A WAKE-UP CALL

[CROWN COUNCIL]

It was interesting to read of an early explorer of the Arctic  who felt a sluggish drowsy feeling come over him.  He decided to lie down and rest.  Then all of a sudden he realized that he was freezing to death. That startled him so much that he set out running at full speed.  The excitement and the vigorous exertion quickened this heart and he soon had a good supply of warm blood circulating through his body.  His life was saved because of his increased activity.

 

Reading about this caused me to wonder how often we approach our daily tasks in a relaxed routine way that causes us to feel tired and drowsy when if we were vigorously awake, we would greatly increase our productivity.  The rule is “use it or loose it” Here are some exercises for the brain that will be a good start on the “use it” side: 

 

1.  Think what has enabled you to be especially productive, creative, energized in the past.  Maybe it is going for a run.  That’s not always practical.  An alternative might be to make a list of things that motivated you in the past and incorporate them back into your life.

 

2.  Sustain attention.  Strive to focus on one activity at a time in all areas of your life.  It will keep  you alert and you will get more enjoyment out of life.

 

3. Improve your ability to harness your working memory by exercising , getting a good night’s sleep and listening patiently to those with divergent points of view.

 

4. When distractions occur, think carefully about changing your focus and make a decision to do it or not.  If you decide to change, let go entirely of what you were doing and move your full attention to a different task.

 

5. Establish a productivity and focus goal to everything you do.  When you use all of your brain it does beautiful things and it is a genuine wake up call.