How to avoid brain drain
Lice, strikes and no more mozzarella in any of the stores when you plan on making New Year's Day lasagna.
Is it the title of a new Coen brothers movie based on the Odyssey?
A feminist podcast starring Tina Fey?
Or some of the energy-depleting experiences that decorated my winter break?
What's your guess?
If you think I'm using my random holiday turmoils as an excuse to complain, you've got another thing coming.
They're actually awesome examples of how brain-drain works— meaning when your mind says "pas possible" to creative work because it's been depleted generating solutions to totally annoying problems.
I always though that the long ramp-up to making a decision (be it ordering from a bible-size NYC Greek diner menu to deciding whether to pivot professionally) was what drained us the most intellectually, emotionally and physically.
But Dr. Tara Swart, author of The Source, the book I'm currentIy obsessed with, says that it's the act of making the decision that's the most draining for our brains.
"It is perhaps surprising that although the rumination that leads up to a decision requires mental energy, it's the point of decision making itself that is the most energy-intense for our brains. This explains why reducing the number of unnecessary choices in our day (what to wear, eat, watch, react to on social media) is an effective way to conserve decision-making energy for bigger and more important decisions."
This is why Steve Jobs wore the same outfit each day and why so many people do their most creative work in the morning before their brains have been zapped to death on emails and deciding what to eat for lunch.
It's also why supermarkets strategically place the candy by the cash register: your brain's made hundreds of small choices by the time it gets to the counter that it's much more likely to crack for candy then.
So, here are some suggestions for you:
Reduce the number of small decisions you need to make daily. (e.g. mono wardrobe, batch cooking, delegating)
Audit your most important decision making moments and your energy when you're making them.
Create a fail-safe, energy-generating morning routine that you do without having to think about it.
Come up with a contingency plan before heading to the supermarket when you're vacationing in a small mountain village and plan on making lasagna for 12 people: what will you make if they're sold out of mozzarella or don't have the right size lasagna pan?
Sending you much love and brain-saving energy.
Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash