Kaizen Tip 307: Fighting for Space
This week's Tip comes to you from Justin Collinge of the Kaizen Team. Access more tips like this, plus cool videos and news from the Kaizen Blog www.kaizentraining.wordpress.com and the Kaizen website www.kaizen-training.com
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Fighting for Space
Jim is aware he needs to get on with that piece of work. He's been putting it off because he knows it's going to be tough - but time has now run out. So, girding up his loins, he settles down and is ready to go...
First, he puts on some music because he knows it helps him concentrate.
He's also worried about another piece of work but leaves that to one side because the deadline for this is nearer.
He's quite hungry - but isn't going to stop now. He's decided he'll reward himself with a snack once he's worked for an hour.
He logs into Facebook and Linkedin to check who else in online at the moment. It's nice to know that there are others around he can chat to if he gets stuck.
OK - everything's ready. He begins with enthusiasm but finds it really hard to focus and within ten minutes is sending a text to a friend moaning about how stressed he feels...
What's actually going on here from a neurological point of view?
The brain handles huge amounts of information. However, it's ability to handle items consciously is limited - severely limited. It used to be said that we could be aware of "seven plus or minus two" things at any one time. More recent research shows it's more like three - perhaps four at the most. David Rock, is his highly recommend brook "The Brain at Work" (Harper Business, 2009) uses a metaphor where thoughts are like the actors vying for room on the tiny stage of our brain. Too many on stage at any one time, and others get pushed off. With that in mind let's look again at what Jim is trying to do.
He sits down and puts on some music. There is a debate about background music. Chosen carefully it can have a huge positive impact on your state - and therefore the quality of work you get done. It can also drown out other distractions, like a nearby conversation or the sound of the TV next door. However, it can also take up stage-space. Personally, over the last 12 months I have started to pay more attention to when I find music helpful for my productivity - and when it's taking up space I need for other thinking. For example, I've found well-chosen music really helpful if I'm doing something creative - but distracting if I want to focus on details.
Jim's also hungry. That awareness will constantly nag him and could take up critical stage-space. He's also worried about that other piece of work. There goes more on his stage. Being online with social media networks is also taking up room. No wonder he's finding it hard to concentrate - there's very little stage left for thinking about his piece of work.
There's been research about our 'always on' culture - particularly with mobile phones picking up e-mails. It's been shown that there's a little bit of our brain constantly wondering who might text/e-mail/leave a voice message or IM. This bit of awareness lowers our IQ by around 10 points! This is the equivalent of working after a really poor night's sleep. And, if you've had a poor night's sleep - it's even worse! After reading this research, I now turn off my e-mails and phone when I've got serious work to do - including writing this tip!
So, what's the realistic answer to this?
This week's call to action: