In my line of work we use the term optimization frequently, for us it means using the least amount of resources to obtain the most yield.
I believe our brains work in a similar fashion, if we use our brain in a way that it takes the least amount of effort to make decisions that will yield the best outcome; and we can look at situations in life and are able to figure out what is the best course of action in any given circumstance and our brain is working at its best, it will, most definitely, yield the best results not only for ourselves but anyone involved in our every day decisions.
The book "The Organized Mind" by Daniel Levitin is a great read on this subject, he points out a very important aspect of modern day life that we must take into consideration in order to operate at our best. The main topic of the book is "information overload". Nowadays our brain (which is still very primitive) deals with a lot more information being thrown at us than people had to deal with in the past and it has made it very difficult for us to keep up with all that comes our way on a daily basis.
Another aspect that he points out is the difference between how very important successful people handle and deal with tons of appointments and obligations on a daily basis, compared to how we (normal people) do. Usually those very important people have someone else who handles the worries for them, for instance, they never have to worry about when and where their next appointment is, because someone else is handling that, they never have to worry about e-mails that have to be answered to, because someone else is handling that too. They don't have to remember birthdays, anniversary, graduations because someone else is also handling that.
Basically a lot of things that the average person has to remember and worry about on a daily basis, successful very important people don't have to, because they have assistants who do that for them. Therefore their mind is usually clear and more apt to make quality decisions. The few decisions that they make in a day are very well thought out with a clear mind that mostly is concerned with things that are of more impact and of high importance. We, normal people, usually have to remember birthdays of at least twenty people, doctor's appointments for at least five, school dates and meetings, work deadlines and meetings, bills after bills and their due dates. And now, if that wasn't enough, we flood ourselves with an enormous amount of information every second of the day, such as; the war in Ukraine, politics, latest trends, sports news, celebrity news, hacks, keeping up with our neighbor's, friends and family latest meal and trips and recent purchases and so on. So, I'm going to share few things we can all do to clear up some space in our brain and have it working at it's optimum capacity, because we don't all have a personal assistant who can handle the simple things in life for us!
Here are 5 Things we can do, to clear up brain space and use it for the really important stuff!
The less things we have to
remember, the better for us! and the better our brain will work for us, think of it as clearing memory space on your phone, when we do so, the phone works faster and we have more space for other things now.
1- Use the reminder app on you phone or computer,
for ALL the things you have to remember. As soon as you schedule a doctor's appointment, or a meeting and specially your bills, set the reminder for that event on your phone; set it for the day of and the day before, that way you can now forget about it and it will remind you the day before in case you need to prepare anything for that appointment or meeting.
2- Thought of an idea? Write it down!
If it's a recipe that you want to try, or a movie you want to see, or a craft you want to make, something for your spouse, anything that you will have to remember later but isn't urgent. Write it down, on your phone or a piece of paper, that way it's not in the back of your mind taking up space.
3- Do the hard things first!
Do you have things to do on a daily basis that are things that you actually enjoy and some are things that you dread? Do the the dreads first! Because if you do the things that you like first, you will have the things that you dread in the back of your mind, taking away the joy of the things you enjoy and taking your mind away from the moment; instead, get the boring things out of the way and then you can take your time really enjoying the things that you like to do.
4- Don't leave things for the last minute!
Leaving things to be done in the last minute isn't only a stress trigger but also another factor that takes up space in our brain.
You know your taxes have to be done by April 15th but you won't do it until April 14th, so meanwhile, your taxes are lingering in the back of your mind still being something to worry about and be taken care of, and here you are on April 14th realizing that you're missing some important tax papers.. more stress! Instead, get it done as soon as possible and let it be behind you, so you can instead start planning a nice vacation with your tax return money!! Much Better!!
5- Declutter!
We may not realize this, but clutter and mess are major drawbacks. Do you realize that every time you walk by that mess in the hallway you think about how you need to clean that up and how frustrated you get and now you don't even remember why you were in the hallway in the first place? What about all the old clothes that you need to get rid of and you notice that it bothers you every morning when you're trying to get ready for work and you can't find the one thing you're looking for because it's hidden underneath all the other stuff that you never use? So frustrating!
What about the mail that piles up and becomes so hard to deal with after so many of them are sitting on the counter and always in the back of your mind as something else in your "To Do List". Just get rid of all of that! It will make your life so much easier, you will feel so much lighter! You'll be able to breathe and think better! You might actually start enjoying life more.
These are only a few of the many things we can do to free up some brain space and alleviate the amount of things that we have to attend to on a daily basis and make us more effective, productive and happier people. I hope this helps!