The 90-Minute Article

This article has been written, edited and published within 90 minutes.

By setting a certain deadline for myself, I was able to savour every second of my time, channelling my thoughts towards this article. But why does this happen? Why do we tend to pay more attention as time elapses?

To study this phenomenon of our mind, we must first understand how it works. The attached video is quite popular in the forum of TedX. 

Tim Urban - Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

To explain this video in brief. Tim Urban talks about three beings that live inside our brains.

1.       Rational Decision-Maker – who wants to be productive.

2.       Instant Gratification Monkey – who wants to enjoy to the fullest, no matter what the consequences

3.       Panic Monster – The only fear of the instant gratification monkey, looms around when a deadline approaches

Our mind always knows the rational decision to take. We know that in a situation, what is the best use of our time to yield better results. Yet the prehistoric monkey living in our brain does not know what is the best use of our time. And unfortunately, it is very persuasive in nature.

It is so persuasive in fact, that even if we do overpower it and sit to get some work done, it still hangs around the back of our heads, impacting the quality of the work produced. 

Here are some of the characteristics of the monkey –

1.       Requires extreme social validation

2.       Needs small spikes of success (Dopamine)

3.       Heights of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)

4.       Hates monotony

Cal Newport, in his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World; essentially described the existence of a similar monkey which lives in our brain. He explained that every person has a particular threshold of mental resources. While one can train to increase their threshold, it is time-consuming and non-profitable, if the main problem isn’t eliminated. 

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

And that problem is the clutter the monkey creates inside our brain. Since it is not trained, it will not act civilised. It will rip apart our flow states, shatter the deep thoughts we get, steal our time and consume it. Cal Newport quoted,

“Less mental clutter means more mental resources available for deep thinking.” 

So to gain more mental resources, we must control the uncivilised monkey in our heads.

So how do I achieve this? How do I control this monkey?

Monkeys are hard to train, but not impossible.

Fortunately for us, Tim Urban has already given us a solution. The monkey’s one deep fear is the panic monster.

When there is a deadline, the panic monster shall arise.
And when the monster arises, the monkey’s tantrums shall suffice. 

And summoning the panic monster is almost as easy as ordering food online. Here are the quick ways to summon this beast:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deadlines.

That is literally it. Setting deadlines is the one and only way to truly summon this beast, and truly achieve mindfulness. But this actually can pretty easily be integrated into our lives.

Having a panic shelter is one such thing. The panic shelter could be anywhere, your room, your local library, that one creepy room in your house no one uses. We tend to associate certain places with certain emotions and certain states of mind. The bathroom for many is a place where there are no disturbances, where it is just you and your thoughts. That’s why many great thoughts emerge in the shower (Including the thought of writing this article). When you successfully associate that one particular place as your panic shelter – and a place with no disturbances, your mind immediately adjusts to those surroundings. It becomes easier to achieve the next integration process; by having a timer.

Many of you might have heard of the Pomodoro technique, where each “Pomodoro” is 25 minutes long. This duration is brought forth to create a sense of urgency while working. 

 

The following focus sessions is also readily available in all Microsoft devices, where one can set their idyllic duration to focus on their task. 

While the panic monster is formidable, given enough incentives, the monkey can overpower the monster. Thus, it is required to stay away from all distractions, including phones or other devices. But most importantly, don’t forget to PANIC. Imagine something at stake, be it a 1000 push-ups or a dreaded call from your boss. 

But there are cases where there is no deadline. Take the example of you wanting to go to the gym. You promise yourself to increase your weight by 10 kilograms, by the end of the year. But even if we do summon the panic monster on Christmas, it won’t be possible to gain 10kgs within a week. So what can fix those moments? How do we build ourselves without the instant gratification monkey breaking our spirits?

The answer is habits. One must build habits that go against the very purpose of the monkey to achieve something long-term. More about that later on – maybe when the work isn’t just a culmination of 90 minutes of my time.