psychology at Capella University.
We all feel shy at times. Some of us find groups intimidating, others feel self conscious one on one, still others can’t stand to be the focus of attention for fear that people will see something wrong with them. The truth is that everyone has insecurities and everyone has faults. While we’re busy worrying that everyone else is secretly noticing how badly we suck at something, chances are they are really worrying about everyone noticing how badly they suck at exactly the same thing. For all but the truly exceptionally self-assurred among us a few tips on how to feel less shy would probably come in very handy.
If you agree, check out ThinkSImpleNow.com . They got as a great article on how to overcome shyness as well as a ton of other content that will lift your spirits, improve your self esteem and help you remember that everyone is unique and special and also that we’re all just human. I’ll be that our two resident cognitive scientists, Jennifer George and Lynn O’Connor have even more helpful tools and enlightened commentary on shyness and how to fight it. Perhaps one of them will weigh in on this post?
As a bonus you might want to check out another article from ThinkSImpleNow.com that covers all the stuff we collect and some helpful methods for getting it under control. Do you have any tips on decluttering your life that you’d like to share? Please do in the comments.
Editor’s Note: Smart drugs, also called nootropics are a relatively recent phenomenon for most people. Although some folks have been aware of, and utilizing, a variety of drugs that appear to measurably improve intellectual performance, concentration, wakefulness, energy, memory and more, to date there has been little coverage of these compounds in the mainstream press and also a paucity of research on safety and efficacy.
That stands to change however as new drugs like Provigil - which shows promise in correcting many problems from the effects of sleep deprivation to the fatigue associated with MS - begin to be more thoroughly investigated for off label uses. Further, aging baby boomers that are not willing to allow the aging process to slow them down, continue to drive forward the prospects of any product that can help them stay young longer.
As a former researcher with a certain amount of expertise on this topic, I would be happy to include more posts on compounds like Provigil if GTDtimes readers like this material. Please let us know in the comments.
Editor
Blogger Johann Hari posted an account of his recent experiment with the new smart drug, Provigil (also called modafinil), and it’s caused a lot of discussion in the blogosphere. Here’s a quote describing the effects he felt after ingesting his first pill:
He didn’t experience any particular side effects, but gave it up for fear of all the things we still have to learn about the drug and its relationship with the brain. The idea of a magic, consequence-free smart drug to give you effortless concentration and productivity is tremendously tempting, don’t you think? Would you try it? Or do you prefer the old fashioned way?
Editor’s Note: One of our new contributing cognitive scientists Jennifer George weighs in with a short post on procrastination and attachment. Can anyone beside me relate to what she’s saying here?
My fellow procrastinators and I are well acquainted with the mental drama that goes on as we torture ourselves about that important task left undone. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that the thing we’re not doing signifies all sorts of icky emotions and unconscious ideas about ourselves and our lives.
In our more lucid moments, we can see that there really is nothing fundamentally different about playing GTA IV versus writing that paper that’s due tomorrow. Both activities involve synthesizing information, making decisions, and moving our hands and eyes to make the right things happen on our computer screen.
The real difference between the two is what Buddhists call “attachment” — the clinging, coveting emotions and beliefs we have about ourselves and the world, including pride, fear, and desire. In more modern terms, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy describes our habitual maladaptive thoughts as “cognitive distortions.” Both schools argue that examining our existing thought patterns and developing new, productive ones can help us reduce suffering and build more useful behaviors.
It may not be enlightenment, but next time you’re not doing something you’re supposed to, think about the attachments, emotions, and thoughts that are getting in your way. Remember that they are illusory and temporary, and try to squirm out of their grasp for a while
*cartoon from CoddledEgg Blog
Have you ever been getting ready for work in the morning and find that you have absolutely no idea if you’ve taken your vitamin (or washed your face, or some other repetitive task that you do every day)? It happens to me regularly, and it turns out there’s a reason.
According to Gary Marcus’s new book Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind, context is “one of the most powerful cues affecting our memory.” So, if you learn something in a classroom, you’re more likely to remember it in a classroom. If you smelled lavender while memorizing a list of words, lavender will help you recall them. (Study after study proves it.)
It turns out that the more contextual clues you have about something, the easier it is to remember. But that also means that the things we do most often, and have the most cues for, are strongest and tend blend into each other. That’s why I can’t remember to take my vitamin.
According to Marcus, “What we remember and what we forget are a function of context, frequency and recency…” Memory prioritizes. The things we’ve thought about recently are easiest to remember. This is the reasoning behind something like the Noguchi filing system, which organizes files according to how recently we’ve accessed them.
The brain works much like the Noguchi system. Says Marcus, “For our ancestors, who lived almost entirely in the here and now (as virtually all nonhuman life forms still do), quick access to contextually relevant memories of recent events or frequently occurring ones helped navigate the challenges of seeking food or avoiding danger.”
The solution is something pilots know: checklists help with repetitive tasks. Can you imagine flying every day for weeks at a time? Would you remember every step of the takeoff procedure?
When checklists aren’t practical, we need to arrange our lives to compensate for our weaknesses in memory. Take a look in my car’s glove compartment and my office desk drawer. You’ll find vitamins there.
