Your Central Nervous System: Your Biological Key to Productivity

All of us have experienced days when our productivity soared.  It was like nothing could slow us down.  Everything that we had planned for the day toppled like a row of dominoes.  We were unstoppable.  Then, the next day, we couldn’t buy a check on our next action list.  We couldn’t make anything happen.  If pressed, we couldn’t say what the difference was between the two days.

Several things came together this week to explain one cause of this phenomenon to me:

• Noting that I seemed to be more productive when I worked at a large counter where I could spread everything out and stand while I worked, I wondered if my being able to stand and work made the difference.  The extra space didn’t seem to be a consideration as I have a 3 X 6 foot desk with plenty of room for materials and paperwork.
• I also remembered Tony Robbins and his connection with Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).  Through his program, I know that one tactic that is useful in changing one’s state is changing one’s physiology (changing how one uses their body).  I studied NLP and Robbins techniques in years past and I knew that it worked, as I noticed a difference in my state when I changed my breathing patterns, posture, and the way I carried my body.
• For Father’s Day, my 21–year old sons, who are finishing up pre-med and are applying to med schools, tied the two things together while teaching me about the central nervous system. They learned this in their studies as well as in MCAT prep courses and materials.

Our Nervous System

Our autonomic nervous system controls the systems of the body that we don’t think about, including our heart beat/rate, respiration, and digestion.  The autonomic nervous system is made up of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.  When the parasympathetic nervous system is active, it, among other things, increases blood flow to the digestive organs and slows the heart rate.  This is known as the “rest and digest” reflexes.  When the sympathetic is active, it dilates the pupils, increases the blood sugar, increases the heart rate, and increases the respiration.  In short, it triggers the “fight or flight” response, enabling us to take action.

We Can Exploit Our Natural Responses

By mimicking the sympathetic reactions to a threatening environment (sitting up straight, standing, moving quickly, deeper breathing), it appears to be possible to activate the sympathetic system, which then takes over.  We are ready to act, or in our case, be productive.  We can also change our environment to one that causes the sympathetic system to activate, one that is more spartan, threatening, or simply uncomfortable.  The result?  We take action.  We are more productive.

Strategies for Making Your Body Work for You

The next time you notice yourself struggling in one of those unproductive days, try activating your sympathetic nervous system by using some of these:

• Sit up straight.
• Go for a brisk walk.
• Breath deeply and forcefully.
• Change to a more physical activity.
• Work standing up.
• Move to a different work area where you are not as comfortable.
• Turn the lights up.
• Change to a more uncomfortable chair and desk.
• Turn the temperature down.
• Do some quick exercise.
• Take a break to play a sport (I’m envious of those of you whose employers provide a gym or exercise room and the time to use it).
• Go for a swim.
• Move to an unfamiliar office or area.
• Work in the library.

Links:

Tony Robbins
Personal Power II
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

Comments

[Jason Womack]

This is great...just a few weeks ago I wrote something about "increasing engagement" over here: http://www.davidco.com/blogs/jason/archives/2005/06/7_ways_to_incre_1.html#more

Thanks for the tips, I'm going to try one right now!

[biantaishabi]

Thanks for sharing your tips, I translated it into Chinese and put it on a co-blog called "Blog Chinese Translation".

[pitchperfect]

This is a "method" acting technique that I have used for some time now, putting myself in a position that I would experience for a certain emotion (anger for example) and also breathing accordingly. Actors can in this way fool their own bodies into displaying believable tears, panicky eyes, or whatever (believable because as far as your body is concerned, they are real). It does, however, cause stares from those who have no idea what you’re doing. You might want to let your co-workers in on it or they might think you're going crazy!

[mirabel]

This is a great idea, but also something that some people need to be VERY careful with, specifically if they have problems with panic or anxiety. Panic disorder is simply a body's tendency to go into fight-or-flight mode when no actual danger is present. Thus, activating this mode as an attempt to motivate yourself to be more productive might be problematic. (A riposte might be that this tip isn't actual panic-inducement, but believe me, it's close enough. And for people who have this medical problem, the likely end result is dread: either of the specific work they've tried to psych themselves into doing, or of work at all, or whatever... it depends on their individual makeup.)

I have panic disorder, and I did something like this as a kid to motivate me in my swimming lessons. When swimming from the shallow to the deep end, I would imagine that a monster lived under the shallow end and could enter the deep end through a door in the "drop." The idea was to make it the entire length of the pool without letting my energy flag halfway through, and it worked. But the end result is that almost 20 years later I can't swim in a pool's deep end, or in any depth with my face in the water, without triggering a mild panic attack. This is despite knowing rationally that there is certainly no "monster" in the pool.

So, YMMV.

[Bert]

I guess most of us don't think about it that way, so it's hard to imagine what a person with a panic disorder goes through. But, the strategies that help us be more productive that work in this regard can work in such low-level anxiety situations that one doesn't have to approach the levels that you are talking about. For example, sit at a desk to do paperwork or read rather than while reclining on the couch. Work in an area that is better lighted rather than a dim, relaxing room. Sit up rather than lie down. Take a walk around the block (even a pleasant walk) before hitting the books. Of course, I'm not a doctor and have only a limited knowledge of the panic attacks that many people have to struggle with so, if a walk around the block or sitting up straight is enough to trigger a panic attack, then one should avoid those.