Be the Gatekeeper of Your Mind

I really try to guard my mind, but this information-saturated world batters down my defenses. The best way I’ve found to get “down” time is get completely away from techy stuff–taking a walk without music or podcasts. Rejuvenating!

Oh no. When I read this, it resonated, so I bet I need to do the same. Sometimes I’m exhausted by the end of the day from all I’ve read online. Plus, I’ve always had a little trouble focusing … I don’t need any outside help.

It never crossed my mind that maybe too much variety was also too much stimulation, but I think it is.

Thanks for a late night insight to top off my reading frenzy for the evening. Maybe I’ll delete the rest.

Great post. I’ve learned to do this as well, and enjoy the beauty and peace of being unplugged and under-stimulated.

Since I’ve focused on a better balance between online and unplugged for two years now, I will offer that the benefits increase and you may even, like me, become more focused and organized about where you put your attention. This means wading through the noise can become more productive and efficient as there is a priority on a clearer mind and sharper creativity.

spot on! I’m deleting more than I’m reading. A. no time. B. too distracting.

…and your post of course, was worth reading! Ha, Ha!!

I find I yearn to switch off completely, but can’t – because I might miss something! So instead I try to allocate different days for seeking input (such as other people’s blogs) and other days for being creative. It doesn’t always work, and there’s not always a clear delineation, but it helps me say ‘no’ to most of the distractions when I’m supposed to be writing.

And I’m a great fan of silent periods too. I used to always listen to headphones (most often audiobooks) when walking, but these days my head is so full that I find walking in silence is bliss. But I still love having audiobooks in the car to divert me from the dreary peak hour traffic.

At least for a short while, the snow cover in New Hampshire is absent. This, combined with a January physical in which I learned my cholesterol was up, has produced a recipe for increased walking. I own an iPhone, but chose only to use its timer. It measures my walks along the asphalt paths of a nearby and ancient cemetery. Stone markers for people who died in the early 1800′s are on both sides of me, many of which read, “gone but not forgotten.” One of them has fallen from its base. I walk faster, more learned, paying attention to my breathing as my mind ignores all things Apple and instead take in life from deaths and breaths.

I always find your blog posts reflective and meditative. I find them helpful on many levels and I read them at the start of my day.

To keep my writing fresh, I step away from the computer. I garden, cook, play with my animals, visit with friends, play cards with a pod of novagenarians… somehow slowing down always seems to speed up the next chapter of the book when its time to “put pen to paper”.

Less is truly more.

In his book THE NEW DIGITAL SHORELINE, author Dr. Roger McHaney explains that the rapid-fire input from multiple media sources actually rewires and changes the physical landscape of our brains. (Okay, I have to admit that Roger is my brother…) Roger seems pretty excited about that possibility, but as a writer, I know that I need to have long periods of quiet, non-stress writing time. I write in a no-noise environment if possible. Even when I read, I prefer no-noise!

I’ve done this, as well. One of the gifts I gave myself is each morning instead of rushing to my computer as I drink my coffee, I instead go to the living room, where I have a nice comfy rocker that has a view of the smokies, and I sit with my coffee, pet my dog as I sip and think and dream and wonder and wander–this has also helped me figure out things with my draft, or I’ll think of nothing at all, really, just meander. I have two cups, and I enjoy every moment of this time.

Because I have an impending deadline, I haven’t had as much time for reading blogs or info posts, but because I am in the middle of a book launch, I am scattered and a bit frenzied. I’ve been using morning pages as a way to center and focus. I couldn’t see the point at first, but I honestly think they are helping now. I think it’s mostly about seeking balance between all the hats we wear.

I’m taking ‘gatekeeping’ to heart these days. I can accomplish much more when I limit my time on the Web and limit what I do when I get there. Here’s a link to a great blog by Sarah Selecky on the importance of “white space” in your creative/working life. A great companion piece to your blog topic. http://www.sarahselecky.com/2013/white-space/

I don’t think the diversity is a problem with me. When I earned my PhD we were constantly up in the top two levels of Bloom’s taxonomy: synthesis (coalescing lots of diverse information into a single concept) and evaluation. It’s also something I do every day on my job as Dean–when, that is, I’m not filing papers into binders. I think it helps me in my writing; sometimes I get a great idea for the next chapter from, say, a knitting blog post I just read. It just clicks in with everything else. But you’re right; not everybody has developed that level of cognition.

That said, there’s a difference between diversity and volume. I do purposely cut down on the volume I take in. I’m in a blogging challenge–one blog every day for 365 days–and there’s no way I can take in every other participant’s post every day. So I don’t, and I don’t apologize for it. I read the blogs I consider important–yours being one. I agree with some of what those blogs say, and I disagree with other parts, but it’s always being added to the whole. By restricting incoming volume, though, I’m able to leave some neurons free for the creative efforts.

