Your Brain Is Slowing You Down — Here's How to Fix It - Help Wanted

Summary

Help Wanted Podcast Summary: "Your Brain Is Slowing You Down — Here's How to Fix It"

Hosted by:

Jason Feifer – Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine
Nicole Lapin – Money Expert

Release Date: November 7, 2024
Podcast: Help Wanted by Money News Network

Introduction

In this insightful episode of Help Wanted, hosts Jason Feifer and Nicole Lapin tackle a common yet often overlooked barrier to productivity: overreliance on cognitive processes. Through engaging discussions and personal anecdotes, they explore how reducing mental clutter can enhance performance, foster creativity, and lead to more fulfilling work experiences.

The Power of Letting Go

Nicole Lapin kicks off the conversation by sharing a personal experiment that shed light on the episode's central theme. She recounts purchasing a Papa Shot basketball game for her basement and notices a significant difference in her performance based on her mental state during play.

Quote: “When I shoot in silence, I am just so... my high score is maybe 50. But when I play songs that I love and sing along as I shoot, I become Steph Curry. My current high score is 121.” [04:30]

Insight: This observation leads Nicole to theorize that a less focused mind allows instinctual actions to take over, resulting in improved performance. This concept aligns with psychological principles that they delve into next.

Understanding the Yerkes-Dodson Law and Flow State

Drawing from the Yerkes-Dodson Law, Nicole explains how performance is influenced by optimal levels of stress and focus. Too little stress leads to boredom, while too much causes anxiety, both hindering performance. The sweet spot, or "flow state," is where individuals perform their best—engaged yet relaxed.

Quote: “Yerkes-Dodson law is basically the Goldilocks theory of performance... when you get that stress just right, your performance spikes.” [06:15]

Flow State Defined:
The flow state, a concept popularized in the 1990s, refers to a mental zone where individuals are fully immersed and involved in activities, leading to high creativity and productivity without the sense of effort.

Three Strategies to Optimize Performance

Nicole presents three actionable strategies to help listeners tap into their flow states by reducing unnecessary mental strain:

1. Walking and Talking Meetings

Problem: Traditional video calls can be mentally exhausting due to constant focus and screen time.

Solution: Incorporate physical movement into meetings by suggesting walking while talking. This approach not only alleviates the monotony of sitting but also stimulates creativity as the brain engages with multiple stimuli.

Quote: “When I walk, my brain is engaged by multiple things and instinct can take over. Ideas flow more freely.” [08:50]

Benefits:

Enhanced creativity
Increased engagement
More dynamic and productive conversations

2. Capturing Ideas on the Fly

Problem: Relying solely on deliberate brainstorming can limit the influx of spontaneous and diverse ideas.

Solution: Train yourself to recognize and jot down potential ideas whenever they arise—during conversations, experiences, or random thoughts. Utilize tools like the Reminders app to capture these fleeting inspirations for later development.

Quote: “Whenever I stumble upon an interesting idea... I have trained myself to think that could be a newsletter or podcast.” [10:20]

Implementation Tips:

Keep a digital or physical note-taking tool handy
Embrace ideas from all sources, even seemingly unrelated ones
Allow ideas to evolve naturally during the creation process

3. Don't Micromanage the Moment

Problem: Over-preparation and rigid structuring can stifle spontaneity and responsiveness.

Solution: Whether delivering a keynote or conducting an interview, use outlines and familiar narratives instead of memorized scripts. This flexibility enables real-time adaptation and a more authentic interaction with the audience or interviewee.

Quote: “I can react to the audience in real time because I'm not focused intently in a stressful way on the things that I'm saying.” [12:00]

Advantages:

Greater authenticity
Enhanced ability to connect with others
Increased adaptability in dynamic situations

Personal Reflections and Encouragement

Nicole emphasizes that these strategies are not one-size-fits-all but encourage listeners to find what uniquely works for them. She advocates for trusting one's instincts and embracing individuality to achieve optimal performance.

Final Quote: “You are at your best when you are you, not when you're trying to be you. So let go a little. Trust yourself. You've got this.” [14:00]

Conclusion

In "Your Brain Is Slowing You Down — Here's How to Fix It," Jason Feifer and Nicole Lapin offer a compelling argument for reducing mental overexertion to unlock higher levels of performance and creativity. By implementing walking meetings, capturing spontaneous ideas, and allowing flexibility in structured moments, listeners can enter flow states more readily, leading to enhanced satisfaction and success in their professional lives.

