The Time Concept #2
“Time is basically an illusion created by the mind to aid in our sense of temporal presence in the vast ocean of space. Without the neurons to create a virtual perception of the past and the future based on all our experiences, there is no actual existence of the past and the future. All that there is, is the present.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
When I was teaching in Italy, I also had a lovely opportunity to be a part of the Academic/ Sales Team. The staff generally had one full hour of (paid) lunch, which was a blissful experience! (Imagine a plate of delicious Pasta Carbonara with a glass of wine on a Friday — mmm, mouth-watering!)
To me, this hour was more than enough to recharge my batteries and freeze the time not having to worry about placement tests, calls, reception tasks… I was surprised when my colleagues were asking me out for a cup of coffee throughout the day! An interesting fact was that our boss joined us from time to time to have this cup of coffee.
Il Dolce Far Niente is one of the ways business is done in Italy. In Italian, there is no such tense as the Present Perfect — there is il Passato Prossimo and l’Imperfetto, which both refer to the past, not the present effect. In the present, Italian speakers enjoy the present.
From the educational perspective, for our brain to study and learn effectively, students/ workers should ideally use the Pomodoro Technique to overcome being stuck on a task (and most importantly not to overwhelm our brain).
Learning, in the end, boils down to the mindful switching between the focused and the diffuse modes:
Focused mode (FM)= study/ work = hard concentration for until it feels like you get stuck/ feel overwhelmed or stressed. Remember: no distractions, be in the now.
Diffuse mode (DM) = not study and not stare at the screen = take a shower/ stretch / take a short walk/ have some tea on your balcony/ take a break doing what you like/ brush your teeth/ do rhe dishes and clean that counter. Remember: no phone or any other device.
Have you ever experienced that feeling when the Aha! Moment occurs while sitting on the toilet? If not, you should give it a try. I have!
Not surprisingly, our brain is still at work when sleeping or exercising, and thus a lot of solutions and insights are generated during sleep and breaks.
On average, for an adult person, the focused mode could take up to 52 minutes, while the diffuse mode, might take up to 17 minutes. Here is your ready-to-go study/ work Plan:
- FM – 52 minutes
- DM – 17 minutes
- FM – 52 minutes
- DM – 17 minutes
and so on.
‘Forever is composed of Nows’.
Emily Dickinson