- TOSK

A most worthy post!! I made this cut back about three years ago and my bain has thanked me for it. Conversely, when you do reintroduce some of that life ‘noise’ you’ll hear it differently and it will be a more decisive action instead of being something you do purely out of habit.

Life is not about how much we can cram in and all we think we can glean and learn, but about the richness of those gleanings and the times we allow to fill our days. As the old song goes, “Silence is golden, golden…”

Rock on peace.

I add music to the list of things that dampen my creativity. However it may jump start my thinking in a specific direction, as will a blog, article or a picture. Then to focus and have any meaningful depth I need a semblance of solitude with the phone off.
Great blog!

This is a great, thought-provoking post. I’ve become more conscious of the time and energy I spend perusing byte-sized information. I realize now that as we become more accustomed to shorter length or condensed information, we tend to try take in more. Possible more than we are meant to actually process at one particular stretch of time. This eats up all the space in our brains for other creative work.

I’ve recently begun purging the list of blogs I read, and people I follow on Twitter. My brain feels calmer, and I can sit longer without wanting to reach for an internet connected device, and just watch the physical world around me. I find myself more receptive to creative thought once more.

This is exactly what I need today…this year, in fact. I know it’s true. I’ve even blogged about it, but I still need reminders.

I’ve noticed the same thing about myself, Rachelle. After I got into hopping about on the Internet, I had more trouble focusing on one project, and I didn’t feel the pull toward writing I used to have. I need to discipline myself more–gleaning what I can from these sources, yet taking the time to concentrate on my own work.

I couldn’t agree more. The problem is that though I know I feel calmer, more creative, defnitely more focused when I disconnect, I don’t feel as though I can.
I have to keep up with my social media platform and need stay current and take in information and ideas for my blog and writing, but I haven’t figured out how to balance that need with the need, longing even for less noise and information clutter in my brain…

You nailed this one to the wall with 12 inch solid gold spikes. And I thank you for it. All of our electronic toys, widgets, gadgets, apps, softwares, blogs, Facebook families, etc, etc. are marvelous inventions, but they want to own us–and unfortunately, we’ve let them. I made the same choice as you in these past few months, and glad for it.

I prioritize my reading. There’s great information on the Internet, but even great information is harmful if it only serves as a distraction from what we should be doing.

I couldn’t agree more. Your post brought to mind Richard Louv’s quote in The Nature Principle: “The more high tech we become, the more we need nature.”

Another thing that has stifled my creativity is when I put aside my TBR novel pile, thinking I had no time. That is when the waking up in the night ah-ha moments began to slow down also.

Time to turn over a new leaf. And it will let me get back to writing book reviews, which I actually like to do.

Rachelle,

I read one of Robert Frost’s poems he wrote as a high school student. (Alas, I will probably never write that well.) But Frost spent a lot of time with nature. Certainly, a lot of time in solitude, thinking his own thoughts. I don’t know where young poets will come from. Our youth constantly walk around with ear buds.

Today, we can’t get away from noise. While shopping, we’re blasted with music. Even pumping gasoline, we’re bombarded with advertisements. Do you remember how people used to complain about Muzak? At least, it stayed in the background. I hate going somewhere and have to compete with the music to carry on a conversation.

I love it simply because I am already there and am ready to start hearing these thoughts from others.

We all know the importance of commitment. What is commitment other than a firm resolution to “regularly train our brains to focus in a single direction?”

You are so right! I also find that I stress snd worry way more when I’m overexposing myself to all the info out there!

Perfect. I guess you could say I did my own version of this when I got off facebook a few months back. One huge benefit: more sleep. You’re inspiring me to do some more ‘quieting’ things though. Thanks.

We don’t have TV reception. Most days, I deliberately avoid looking at news online. I don’t have any sort of cell phone (no reception where I live). No iPod. I read only a few blogs.

And at times I still feel inundated with tmi.

This is one reason why I have avoided social media so far. I know it’s necessary for connecting with readers and building platform (even for a fiction writer like myself). But I look at things like Twitter and Facebook and wonder if they would not only eat up my time, but take some of my focus as well. I hope to find some sort of happy medium, but I am as yet still reluctant to add one more distraction to my very distracted life.