Key Takeaways

Balance Focus and Relaxation: Understanding and applying the Yerkes-Dodson Law can help maintain optimal performance levels.
Embrace Movement: Incorporating physical activity into routine tasks can stimulate creativity and reduce mental fatigue.
Capture Spontaneous Ideas: Keeping an open mind and recording ideas as they occur fosters a richer pool of creative material.
Allow Flexibility: Reducing rigid structures in presentations and interactions can lead to more genuine and effective communication.

For more insights and solutions to your work-related challenges, subscribe to the Help Wanted podcast by Money News Network and visit their website for additional resources.

Transcript

A (0:00)

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B (1:05)

This is help Wanted, the show that makes your work work for you. I'm Jason Pfeiffer, editor in chief of.

A (1:11)

Entrepreneur Magazine, and I'm money expert Nicole Lapin. On Tuesdays, Jason and I answer the helpline and help callers solve their work problems.

B (1:19)

And on Thursdays, I give you one way to improve your work and build a career or company you love.

A (1:24)

And it starts now.

B (1:27)

You are working hard on something, but that something just isn't working. Maybe you hit a dead end on a project, or you fell behind on a deadline, or you're staring at a blank page just unable to create something brilliant. Today, I'm going to fix that problem for you. You are going to improve your performance. You're going to have a breakthrough idea and you're going to rock through your tasks and all you have to do is this. You have to use less of your brain. It's a counterintuitive idea, I know. I stumbled upon it myself recently and then discovered that this has deep roots in psychology. So today I'm going to explain how to do it, how to just turn yourself off a little bit. But first I'm going to tell you how it helped me. So last year I bought a Papa Shot. You've Seen Papa shot. Just imagine going to an arcade and there's like a little basketball game there. You know, like a. You know, some small basketballs, and you shoot into a hoop and then it rolls right back to you. Anyway, Papashot is just one of the brands that makes those things. It's a basketball game. I bought one of those things and I set it up in my basement. Because when you're an adult and you have a basement, you can buy one of those things and set it up there. I said it was for my kids, but let's be honest, this thing was for me. I was really excited about it. I love this thing. It's a great way to relax. And as I have played, I've noticed an interesting pattern. When I shoot in silence, I am just so. So my high score is maybe 50. But when I play songs that I love and sing along as I shoot, I become Steph Curry. My current high score is 121. Why is this? I developed a theory as it was happening. I figured when I'm shooting in silence, I'm focused on my shot. But when I'm listening to music, my brain is partially occupied, and so my body takes over, and that's when I shoot better. It's like a little formula. Less brain, more instinct. And I wondered, is this a thing? Like a. Is this a real thing? It's just a thing I made up. So I started to do some research and I found. Oh, yeah, it is definitely a thing. In 1908, two psychologists developed what is called the Yerkes Dodson Law. Yerkes Dodson law is basically the Goldilocks theory of performance. It goes like this. If you are too passive or too intense about something, then you will perform it poorly. But when you get that stress just right, your performance spikes. And why is this? Well, the idea is that if you're not working hard enough on something, then you're kind of bored. And if you're focused too much on it, then you are overstressed. And neither of those leads to great performance. But when you get it just right, when you have just that perfect optimal level of stress, then you are engaged, but not overly engaged, but not underlying engaged. And that is when you do your best work. In the 1990s, we started calling this flow state. The idea is that people are most creative, productive, and happy when they are in a flow. When they are working on something in a way that almost becomes effortless, even as it is challenging. I'm sure that if you. If you make anything, you have experience that flow state. Sometimes I will be writing something or I'll be making a podcast. And it's challenging. It's challenging my brain, but I've set aside time for it and I'm working at it and I'm just in it. And the time passes and my performance is high. This is something that psychologists have now been talking about for more than a century. It shows up in all sorts of studies. And it was what was making me do well as I was shooting baskets in my basement. And this all got me wondering, can we apply this elsewhere? Like, how else can we subtract our brains and increase our instincts? Well, let's start here. I have found three instances that really work for me. So here they are. Number one, walking and talking. My day, like yours, is full of video calls. And I don't like this. It's too much focus, too much staring at a screen and thinking about who I'm talking to and what I'm supposed to be saying. So I have started an experiment. Whenever it feels appropriate, I suggest that we go off video. I'll say to someone, you know, I'm going to take a walk while we talk. I've just been