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Lessons From The Front…

…  musings from a career in entrepreneurship, big business and the Navy.

 

@Mathis_DHM

  • Go Navy!! twitter.com/comcastmilitar… 1 day ago
  • RT @BluVector: The #BluTeam believes heavily in giving back to our community during this time of year. Recently, our staff joined together… 1 day ago
  • RT @BluVector: New downloader named #Buer, created for ease of use in malware-as-a-service (#MaaS), has been in the wild since August. BluV… 1 day ago
  • RT @QuilHealth: Says @cedwardski, CEO of @QuilHealth: "People want to be healthy." #Technology can be key in closing the healthcare dispari… 1 day ago
  • RT @QuilHealth: Quil #WinterWellness Tip 3: Having trouble getting your steps in when it's cold outside? Walking around the mall holiday sh… 1 day ago
  • Social determinants for healthcare matter: 8 solutions that can be implemented right now. linkedin.com/pulse/social-d… via @LinkedIn 5 days ago
  • RT @chrissyfarr: Story I keep hearing over and over in various forms: oftentimes it’s the low-tech, services-based interventions that work:… 6 days ago
  • RT @NBCUVetNet: We will never forget. twitter.com/nbcnews/status… 1 week ago
  • RT @BluVector: A new variant of #Sodinokibi #ransomware has reportedly hit CyrusOne data centers. We tested BluVector’s Machine Learning en… 1 week ago
  • RT @BluVector: Heading to #SANS Cyber Defense Initiative 2019 in #DC next week? If you're looking to improve the threat detection of your c… 1 week ago
Follow @Mathis_DHM

Tag: central executive

Vacation for the Central Executive

Don Mathis Central ExecutiveIt’s hard to vacation. Yes, I realize that this is a ‘first-world problem’ (laughably so), but I was struck on a recent vacation myself how it can be difficult to truly disconnect from work in a real way.

While we’re having fun with family, friends, and maybe even the occasional exotic locale, there can be a creeping sense of guilt for missing work. Emails are piling up. Clients are calling. Colleagues need me.

The overwhelmed brain can take a while to wind down.

Here’s the terrible truth about our minds: they’re limited. When it comes to attention, there are two ‘networks’ at play. The task-positive network (referred to as the Central Executive by neuroscientists) is your active engagement with a task. The task-negative network takes over when your mind wanders or is creative. When one of these two networks is active, the other is not.

Both the task-positive and the task-negative networks are very important to us humans. While we need that focused attention to accomplish tasks, the inspiration and ideas come from the daydreaming. It’s a two-part attention system, and it’s easy to abuse at work. Sometimes we force the employment of the task-positive network in order to be extra productive. Sometimes we vacillate back and forth too quickly, like when we allow social media to interrupt work.

Vacations can be enormously restorative, but not if we use our minds in the same way as we do when we’re working. Checking email, thinking about work, or using your Central Executive while on vacation means your mind doesn’t get that break.

So as you manage to eke out a couple days for yourself and your family this month, make sure you do your brain a favor and let it wander. Let your creative mind flow. When you need to concentrate on something, take your time.

Don’t worry, the Central Executive has gotten enough exercise, and will still be healthy when you return.

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Posted on August 29, 2014April 14, 2018Categories PostsTags brain, central executive, Don Mathis, Kinetic Social, vacationLeave a comment on Vacation for the Central Executive
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