Brain Rules
John Medina, a molecular biologist and professor of engineering at the University of Washington’s Medical School, insists that if we just make use of some hard science, we can all become more effective at work. In his book, Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, Medina encourages readers to understand how their brain works. By doing so, he maintains, anyone can effectively harness their brain’s power and thereby improve performance.
Among the specific “rules” that Medina offers are the following:
Get regular aerobic exercise. It turns out that people who are aerobically fit perform better in a series of processes called “executive functions.” These are the functions that help us tackle math problems, engage in detailed planning, and control our impulses. According to Medina, if a sedentary person begins to exercise three times per week, in as little as three months, he or she can expect anywhere between an 80% to a 120% increase in executive performance.
Grab a nap. Sometime during the afternoon hours, many brains want to do a reset. During that time—Medina refers to it as the “nap zone’—a 15 to 20 minute nap can, quite literally, work wonders. Medina cites one NASA study of fighter pilots, which found a 20 minute nap in the pilots’ nap zones improved their mean reaction time performance by 34%.
Forget multi-tasking. Because we all believe it allows us to accomplish more, virtually all of us multi-task. Medina writes the opposite is actually true. He insists that workers who attempt to multi-task require twice as long to accomplish a specific project, and the completed project typically includes twice as many errors.
Limit your stress. While lots of workers believe that a little stress helps them focus, once stress rises to the level that workers feel “out of control,” productivity is significantly hampered. When stress becomes both frequent and severe, Medina insists, workers should be especially cautious. Such extreme stress may become absolutely lethal to cognition and even cause brain damage.
Take advantage of the differences in male and female brains. Medina writes about “theory of mind,” i.e., the ability to penetrate into someone else’s head and understand the rewards and punishment systems that exist inside. As you might imagine, the ability to understand “theory of mind” is a huge asset for any manager. Understanding “theory of mind” allows a manager to predict employees’ future behaviors and to understand the emotional content that may underlie certain statements. It turns out that when men and women are given “theory of mind” tests, women perform twice as well.
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