Got Distractions?
Got Distractions?
Speed Read
Have you heard enough conversations and media interviews of Henny-Penny,
the sky is falling? Yes, we live and work in the Knowledge Economy, and that
is not going to change. Say right-on, to get your Prefrontal Cortex triggered.
Sure, we suffer from Information Overload, and multi-tasking, and that will continue, so please exclude me from your need to share the information the world
is ending. If you wish to survive to see 2010, avoid the doomsayers, and become
a personal stressbuster.
How? It is neuroscience, and you can implement it within 10 minutes, and see positive results in two minutes thereafter. Had a better offer today?
- Wandering Minds
In college where students have young, active brains, neuroscience research reports mind-wandering 33% of the workday. The University of North Caroline, Greensboro tested 124 undergrads by checking their attention and concentration eight (8) times daily during the experiment.
The students used PDAs to report back to Dr. Michael Kane, and responded to multiple-choice questions. The students admitted to being distracted and inattentive, with a wandering mind, one-third of the school day. They could not concentrate well a third of their work day.
He concluded: improving Working-Memory-Capacity (WMC) enlarged focus,
attention and concentration. How do you do that? We call it the Peg-And-Link
system. Learn more later.
This research in attention has been repeated from 2007-2008 by other researchers
with the same significant results of distracted, wandering mind, one-third of the day.
- Distractions And Interruptions at The Workplace
You have heard the expression, Information Overload thrown about. Would you believe Knowledge Economy workers are interrupted and distracted from their
work every three (3) minutes? Fact: we get stopped from what we are concentrating on an average of 9 times per hour.
Was it always thus? Today we have emails, instant messaging, telephone calls, and people entering your space with earth shattering information. Wait – they have justed viewed a dog or cat picture on their computer they must share with you.
The gist: it requires up to ten uninterrupted minutes for the mind of a Homo sapiens to get into the zone (flow) for productive work. After the interruption
and distraction, it takes up to 12 minutes to refocus on productive work.
We call it Regression in reading. Losing your place of concentration, and finding
your way back is a major cause of snailing information instead of speed reading.
Real statistics: the average U.S. executive Regresses up to 8 times per page read, and learns to hate linear information processing. The same occurs reading an article on the computer. So what?
Distractions and interruptions produce a permanent loss of attention and
concentration, and a reducing of procedural and long term memory. It dumbs you
down – permanently. Research indicates a reduction in IQ of up to 10%.
Google: New York Times on distractions in the workplace.
Is there a solution?
Using your cursor as a Pacer to underline the sentences you read will improve your focus and comprehension. Your reading speed will increase up to three times your snailing rate because of using your cursor as a pointer (Pacer). Learn more later.
3. Social Distractions
The best research on disruptions in the workplace is by Dr. Tim Welsh, University of Calgary, Canada. They dedicate a department called Kinesiology – the science
of human body movements – to the affects of socialization on productivity.
If you can see a fellow Knowledge Economy peer, you are already infected. We have hardwired in our three pound coconut and central nervous system, a form of Monkey See, Monkey Think. It is called Mirror Neurons.
With the best of intentions, if you can see in your field of vision, an associate doing
a task different than your own, you automatically slow down to watch.
Our Mirror Neurons create mental imagery and become emotionally involved with
the physical activities of your co-worker. We imagine ourselves performing the same action.
Google: Seeing vs Believing, December, 2007, Journal of Human Movement Science.
Just seeing him/her performing interferes with your own activities. You lose your train of thought, slow down, and are no longer in your flow and zone of creativity.
Is there a solution?
It is called isolation, but that produces a loss of socialization. There is another answer that increases your productivity and learning. It requires earplugs.
If you use simple spongy earplugs when you are being productive, creative,
and want to increase your brainpower, you will improve up to 25%.
Does this apply only in Canada?
If you want an improvement in productivity and stress reduction, remove
involuntary modeling (copying) of the behavior of co-workers. It also improves
your speed of completion and accuracy.
Endwords
Why should you care? Henny-Penny, the sky is not falling, but to protect your
success in the workplace, and snag the next promotion, improve your skills and
productivity. Work in isolation if at all possible, and wear earplugs.
You will be unique and overcome all future competition.
Would you be more competitive by reading and remembering three-times as much
as your competitors? Would it help to double your long-term memory?
Now ask us how.
Speed Read
See ya,
copyright © 2009
H. Bernard Wechsler
1-877-567-2500
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About the Author:
Author of Speed Reading For Professionals, published by Barrons business partner of Evelyn Wood, creator of speed reading, graduating 2 million, including the White House staffs of four U.S. Presidents.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Got Distractions?