To improve your thinking, recognize that your mind extends beyond your brain into your body, surroundings, and relationships. Actively utilize these external resources to enhance your cognitive processes.
Practice body scan meditation for at least a few weeks to become more attuned to your body’s internal sensations and signals (interoception). This awareness provides valuable, non-conscious information that can lead to better decision-making.
Keep an interoceptive journal to track your gut feelings and internal signals, then compare them against the actual outcomes of your decisions. This helps you learn when to trust your intuition and when to rely more on conscious thought.
Incorporate movement into your thinking process, such as taking movement breaks instead of coffee breaks, dancing between meetings, or going for a walk when stuck on a problem. Moving your body can help ideas flow and enhance creativity.
Allow yourself and others to fidget or engage in micro-movements, as these actions help regulate arousal, alertness, and mental state. Using fidget objects or standing desks can improve concentration and thinking, especially for those who struggle to sit still.
For learning and working, consider creating or advocating for activity-permissive environments where individuals can move (e.g., using yoga balls, standing desks, wiggle stools). This allows people to regulate themselves and can lead to increased calmness, attentiveness, and better thinking.
Actively encourage and allow gesturing, both for yourself and others, as it is an extension of the thinking process. Gesturing can make your thoughts more cogent, expression more fluid, and helps offload mental work, especially when explaining complex or new ideas.
When on Zoom, position yourself farther from the camera to allow your gestures to be visible. This helps both your own thinking process and aids your audience in understanding and engaging with your message.
When preparing a talk, consider not only your words but also the symbolic and beat gestures you might use. This helps convey the content and excitement of your message more effectively to the audience.
To replenish drained attentional resources, spend time outdoors in a ‘diffuse attentional mode’ (e.g., walking in nature). The brain processes outdoor stimuli effortlessly, providing mental calm and rest.
Incorporate indoor plants or greenery into your workspace or home environment. Even small elements of nature can be helpful for mental well-being and thinking.
Arrange your workspace with ’evocative objects’ that serve as cues of identity (reminding you of your specific role or aspirations) and cues of belonging (mementos of valued groups). These objects can prime positive associations and enhance focus.
Get ideas and information out of your head and onto physical space, such as large whiteboards, movable Post-it notes, or multi-monitor setups. This leverages the brain’s natural ability to navigate and manipulate objects, making thinking more efficient and effective.
Recognize that thinking is a collaborative enterprise and actively work to achieve a ‘group mind’ to tackle complex problems. This involves leveraging collective intelligence beyond individual brains.
When mentoring a novice, consciously slow down and break down your expert processes into explicit steps and micro-steps. Exaggerate certain aspects to make your often-automatized knowledge accessible and understandable for effective learning.
Harness your social nature for thinking by engaging in activities like productive debates, telling stories, or teaching peers. These social interactions activate mental processes that remain dormant when working alone, enhancing understanding and idea generation.
To enhance group collaboration and achieve a ‘group mind,’ foster a sense of ‘groupiness’ through shared experiences. Synchronized movement, like walking together, or shared rituals, like meals, can prime cooperation and a feeling of collective identity.
For complex projects, develop a transactive memory system within your group by knowing who possesses specific expertise or information. This allows the group to function as a ‘superorganism’ with exponentially greater access to knowledge than any individual.
When guiding others, explicitly model your thinking process, similar to a traditional apprenticeship. Make your internal thought steps visible and verbalized to help others understand and master complex skills.
Understand that access to ‘outside-the-brain’ resources (experts, green spaces, freedom to move) is unequal, impacting thinking processes and outcomes. When evaluating individuals, consider this ’extension inequality’ to identify untapped potential beyond brain-bound measures.
Return to the natural learning methods of childhood, which involve using hands and manipulatives, moving the body, spending time outdoors, and learning through play with peers. These practices benefit adults by engaging the ‘whole self’ in thinking and learning.