Alexander Graham Bell’s Secret to Greater Productivity
There was one unique method of Bell’s that might be more universally worth trying.
And that is using location-based prompts to prime your mind for certain tasks.
In the words of his biographer:
“Convinced that his physical surroundings induced specific trains of thoughts, he established particular workspaces for particular purposes.”
There’s actually some neuroscience that shows why Bell’s location-based prompt method can be effective.
Every thought and action you take corresponds to a series of neurons in your brain. And these neurons connect to other neurons to make what researchers call neural maps.
As Caroline Webb notes in How to Have a Good Day:
“If you once spent an afternoon cranking out great work while settled into that window seat [at home], your ‘window seat’ neural network might be connected with the one representing ‘extremely productive and focused behavior.'”
Once this connection is established and reinforced, the brain begins creating a well-worn neural pathway:
“If I sit down in X location, then I do Y.”
These if-then connections between particular locations and particular behaviors/thoughts can help you settle down to work quicker on a task and prime the flow of certain ideas with less effort.
To use location-based prompts to your advantage, first choose different locations for different tasks; see if there are places that feel naturally conducive to working on certain things.
For example:
You might choose to always do budget-related work at the kitchen table, or read in your easy chair.
Then do your tasks in their assigned locations as consistently as you can.
At the same time, try not to use the same location for other tasks (as much as possible; you can’t avoid also eating at your kitchen table, of course), as this will create interference with the association you’re trying to create between that environment and the primary activity you use it for.
For example:
It’s not advisable to watch television or surf your phone while you lie in bed, because you want your bed to be solely connected with sleeping and nothing else.
Doing other things in bed besides snoozing weakens the strength of its location-specific prompt and can make it harder to fall asleep.
By using Bell’s method of location-based prompts, and making certain places part of certain rituals, you may find it easier to buckle down to your tasks.
Do what Bell would — experiment and see if it works for you.