Five Key Points from The Organized Mind

1. Five key points from
The Organized Mind:
ThinkingStraightintheAgeofInformationOverload

2. Shiftthe Burden of Organizingout ofour Brains
There is a cost in energy and
productivity spent in remembering.
Anything that can be shirted to the
physical world relieves us of this burden.
The resulting energy can be used to buy
time and enhance creativity. This
concept applies to organizing digital
files, files and living spaces. It can also
help keep track of routine items, like
taking medication.

3. Multi-tasking is
a Myth
By trying to juggle multiple
activities at once, you aren’t
really multi-tasking. You are
switching your attention
between things rapidly. This is
coming at a cost of
productivity with every switch.
Our brains don’t have the
ability to focus on several
things at once.

4. Social Media is Addictive
The constant checking of email, Facebook, text notifications are
the result of a neural addiction. Checking these social media sites
results in a dopamine response rewarding the brain for getting
distracted. There is a high cost to regaining focus.
We need to trick our brains into staying on task. Levitin suggests
setting aside limited times to check email and training
acquaintances and colleagues not to expect immediate
responses.

5. Creativitycan befound by daydreaming
When we daydream we activate a
different part of our brains . This
network supports a form of non-linear
thinking. It can help build connections
and lead to creativity. This from of
thinking sometimes “hijacks” our brain
when the tasks we are focused on are
boring or routine.

6. Be Agreeable
One of the strongest predictors of happiness and
well being is the presence of an intimate
relationship. The most important factor for
fostering intimate relationships is getting along
with other people.

7. • Slide Presentation created by Deborah Mundorff for WOU CSE 619, Big
Thinkers in Education
• Key points paraphrased from Levitin, D. J. (2016). The organized mind:
Thinking straight in the age of information overload.
• All images downloaded from https://pixabay.com/ and available reuse
without attribution
• The slide design is a modified version of “Image-Based PPT Template” from
the PowerPoint Mega Pack at Creative Market.
CREDITS