stuck in front of the computer for too long. At first I worried that this would seem unprofessional. But you know what? People thanked me. They don't want to be on video either. And some of them have even joined me in going outside and taking a walk while we talk. When I walk, my brain is engaged by multiple things and instinct can take over. Ideas flow more freely, I become more animated. The meetings are better. I strongly suggest this, or even better, invite people to take an actual, in real life, walk with you. Multiple business partnerships of mine have started this way by just walking and talking. So that's strategy number one. Number two, ideas on the fly. People often ask me, hey, where do you get ideas for your newsletter and podcast? And here's the answer. I do not get them by thinking of ideas for the newsletter and podcast. Instead, my system is simple. Whenever I stumble upon an interesting idea based on something that I said in conversation in real life, or heard someone tell me or just experienced in passing, I have trained myself to think that could be a newsletter or podcast. Then I write it down in my Reminders app. I use the just. I have an iPhone and so I use the House Reminders app and I just jot down any idea that could turn into one of these things. So, for example, here is something that I wrote a few weeks ago which prompted the thing that you are literally listening to right now. Here's what I wrote. I wrote, loosen the grip When I play Papa shot in my basement. I shoot better when I'm listening to music I love and singing along. Why? Because my brain isn't 100% focused on the shot, allowing incident to take over a little bit. This is like riding a mountain bike. You want to. You want your grip loose. Check with Andy on that. Come up with better ideas in conversation. Instead of sitting trying to think of ideas. Okay, that's what I just jotted down to myself. And when it is time to create something, what I do is I pull out my reminders app and I scan around and I say, ah, that idea. I like that idea. And then I just start writing. I get into a flow state. I just write. I see where the words take me, even if it means abandoning some of the original concepts. Because as you just heard a second ago, some of this stuff, like a mountain bike or whatever, that just didn't make it into what I am presenting you right now because I didn't need it anyway. This is all part of a belief of mine, which is this. The best ideas are generated on the fly. And this goes for collaborations, too. When I'm in meetings, I'll often say, you know, I'm just going to think out loud here. And then I'll just kind of workshop an idea in monologue or conversation. When I'm moving, when I'm going, I'm not focused on, like, I have to come up with a great idea, and therefore I'm not as stressed about it. And it just kind of comes out of me. It just flows. All right, so that was strategy number two. Here's strategy number three. Don't micromanage the moment. I give a lot of keynote talks. I have never written down or memorized one. That's not to say that I wing it on stage. I create an outline, I rehearse, I refine. But I also structure my talks around familiar stories that I love telling and exercises that I've shared many times. That way, I intuitively just know this stuff. So when I'm on stage, I'm able to act on instinct. I sound fresh, and I can react to the audience in real time because I'm not focused intently in a stressful way on the things that I'm saying. If you memorize something word for word, the opposite will happen. You will anchor yourself to your words, you will be stiff, and you will lose your place. And once you lose your place, you will never find it again. I take a similar approach to interviews. Actually, I've interviewed a listers like the Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Michelle Pfeiffer. I never write out a list of questions because if I did, I'd be stuck thinking about the next question instead of listening and responding to them, instead of just being in the flow with them. So instead, here's how I prep. I learn a lot about them. I hypothesize a few directions the conversation could go in, and then I get there and I let it flow. The possibilities are endless. As you heard the examples above, you might have thought, eh, that won't work for me. That's totally fine. All good. What works for you might not work for me. And what works for me might not work for you. We have different instincts. The point here is not to be prescriptive. It's to focus less and feel more. You are at your best when you are you, not when you're trying to be you. So let go a little. Trust yourself. You've got this. And if you're ever in my basement playing basketball, sing as you shoot. All right? And that came from my newsletter. Maybe you know this if you are a longtime listener of Help Wanted. My newsletter is called One Thing Better each Week. One way to be more Successful and satisfied at Work and build a career or company you love. It's a companion to Help Wanted. I read it here on the show every week, but you can subscribe and get it in your inbox a few weeks early along with some other fun goodies that I drop in there. You can get it at one thingbetter email. That is a web address. Just plug it into a browser. One thingbetter dot Email. And when you get it, just don't think too much about it. Just enjoy it. Just, you know, get into that flow.