Stop reading and watching stuff so much! or don't.

What if we start looking at every bit of information as taking up space in our brain. Would that compel us to limit the information we absorb every day? Will limiting that intake help to process our other thoughts better? Simply put – if you read and think about only the stuff relevant to you, will you get better at thinking about it?

The idea of our brain functioning better by limiting information is like imagining a computer that might function faster and smoother if its RAM is cleared.

This sounds obvious but it must be questioned because of a competing hypothesis – that the most successful ideas are collaborative in nature – those that make connections through different disciplines, instead of being sourced from in-depth knowledge of one field only. And for that to happen, either you must have decent knowledge of different disciplines or you must team up with those who have that knowledge.

We already have the concept of information taking up space in an abstract way, when for example we say ‘my mind is too full of ____ right now’. And if we have to think about it physiologically, we can imagine ideas and memories stored as connections between neurons. Each connection holding the link to one or more memories. These connections will take up space (even though our brain tends to compact and convert memories into small fragments).

From the literature on meditation and mindfulness, an idea emerges that perhaps practicing those skills makes the brain better at processing huge amounts of information. Which means even if your mind is filled up to the brim with new information everyday, being mindful and meditating will help file it away or dump it in a better way. This might be true but there still remains a role for feeding the brain relevant material only - to reduce the load that it has to process.

Also, we have limited time on our hands. And we don’t even know how much of it we have.

Perhaps the ideal way would be to limit your reading and information intake to only that which is relevant to your work and interests (limit the interests too!) and get really good at what you do. And then collaborate with people who are good with an entirely different knowledge area. I guess this is how they build mega-structures like aircraft carriers, oil refineries and do complex surgeries.

Interestingly, it is said that Bill Gates sets aside two weeks in a year solely for the purpose of reading books and articles collected (and selected) over the year. The reason he does that is to be able to form better connections between the various topics he reads. It’s easier for the brain to connect a topic that’s fresh in the memory with the one it’s reading right now rather than one which was read 6 months ago. In a way, he’s limiting his information intake while simultaneously exploring different disciplines to form new connections and ideas. Smart.

Dishes

It's probably weird and very unmanly to say this - but I confess I love washing dishes.

Yes, it's manual labor - a monotonous, unpleasant, unavoidable job that most people dislike and procrastinate on. Some would say it's abominable that humans should have to devote their time to such a mundane, unproductive task even as we have successfully automated other similar tasks. And guess what, I have an effective dishwasher at my place.

So I can't really rationalize why I like doing this task. But I can describe the good parts that I feel make it pleasant for me.

There's the running water. You just have to read a couple of stories in public health magazines about the water situation in some parts of the world to start feeling immensely grateful for something that most people take for granted. I flick a lever and there's potentially unlimited clean drinkable water flowing at the right pressure right inside my house. You learn to value it very quickly. But it gets better - I get water at the temperature I desire! This used to be a luxury available to few people not long ago. That thought occurs to me almost every time I turn on the tap.

Then there's the dishwashing liquid - some really good quality stuff is available out there. Perhaps it's some OCD I have but I love when something that's greasy and grimy comes off clean and shiny with just a few drops of colorful liquid and some easy scrubbing.

Sitting isn't all that healthy, they tell us. So I like to stay upright when I'm working on the computer. Dishwashing adds  to that standing time during the day.

Now, once you zone out of whatever you are doing and focus just on the things in front, you start noticing the small details - the warm water flowing over your hands, the smell of the detergent, the alternating soapy and scrubbed clean feel of the vessels,the grime flowing down the drain, the vessels shining and gleaming, the squeak of the newly clean bowl...the rest of the world fades away and I don't even realize when my internal dialogue starts and some new ideas emerge. I feel this is one of the simplest ways to practice getting into Flow. It really acts as a de-stressor.

To get this kind of experience, as Robert Pirsig says, you have to have the right tools. If any one of these things become a burden or things don't work as they should - the water is sputtering or you have to fill it up from a distance, the soap sucks, the place you are standing in is messy or uncomfortable - it will become very easy to hate the work.

I'm lucky to have these simple luxuries. And I like getting them to work for me.

Meditation habit - check

The 30 days for creating a meditation habit were over some time ago. I skipped meditating 7 of the 30 days. But always got back on track. Even after the 30 days are over, I've kept up the practice everyday.

