Caroline Webb is a best selling author and female motivational speaker. Webb studies behavioral science to improve our lives.
In her book, How to Have a Good Day, she suggests our brain has two different parts and it pays to understand them and call on the right brain when the task requires it.
She says our conscious brain is responsible for reasoning, self-control and deliberate thought.
Alternately, the automatic brain kicks in automatically. On autopilot, a lot of our decisions are made without second guessing or thinking them through.
Because it happens without conscious thought, it takes less energy. The autopilot system tends to take the easy answer and sometimes not the right answer.
Caroline says it’s a good thing we don’t have to deliberate over every little thing because this would be exhausting.
The autopilot system does us an excellent service taking this pressure off.
What does this mean to making it a great day?
Some tips to improve your day:
- When making critical decisions, slow down and make sure the conscious brain has input. Do more single-tasking, especially when making focused decisions.
- Take breaks throughout the day to help give the conscious brain relief.
- Use a different part of the brain. For instance, take a break from analyzing data on a computer and draw or do a handwritten note, this kicks another part of the brain in gear.
- Multitasking requires you to switch your attention from one thing to another. The energy cost in this switch is huge. Our core deliberate thought system can only do one thing at a time. However the unconscious system can do several things at once.
- The autopilot system keeps us safe; it launches immediately to get you to pay attention and help you fend off danger.
Thus, small things we do can make it a great day.
These include limiting multitasking, taking breaks, and deciding which part of the brain to engage in different work.
These small changes can make a big difference.
