How to arrange the work environment for complete concentration

As you know, there are three main resources in life: time, money and attention. The worse we control our attention, the more the priming effect affects us. After all, things around us are also consumers of our attention, whether it happens consciously or not. I will tell you how objects on the table and images of faces affect our current behavior.

It is useful to use images of people's faces in the interior and it really works. Why? The point is that the people around us change our behavior. But even drawn people and even just drawn eyes act on our social brain in the same way. Even food in the presence of images of other people seems tastier than usual, but unhealthy foods lose their attractiveness.

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Even images of people in motion increase physical activity. A similar effect works with a mirror, but it seems too strange. At the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Newcastle, they conducted a funny experiment: they collected anonymous donations for general tea. So, drawing eyes on the ad led to a significant increase in donations.

This effect has been repeatedly proven in the course of research: our brain reacts with prosocial behavior even to three points located in the form of an inverted triangle with the edge down, compared to the situation when the points are located the other way around.

At the same time, it was proved that this effect is associated not with fear, but with the hope of a reward, an improvement in reputation.

The more unconscious social stimuli around you, the clearer your brain feels that you are surrounded by people. About what kind of people, science does not speak. But the tradition uses icons, and later - paintings or photographs of ancestors.

That is why icons were prudently hung at pre-revolutionary parties so that their faces would not be embarrassed. Such family faces contribute to the consolidation of social positive action even on a subconscious level: in the presence (visually, of course) of people who are significant to you, you will be more restrained, collected and aware.

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And among relatives and friends, even stress is perceived less acutely. We can also use this effect in the other direction, but this is a different, more marketing story. So give your social brain some nice food, it gratefully accepts it.

The objects lying next to us help or hinder our work. And also eat, think and much more. So, shiny glossy surfaces in a room, especially mobile ones, can cause visual fatigue. This is due to the fact that you have to unconsciously make an effort to maintain attention despite visual stimulus.

And many other items work through the dopamine system. For example, in one brain study, the authors found that in the presence of smartphones, people show reduced cognitive abilities in tests.

Those whose smartphones were in another room passed the best tests; the results were slightly worse for those whose phone was in their pocket and bag. The lowest rates were for those whose smartphones were in sight.

Reminder of unpleasantness increases judgment and caution. Why is this so? The fact is that in the presence of temptation, the brain even unconsciously spends part of its efforts to resist the temptation, reducing the available resources. Any dopamine stimulants that come into view (erotic images, candy, etc.) work in the same way.

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Recently in one bank I saw a saucer with free sweets at the credit table - someone clearly in the subject. What to do? Our ancestors knew powerful ways to control dopamine. So, they often kept a human skull on their desktop to remind them of the transience of life, the futility of pleasures and the inevitability of death.

In general, the advice is this - choose a work environment depending on the current tasks: dopamine stimulants - for creativity, gloomy austerity - for concentration. The main thing is to maintain stability in dopamine surfing.

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