A weekly newsletter with science-based insights on creativity, mindful productivity, better thinking and lifelong learning.
Ness Labs: The Three Frenemies in Your Brain 🧠
Edition #188 – April 27th, 2023
The frenemies in your brain
We all have goals. They can be big or small; professional or personal. But obstacles get in the way. External obligations such as social events, unforeseen additional work, and demanding customers can drain our energy, so there’s little left to focus on what really matters to us.
If only that was the only issue. To make things worse, we’re also constantly fighting an internal battle against our brain, a battle we're unconscious of.
You don't feel anything every time a neuron fires, and you have little control over the activity inside your brain. But those processes have a huge impact on how you manage your goals and how it feels to work toward them.
This week, you'll learn about the three "frenemies" in your brain that impact your productivity and can lead to procrastination. These neurochemicals are akin to little tricksters — they can sometimes help you and other times work against you.
Understanding how they work won't magically allow you to achieve your ambitions, but it may help you be kinder to yourself when things don’t seem to go as planned and you struggle to focus on your goals.
Enjoy your weekly dose of mindful productivity!
Anne-Laure.
P.S. Thank you so much for all of your kind words and inspiring ideas regarding the book – many of you have asked where they can preorder it... We are still a long, long way from there, but I will of course keep you posted in this newsletter! Please do keep on sending me any suggestions :)
🧠 Brain Food
The neurochemicals of productivity and procrastination (6 min)
Written by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
In this article, you'll learn about a handy framework to remember the three neurochemicals that affect your ability to get in the flow — dopamine, noradrenaline, and acetylcholine — based on the general areas of cognition they affect: fun, fear, and focus.
A writing method for embodied self-reflection (6 min)
Written by Dr. Hannah Rose
Proprioceptive writing is a self-reflection method that combines meditation and writing, two of the most effective ways to tap into the inner self. It can help us to rediscover our dreams and creative energy, while resolving emotional conflict and rebuilding self-trust.
🤝 Brain Trust
I wrote this whole newsletter during one of our co-working sessions earlier today!
You can join the next one later today at 3pm UTC hosted by Lukas Rosenstock or next Thursday at 6am UTC hosted by Javier Luis Gomez. With Pomodoro timers, short breaks, and a review discussion at the end, it's the perfect way to make progress on your work :)
And there's more: in Anton Casagrande's workshop tomorrow, Let Go to Unfold your Potential, you will learn how learning to let go can mindfully increase your productivity, help you establish a healthy mindset, and liberate your creativity.
🍬 Brain Candy
Little nuggets from my Twitter bookmarks this week. Click on the card to see the full tweet including any links or media.
🌊 Brain Waves
If you enjoyed this edition, please share the love with fellow curious minds on Twitter or Whatsapp.
Until next week, take care!
Ness Labs by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
A weekly newsletter with science-based insights on creativity, mindful productivity, better thinking and lifelong learning.
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