Caring for Our Minds
I have traditionally been able to focus on a task for long periods of time, but I lately find my attention fragmented as dings and alerts constantly bombard my phone.
It would be easy to sum up my increased distraction to aging or perimenopause, but researchers are talking about how we are all training ourselves for “continuous partial attention” and chronic task switching.
Constant digital stimulation is creating restlessness, chronic low grade stress, and is making it harder for deep, thoughtful, creative work.
This made me think about our inner hygiene, and what daily tasks are necessary to preserve the integrity of our minds and our attention.
There are key times of day to be especially aware of what media we are consuming. Morning is when our mind is most impressionable and is when we set the direction for the day. Throughout the day, as our cognitive load increases, we become tired, making us more suggestible and with less discernment. By evening, our mind is in integration mode, so if we keep adding more information it’s unable to fully assimilate what has happened that day.
There is a guided practice at the end of the webinar that explores expanding our awareness to help us find space and the big picture as a balm for experiencing the world on a narrow, small screen.
Here is the replay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=107AhbUEFI0&t=967s |
