Re: I want to get back into the habit of doing

From: N
To: Justin Reinhart
Subject: Retrain the brain

N writes,

Do you have references on how one in a way retrains their brain? I want to get back into the habit of learning and not being distracted by my phone or social networks etc. I have a list of science books I want to get thru.

Thanks.

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From: Justin Reinhart
To: N
Subject: Re: Retrain the brain

There is no way to retrain your brain to do anything without doing said thing with your brain.  You have to practice.  This can come in two forms.  1)  Just do it. The more you do, the more often you do it, the easier it gets.  2)  You can also build associations and patterns that will get you started working more easily without thinking. For example, if you always make a cup of tea and then sit down to read a book, your brain will begin to realize over time that the aroma of tea and the hot feeling in your hands means it is now study time.  You can also do this with music, and with sitting in a particular place in the house. Practice.

Eliminate distraction. You have to put your phone away from you so you make it too difficult to zone out and suddenly pick up your phone and text people. Make it more difficult to do the wrong things than it is to do the right things.

I would also use to pomodoro technique. You set a kitchen timer to 25 minutes and work for that amount of time. Then you set it for 5 minutes and take a mandatory 5 minute break where you can squeeze in the distracting things. Repeat this over and over. By giving yourself a 5 minute window for distractions, it lets your brain work for the other 25.  Additionally, like the aforementioned aroma of tea, if you have an actual kitchen timer with a ticking sound, your brain will begin to associate the sound of rapid clicking with focus.

Lastly, the following quote summarizes the false notion of there being any silver bullet to habit building; it debunks many other such thoughts surrounding productivity; and is so shockingly to the point that I’ve never forgotten it:

“Inspiration is not what makes you write. Writing is what makes you write.”
– Merlin Mann

Regards, Justin.