Alright, I managed to read it. I guess that makes me a hero in this thread.
The professor uses mediation to hone focus, then hyperfocusing on a task. It sounds a lot like a fancy description of the Pomodoro technique, except that the argument is that meditation can extend the amount of time we can give to a task. The other central argument is that we can't actually multitask, and it does more damage to try. The point of not being able to read a whole book seems like bunk to me, though, since I read for recreation, and it takes the amount of time it takes. I can't sit and read a whole book, just like I can't sit and watch a whole season of a television show.
I don't buy in to Pomodoro since I think it hurts to force a time limit in either direction, but I do believe that hyperfocus helps get tasks done. I notice this most of all when coding. I will fall in to a deep zone and just go. Eventually, something will bring me out of it (either hitting a wall, or finishing a block of functionality, etc), and that's it for a while. I will toggle out to Facebook or something and recover. Eventually, I'll go back. This cycle has been successful enough for me, just not forced to 25 minute blocks.
The one big point I did agree with is that, in a way, I have become a slave to my phone. I react when it dings, without much respect for what I'm doing. Just last week I disabled notifications for my work email, and have been much happier. I still see the badge count, but that's under my control to check, and I just don't. Same for desktop notifications - they're off. As important as I like to think I am, my email can wait, and I'm starting to think the same way about social notifications, although they are still more sparse and don't really hurt my focus.
I found meditation really did help me a lot in graduate school. And I'm talking only 5 to 10 minutes a day.
It shouldn't be so surprising that an ability to concentrate is a skill that can be improved, and that the best way to improve a skill is to directly practice it!
> The point of not being able to read a whole book seems like bunk to me, though, since I read for recreation, and it takes the amount of time it takes. I can't sit and read a whole book, just like I can't sit and watch a whole season of a television show.
I don't that's what the article refers to -- it's finishing the book at all, not just in one sitting.
> It shouldn't be so surprising that an ability to concentrate is a skill that can be improved, and that the best way to improve a skill is to directly practice it!
This is an important point that I feel many students do not understand. In my experience most people view focusing as a natural ability that you either have or you don't. I agree that one can be predisposed to getting distracted, but as with many predispositions, it can be overcome with some effort.
The professor uses mediation to hone focus, then hyperfocusing on a task. It sounds a lot like a fancy description of the Pomodoro technique, except that the argument is that meditation can extend the amount of time we can give to a task. The other central argument is that we can't actually multitask, and it does more damage to try. The point of not being able to read a whole book seems like bunk to me, though, since I read for recreation, and it takes the amount of time it takes. I can't sit and read a whole book, just like I can't sit and watch a whole season of a television show.
I don't buy in to Pomodoro since I think it hurts to force a time limit in either direction, but I do believe that hyperfocus helps get tasks done. I notice this most of all when coding. I will fall in to a deep zone and just go. Eventually, something will bring me out of it (either hitting a wall, or finishing a block of functionality, etc), and that's it for a while. I will toggle out to Facebook or something and recover. Eventually, I'll go back. This cycle has been successful enough for me, just not forced to 25 minute blocks.
The one big point I did agree with is that, in a way, I have become a slave to my phone. I react when it dings, without much respect for what I'm doing. Just last week I disabled notifications for my work email, and have been much happier. I still see the badge count, but that's under my control to check, and I just don't. Same for desktop notifications - they're off. As important as I like to think I am, my email can wait, and I'm starting to think the same way about social notifications, although they are still more sparse and don't really hurt my focus.