When in doubt , print it out
Not only does paper have an advantage over digital devices when it comes to note taking and writing , it also wins out for reading . Even though we read on phones and laptops seemingly all day every day , we ’ re not reading the same way as when we peruse a book .
“ It ’ s not that the medium by itself is a killer , it ’ s the assumptions we have about how we use that medium ,” says Naomi Baron , professor emerita at American University and author of
How We Read Now : Strategic Choices for Print , Screen , and Audio . “ If you have a digital device that has internet access , you are used to using that device for a whole range of things that don ’ t take a lot of concentration .”
When you use your phone or laptop to jump back and forth between emails , Twitter , YouTube , and online articles , your brain becomes used to being distracted and not paying close attention to what you ’ re consuming . When you then try to read a technical white paper on that same device , it ’ s tough to switch out of that skim-and-scroll mindset .
People also tend to read faster on a screen than they do in print , which often means they ’ re not reading as deeply .
Numerous studies have found that people are better at remembering information when they read it in a book than on a screen , especially for complicated questions . Length also seems to matter , with the largest advantage in comprehension being for texts longer than 500 words . So the next time you ’ re staring down a long article or legal brief , white paper , or academic work , do your brain a favor and print it out .
Just breathe
These low-tech hacks are great , but what about the days when no matter what you do , you can ’ t get your mind to focus ? That ’ s when it ’ s time to take a break and meditate .
“ It seems really simple — just sit and watch your breath — but there ’ s actually all these different cognitive skills that are happening at the same time while you ’ re doing it ,” says Sara Lazar , an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School .
First and foremost , the act of meditation is a practice in attention . As your mind starts to wander , your cognitive control kicks in to bring your focus back to your breath . That means you have to keep monitoring your mind , something called metacognition . If your thoughts turn to an emotional topic , you get practice
controlling your stress response . And keeping all this in your mind is a challenge for your working memory .
Lazar and others have found that by employing all these cognitive processes , meditation can actually
rewire your brain , particularly the areas important for learning , memory , and emotion regulation . Think of meditation as a workout for your brain . Just like with physical exercise , the parts of your brain that you work the most will get bigger and stronger . Repeatedly focusing your attention , staying calm , and resisting the urge to let your mind wander will strengthen the regions responsible for those actions .
You don ’ t need to be a Zen master to experience the benefits of meditation .
In one study , meditating 20 minutes a
On average , people who play action video games are about
10 % faster than non-gamers on an array of cognitive tests , including visual search , working memory , and task switching .
NCBI day for just five days lowered people ’ s feelings of stress and fatigue .
Another study showed that two weeks of meditation training reduced students ’ distracting thoughts , which helped improve their scores on the GRE . “ The more you practice , the more you ’ re going to benefit ,” Lazar says , “ but even 10 minutes a day will be of some benefit .”
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