k_quietime

Chapters 2+3 of [[thinking fast and slow]] are about cognitive attention, self-control,,, I will try to use the precise wording of the author.

“..a well-established proposition — both self-control and cognitive effort are forms of mental work”, that require mental energy. The mental energy reserve is limited. Cognitively busy individuals tend to exhibit reduced self-control; After long periods of self-control, we tend to forget things, make mistakes in judgement or in our work.

“One of the significant discoveries of cognitive psychologists is that switching from one task to another is effortful…. The ability to control attention is not simply a measure of intelligence; measures of efficiency in the control of attention predict performance of air traffic controllers and of Israeli Air Force pilots beyond the effects of intelligence.”

— quietime .. [in office or morning quietime or late night] are “easier” in terms of attention control. In my quietime, I can control when to switch context, rather than dictated by external factors. My attention is easily controlled by myself.

— self control
eg: jogging and instructor-led classes require less System2 resources [mental energy] because no self-control needed. After a lot of mental work, I tend to prefer these /automatic/ workouts.
eg: when employees are engaged in cognitive work, they tend to sit down rather than using standing desk
eg: office stash and Bayonne stash … are easier because less self-control needed, even when I engage in demanding work.

eg: when I’m busy with study or work, I feel the need for comfort food, hopefully my stash has the healthy varieties like fruits, milk, fish,,,
jolt: Some people go for cigarette or alcohol. Note I’m not talking about stress per se, but mental work.

— speed coding is exhausting.. “The most effortful forms of (Sys2) slow thinking are those that require you to think fast.”
— slow pace in mvea and epa teams .. precious. I won’t trade these slow jobs for a lucrative but fast-paced job.
— “responding kindly to a family member’s bad behavior .. requires self-control”, which is effort. So this is harder to achieve if you are mentally tired, under stress, or your System2 is already engaged