Two lessons:

Something which seemed nearly impossible and vaguely effective after feeble attempts for more than a year, is now a concrete habit. In just 30 days.

Secondly, I'm learning to accept imperfection. There's hardly anything perfect or superbly technical about the way I meditate. Also, as I mentioned I skipped 7 of those days. So in effect, this was done in 23 days.

(Incidentally Cal Newport has a blog post today on perfectionism.)

But it has worked and served me well. I can now meditate for 14-15 minutes at a time. Without falling asleep or getting the urge to go to the laptop or eat something. I now actually look forward to it.

Next habit - waking up early.

Anything could be meditative..

...even prying off pebbles that get stuck in the underside of the soles of your running shoes. And washing them afterward. You just need to do it quietly, mindfully and without unnecessary rush.

Day 8 of creating a meditation habit

There's no stopping the mind from jumping around everywhere. The connections between consecutive thoughts are tenuous, and mostly weird. They sound like the loose ideas of a disorganized schizophrenic or someone having a manic episode. Seriously, if I somehow managed to speak out all the thoughts verbatim at the speed at which these pass through my mind, I could easily get that diagnosis.

This is the probably the longest continuous streak of meditation for me. The 'One habit at a time, only five minutes are first' rule is working. After 7 days, I have increased the duration to 10 minutes today.

Luckily, I've as yet avoided the feeling while I'm meditating that I could be doing something better with my time. The 5 -10 minutes of slow breathing aren't really difficult. Perhaps it's the power of suggestion, but I'm noticing some benefits from this with work too.

Day 3 of meditation habit

Is meditation really useful and if so, to what extent? Does it have to be useful?

I don't know the answer to either of these. There is evidence in the form of enhanced brain activity in some brain areas on MRIs, and lowered cortisol levels among meditation practitioners. But how that helps one in everyday life, I do not know.

Then there's the debate about what exactly constitutes meditation and what doesn't. People propose chanting names, breathing slowly, mindfulness, walking in small steps to and fro or in a circle, lying down, maintaining absolute silence and many other ways. I think there is no need to search for that one true way. Like belief or the lack of it in religion, everyone can find what works for them.

I decided to take up meditation to get help with my progressively shortening attention span. Lack of focus, anxiety, inability to concentrate for long periods of time are all interconnected and it's hard to pinpoint which comes first. (I'll write about focus in a separate post. It's a fascinating topic.) Does being unable to work on something for long create anxiety and worry or does the existing anxiety lead one to keep shifting to easier, more passive activities that do not help in any way with one's goals? Both may be true. What does help in either scenario is being able to think clearly, seeing things from a 'higher' vantage point, gaining insight into what exactly is going on in your mind. And based on countless anecdotes, it seems meditation helps with that. Also, I've never come across anybody saying meditation ruined my life. So there.

As with other habits, I've had trouble creating one for meditation. It's the usual story. Start out with enthusiasm, do it for a few days, then slowly slack off until the guilt overcomes me a few months later and I start again, only to repeat the cycle.

So this time, I'm following this gentleman's advice based on Leo Babauta's words:

'One habit at a time, five minutes at first.'

Why am I listening to him? Well, his experience matches closely with mine as far as running and creating habits is concerned. And he uses the example of that movie - Limitless , something I've done myself to explain why I started running when talking to friends! That's enough for me to relate to him for now.

So today was day 3 of my attempt at creating a meditation habit. I'm doing a simple version of  meditation - breathing slowly, noticing each breath, letting the body relax gradually while sitting up straight. The amazing part is noticing the thoughts that keep popping up. Somewhere there's an analogy made of the mind being like a monkey, jumping continuously from one thought to another. That analogy feels very apt when I noticed how one thought led to another rapidly. I'm trying not to suppress any thoughts, just mentally tagging them into some category and letting them go, drawing myself back to how I'm breathing, feeling my chest expand and contract. Doing this for only five minutes seems like a good idea. It stops meditation from becoming another chore and liable to be procrastinated upon. Luckily I haven't felt any drag or 'when is this getting over?' feeling yet. I actually feel a bit disappointed that the five minutes get over so soon. That's a good sign.

These things work

Solitude
Running
Waking up early
Minimalism
Writing
Simplicity
Cooking
Meditation

They may not show results quickly. Or even the results that are expected. But they are steps to reaching your goals. They work quietly, the progress is slow but long lasting and for the better. Keep at it. Don't give up.