brain-fog-coping-strategies-outline.txt

Brain fog coping strategies
    Intro: Playfulness and experimentation will help you find strategies that work for you.
    Memory
        Navigating your memory landscape (vs constructing memory palaces)
            The problem with mnemonics
                Mnemonic techniques (such as memory palaces) are powerful, but ...
                Mnemonics only help when you know ahead of time exactly what you want to remember _and_ when writing it down is not sufficient _and_ when you have the time and energy to do the encoding
                    Very few cases meet this criteria
                        Memorizing foreign language vocabulary
                        Memorizing material for an exam
                        Memorizing for the sake of exercising your memory
            Meditation practices to develop better working memory
                Reverse mind wandering (i.e. navigating the chains of association)
                Imprint noticing (i.e. recognizing the trails that information leaves in its wake)
                Memory compass following (i.e. following spontaneous intuition)
        Note taking strategies
            ABE (Always Be Externalizing)
                Concept: Cognitive offloading, aka brain dumping
                Strategy: Just make marks
                    The important thing is to keep taking notes
                Warning: Beware of maintenance costs
            ABS (Always Be Summarizing)
                Concept: Chunking
                Strategy: Recursive summarization
        Planning
            Plans are useless but planning is essential
                Planning is a form of exploration, so be playful with it
                Planning is about making decisions in batches rather than one by one ad hoc
                "If ... then ..." planning (aka trigger -> action)
            Creating reminders
                Stick to the basics
                    Calendar
                    Timers (Pomodoro)
                    Strategically placed sticky notes
                    Other people
                Warning: Beware of maintenance costs
                If it doesn't help, stop doing it
    Attention
        Focus mode vs diffuse mode
            Scheduled breaks
            There seems to be something uniquely special about walking, especially in natural environments
        Mental foreground vs background
            Pointing and calling
        Scope of awareness
            Expanding awareness, contracting awareness
            Meditation
    Energy
        The fuel tank and the engine
            Concept: Internal friction
            Strategy: Mindful self-compassion
            Strategy: Do less
            Warning: Beware the nocebo effect
        Fatigue
            Body heaviness
                Strategy: Notice your posture and muscle tension. Use your bones more than your muscles
                    Heuristic: How quickly would you fall over if your muscles suddenly went limp?
            Fading awareness
                Strategy: Steady your awarness with a salient sensory experience like rubbing your hands together or tapping your foot
                Strategy: Listen to music
            Aversion to effort
                Effort is the opposite of rest
                    urge to rest = urge to avoid effort
                Playfulness/curiosity helps things feel less effortful
                    Games don't feel effortful
                    Just because something is important doesn't mean you can't be playful with it
                Equanimity helps effort feel less bothersome
                    Just because something is uncomfortable doesn't mean you have to fight against it
                    Judging experiences as good or bad can be exhausting
                Maybe there's a good reason why you feel averse
                Prompt: "I want to do this because ..."