The neuroscientist, Dr. Daniel Levitin\u2019s new nonfiction book, \u201cThe Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload,\u201d combines scholarly research and interviews with people like Michael Bloomberg, George Shultz and Sting with practical tips on how to organize our homes, social lives, time and more. \u201cNeuroscientists have learned a lot about the brain and organization and productivity, but it hasn\u2019t trickled down to the average reader,\u201d he says. \u201cMy aim was to bring the science to the average person.\u201d
\nHT to Lucy Feldman from WSJ<\/p>\n
Here are ten tips on organization from Dr. Levitin based on his book, which was released by Dutton.<\/p>\n
1. Take breaks<\/strong>. What do air traffic controllers and simultaneous translators for the United Nations have in common? Their jobs are so stressful, they\u2019re mandated to operate on \u201cduty cycles\u201d of time on and time off. Increasingly, we all feel bombarded at work. Try a 15-minute break every hour or two. \u201cThat walk around the block, that fresh air, is going to help you work more quickly and effectively when you get back,\u201d he says. One study showed overtime workers suffer from profound diminishing returns\u2014for every extra hour, they achieved only 20 minutes\u2019 worth of work.<\/p>\n 2. Set up different computer monitors for different activities.<\/strong> \u201c[There\u2019s a] biological mechanism in the hippocampus for remembering where important things are,\u201d Dr. Levitin says. Studying for an exam in the testing room helps a student perform better, and visiting the crime scene will help a witness remember more. For office workers juggling multiple activities at a time, physical separation can help mental organization. \u201cYou\u2019re using your spatial memory now to tell you where to look,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n 3. Embrace a (modified) paper to-do list. <\/strong>\u201cComputer scientists talk about serial access versus random access, and this is an important concept for finding things,\u201d Dr. Levitin says. If a VHS tape represents serial access\u2014you have to fast-forward through everything to get to the scene you want\u2014a DVD represents random access\u2014you can skip right to the part you need. A to-do list typed into a computer or phone usually forces you to go through the less efficient process of serial access. \u201cYour eyes have to pass ones in the beginning to get to the ones in the middle,\u201d he says. Dr. Levitin recommends writing to-dos on small pieces of paper like index cards, then making piles based on priority\u2014a technique used by Sheryl Sandberg. You can \u201crejigger\u201d the cards with ease, he says, and making physical piles frees up your attention for the task at hand.<\/p>\n 4. File correspondence in multiple ways.<\/strong> If your inbox sometimes feels like the Times Square of the Internet, it can help to file each thread of correspondence in more than one category\u2014a technique shared by executive assistants and the White House, Dr. Levitin says. Keep track of President Obama\u2019s emails in a designated Obama file, as well as the files dedicated to the specific committees, meetings and projects he\u2019s writing about. When using an email program that allows tags, mark each message as it comes in with all possible relevant tags. And if you have a phone call with Mr. Obama that you\u2019ll need to remember later, send yourself a quick email about it, then file and tag it as if it\u2019s a message directly from him.<\/p>\n 5. Purge, when needed.<\/strong> When inboxes, \u201creview later\u201d files and stacks of papers on our desks pile up past the point of return, sometimes it\u2019s okay to simply \u201chit throw it all away.\u201d Some people declare \u201cemail bankruptcy,\u201d delete everything and write to all their contacts asking to please try again if whatever they sent is still important. Dr. Levitin himself doesn\u2019t purge in the same way, but he does box up old, related items in his office once a year or so and simply file them away.<\/p>\n 6. Designate time for short tasks and longer projects. <\/strong>Some tasks take weeks, and some only a few minutes, and you shouldn\u2019t switch back and forth between them all day long. \u201cThe research says you shouldn\u2019t intersperse these little things,\u201d Dr. Levitin says. Instead of reviewing your inbox every time you get a new message alert, allocate only a couple blocks of time each day to respond to all your messages.<\/p>\n 7. Don\u2019t spend more time on a decision than it\u2019s worth.<\/strong> A CEO won\u2019t take an hour to decide whether to switch office supply companies in order to save a couple dollars. \u201cFigure out what your time is worth or what you and you company stand to gain or lose, and figure out how much time it\u2019s worth investing in the decision,\u201d Dr. Levitin says.<\/p>\n 8. Sleep, and nap on the job.<\/strong> \u201cThe fundamental finding about sleep from neuroscience in the last 10 years is that it\u2019s necessary to form memories,\u201d he says, and memory is essential to our work and social lives. \u201cIf you don\u2019t get a good night\u2019s sleep, the events of the day are not properly encoded in memory.\u201d Companies like Google and Safeway have even set up nap rooms: You gain in efficiency and problem-solving ability more than what you lose in time spent on a 10-20 minute nap, he says.<\/p>\n 9. Don\u2019t over-organize. <\/strong>\u201cThe obvious rule of efficiency is you don\u2019t want to spend more time organizing than it\u2019s worth,\u201d Dr. Levitin says. \u201cIf you\u2019re finding things quickly enough as it is, then don\u2019t go to all the trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n 10. Leave work at work. <\/strong>\u201cI don\u2019t want it to sound like I\u2019m proposing we all become androids,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m talking about being able to do what you want to do in your work time so you have more time for spontaneity, leisure and social and artistic pursuits.\u201d People who spend time at home thinking about work and vice versa can feel disconnected and experience less enjoyment. \u201cWhen you\u2019re at work, be fully at work,\u201d Mr. Levitin says. \u201cAnd let your leisure time be what it\u2019s meant to be\u2014restorative and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n These are all strong tips that I give to my clients when they are shifting into being more goal driven and while “Habit Rehab” is in action. Do it now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The neuroscientist, Dr. Daniel Levitin\u2019s new nonfiction book, \u201cThe Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload,\u201d combines scholarly research and interviews with people like Michael Bloomberg, George Shultz and Sting with practical tips on how to organize our homes, social lives, time and more. \u201cNeuroscientists have learned a lot about the brain … <\/p>\n