Making time for "deep thought"
+ trivia is fun even if you're bad at it
Hello hello and welcome BACK to Into The Real World - a publication designed to get you off your screens and into the wild. After last week’s newsletter, I walked the walk and motivated the group chat to plan a summer getaway. And let me just say, thank goodness I did. For four girls who live in the same city, we were able to find ONE weekend between May - August that worked for everyone. Bonus point was then I got to plug the newsletter (earned media baby):
ANYWAY, on to this week’s rundown:
In The News:
Why constant interruptions are killing your strategic thinking - Fast Company
This is an excellent article that discusses the issue of cognitive bandwidth management, and how the expectation that you should be accessible 24/7 makes it extremely difficult to create space for deep thought and strategic thinking:
“A study from the University of California found that it takes an average of 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption.”
If you’re constantly being interrupted by texts, emails, and notifications, you have limited capacity to engage in what the article refers to as “deep work”, a state in which one can “tackle complex problems, review long-term strategies, or explore innovative ideas.”
Touch Grass:
Scheduled Uninterrupted Period
SO, per the previous section, this week I implore you all to implement one 30-minute interruption free time a day. Whether that’s in the morning (you can pair this with your first 10 minutes without your phone), in the middle of the workday, or before bed, put that bad boy on do not disturb and give yourself a minute to breathe. Additionally, we need to stop putting so much pressure on others and getting frustrated when they aren’t immediately accessible to us. What if we all held hands and collectively decided to give people 48 business hours to get back to us? I feel like that would collectively relieve a lot of unnecessary stress we’ve been putting on each other. Curious what the team thinks about this.
Live from (Blank):
Trivia Night - Dorchester Brewing Co.
I went to trivia last week and guys I LOVED IT. I have a friend in Chicago who has been going to bar trivia for the past four years and I never really understood why he was so obsessed with it until I went. It is such a fun, low-stakes and low-lift activity where you can be social on a weeknight for little to no cost. Plus, you’re not even allowed to use your phone! Most trivia nights are free, there’s really no pressure to drink, and there’s something special about working with a group of people on a team to achieve a common goal. As adults, we don’t really do that often if at all. Competition is fun. Working with other people is fun. I get it now.
ITRW Official Rating: 9/10
Separation from Technology: 10/10
Ease of Stranger Interaction: 6/10
Community Building Environment: 10/10
ON THAT NOTE, have a stellar weekend everyone, let me know if you have any thoughts/comments/suggestions, and I look forward to hearing which parts of this newsletter resonated most with you all!
Til next time,
Jacky Norris