UNDERSTANDING YOUR BRAIN & THE NEUROSCIENCE BEHIND PRODUCTIVITY

The science of time management involves neuroscience, time management, and holistic health. Let's dive into the science of optimizing your time effectively in the context of medical science and holistic well-being. As high-achieving individuals in the fields of leadership, you understand the complexities of decision-making and managing both organizations and health.?

How the Dopamine pathway in your brain influences what you prioritise

Your brain serves as an intricate timekeeping device, relying on regions like the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia to create your unique sense of time. The prefrontal cortex is your command center for planning, strategizing, and overseeing your responsibilities. The basal ganglia automates repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus on high-priority matters?

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, plays a pivotal role in time management. Achieving goals and milestones triggers dopamine release, giving you a sense of reward and accomplishment. This mechanism not only fuels productivity but also contributes to your holistic well-being.

HACKING YOUR BRAIN FOR TIME MANAGEMENT & PRODUCTIVITY

1. Technology Boundaries

Most effective CEO’s utilize various forms of technology to enhance personal productivity, such as the use of apps on mobiles and laptop. However, it is also important to establish boundaries to prevent digital distractions that can impact your work and holistic health.?

For example, turn off notifications on your phone or company laptop. Apps like Whatsapp and Facebook can have multiple notification methods and alerts, which can cause your mind switch from more important priorities. Re-orienting back to your previous tasks (a.k.a task switching), can cause significant hours of time waste a day.?

(Ref: Costs of Multi-tasking https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7075496/)

There are exceptions for about 2.5% of the population who naturally excel at multi-tasking and can (and probably should) do so. ?

(Ref:?https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/PBR.17.4.479)

2. Personal Reflection & Wellbeing Time Allocation?

Dedicate time to self-care and reflection, not only to recharge but also to trigger dopamine rewards and reinforce productive behaviors while nurturing your holistic well-being.?

Go somewhere where you can be alone, such a walk in nature or exercise and turn off distractions such as mobile phones. Your body’s nervous system often needs a “digital detox” in order to de-stress itself, allowing you to come back to work with a fresh mind and enhanced productivity.

3. Practicing Mindfulness?

Mindfulness helps you change your perceptions of time itself. In my opinion, it is the the no. 1 technique for time optimisation, and probably the most proven one, with over thousands of years of human experience behind it. Modern science has also validated these techniques, even recording positive changes in brain function from long-term practitioners.??

A simple exercise would be to sit for 3 mins in the morning, with your eyes closed and observing your breath. You can increase the number of minutes or even do this several times a day. The practice often allows more clarity of thought, and a healthy degree of mental distance from a stressful event, task or person!?

4. Flowing in the Zone - Leveraging strengths in Time Management?

The more you utilise your strengths, the more you are “in the zone” or working in a flow state, where you are more at ease and you’re perception of time feels transcendent.

To achieve this, it is worthwhile writing down what tasks you enjoy that also leverage your strengths e.g. for me, its researching and storytelling on PowerPoint or articles, as well as teaching or presenting to an audience and keynote speaking.??

If you have formally assessed your Clifton Strengths from Gallup (a test similar to Myers-Briggs), you will note that some strengths are like accelerators, some strengths are like brakes and some strengths are like ‘steering wheels /navigators’.?

To read more about this technique, refer to the reference https://brentobannon.com/strengthsfinder-and-time-management-styles/

5. Upgrading your Daily Routines - Habit Formation

Programming a morning daily routine or weekly routine ensures that you have some of these time management and productivity techniques embedded into your work-life rhythm. Ideally you do not want to have to think about it and these techniques become habits over time, rather than tasks that require effort and will.?

For example, you may wish to do your mindfulness practice every day before you start work each morning - choose a technique, alternate and test them to assess what works best for you in terms of results. ?

CONCLUSION - HOW WILL YOU HACK YOUR BRAIN TO BE YOUR MOST PRODUCTIVE SELF?

By understanding the neuroscience behind it and implementing these strategies customised to your circumstances, you can navigate the intricate demands of your role with precision, drive, and a commitment to holistic success.

Your brain is your most powerful tool, but just like any sophisticated tool, it takes a while to utilise it to its full potential.?

If you’re interested in further understanding the neuroscience behind productivity and? improving your time management as a leader, message me on [email protected] and let’s brainstorm on how we can achieve your goals.