I truly believe we have to compartmentalize our mind to whatever we are doing. Some call it focus some call it doggedly advancing. General De Gaulle told his ministers at a meeting, “have no others opinion influence you, forget the political strategies do what I want” Whether you are a writer or just street vendor you have a job to do.Some of you are not impeded by outside input some may be, but the reality of the fact remains, we are all impacted by it. We have to remind ourself, blogs, articles, books are only other writers opinion, it does stand to reason your opinion will most likely survive. Creativity does come from within its may well be a gene passed on by ancestors or just a learned kow how by decree. The only thing you must always allow to influence you is research into the subject of your story.

Oh, yeah. I’m easily overwhelmed by too much on-line reading and find if I do too much reading/networking/blogging that is all she wrote for my creative output.

I had two car accidents last year, and they injuries forced me to spend very little computer time. I’ve fallen in love with wandering for a few miles a day. It clears my head, lifts my mood, and helps my body grow stronger and thinner.

While I was injured I spent a lot of time in bed listening to Tolkien on audio books. It was a wonderful, expansive experience that I don’t get on-line.

Loved this post!! I just finished a 3 week “social media fast”-no twitter, blogs or Facebook so that I could focus on my priorities. Never have I gotten so much done, or seen things so clearly as when I was focusing more on my children, myself, my writing, and reading good books. I’m now limiting the amount of time I spend online and it’s been awesome.

Awe FIDDLE STIX Rachelle.
That is not your mind that is giving you problems and telling you to be quite. It is your soul. Don’t wind-down. WIND-UP! Now listen, I know that you’ve heard it said, that your brain is only using a small percentage of it’s capacity and potential. Right? Now what? You’e going to defy all-science for gods sake and mail it in for the rest of your life? Hell no, of course you’re not. Find the real problem and sit on it, that’s right I said sit on it. So my dear Rachelle, what is the real problem? The real problem is: It’s your stool. No, no, no; not that stool silly. Your faldstool! Your fold-away throne. In many a corner of the world it is given aa a devotion stool. . … Rachel, you’ve gotten away from your DEVOTION. The where you were, the when you were, your most firmity, your ideas, your spirit, your whereabout. Get back to there Rachel. Surely do not fold-up and do the lesser. Now, go on, get out there and grab that FALDSTOOL and forevermore be the sovereign force we all know you can be. Resonate onward that litany, those invocations and supplications we all know you are capable of. And by golly, we the congregation will surely respond to thy prayers. … . ummm, can I get an amen sister?

When I first started writing, I thought reading other material would influence my work. I didn’t want to inadvertently “rob” from other authors or dilute my own “voice.” Yeah well, that was dumb.
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I don’t think you can “cut down” on your mental intake. Your brain is always going to process data. What you CAN do however, is feed it right. Instead of surfing blogs or web pages dedicated to stomping out intelligent discussions, I went back to reading my favorite authors. Right away I noticed an improvement in my writing; and the pages came easier.
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It also helped not thinking in acronyms or intentional misspells. LOL, ur prolly gonna ROFL, but when I think how frequently I purposely dummied down my writing, it was like OMG, no wonder I had trouble churning out good work. SMH.
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Recap: Don’t starve your brain, just try to eat healthy.

OH DEAR

Sounds as if nearly everyone here on this blog is getting onto the ENDENTATE(lacking of teeth) bandwagon. Yesirree! We’ve got ourselves a bunch of armadillos, here. . … Rachelle, when you get to where your next move, your final announcement is “I’m pulling the plug and taking everyone here with me, please give me a heads ‘up. I’m moving to another ward. At the very least, a more user friendly room. —good points brian.

endendate(toothless), my bad

oh podidae, oh paedomorphosis.

Great post. I was actually just talking to my husband about this the other day. We are very careful of this with our daughter. She is so smart and we love to fuel her mind with new information but we also want to be careful that we do not over stimulate her with too much information.

Sometimes simplicity and being selective about what we expose ourselves to is really the best approach.

I would have to say it is my constant battle. I am blessed with an overactive mind which allows me to create but if I don’t submit it to God and take care of input then I fail in many ways. My sleep suffers and so does my peace.

This blog totally blessed me. The idea you shared is always pinging around in my brain and spirit, but you nailed it by articulating it. Thank you!

Thank you Rachelle. I have been reading a lot of blogs on writing and other subjects on wordpress. I have noticed a lack of interest and concentration in my mind lately. I wondered what was wrong with my brain. Now I know!

Joshua 1:8 This book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but u shall meditate on it day & night, that u may observe & do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, & then u shall deal wisely & have good success. There is nothing new under the sun ,all the distractions , they steal our time & fill our minds with an ocean of worries ,fears & anxieties. Why not focus on one thing , the Creator & His Word , the source of all creativity. I think our minds need down time & times of silence. How can we hear when we are always engaged in something constantly? There is even a struggle involved in escaping to quiet times & in my experience , those times are priceless. They recharge me.