Issue No. 15

One thing I realize whenever I talk to older, wiser people, such as my mentor, is that whenever I mention something trivial, they immediately lose focus. There was one time when I was talking to my mentor, James, about my draft of the app that I am building. When I was talking about the core functionality of the app, his focus on what I was saying was at its maximum, and he was looking straight into my eyes. However, when I talked about the design, he immediately lost interest. This happens not just in verbal conversations but also in text. What I learned from this is that as you get wiser, you selectively choose the most important information that needs more attention. And I think this is how wiser people get even wiser because they use their "working memory" efficiently. We'll talk about what that means in a second.

In a world where information is everywhere, it can get very difficult to retain information, let alone find the ones that are actually bringing value to your life. We are constantly fed with it, from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Even your friends' mouths become a source of useless information. How do you get rid of the information that you don't need so that you can focus on the ones that you need? And how do you remember them?

Let me tell you how our brain works by talking about the computer. All computers have a thing called Random Access Memory (RAM). Its function is to temporarily store and access the data that is currently being worked on because it cannot process everything at once. It has to put its attention on the most important work, just like a workspace or a work table. You put on the table only the things that you are currently working on, and every time you move to another task, you change the composition of your table. The RAM is like that space for the computer, and it makes it possible for the computer to do its work. Without RAM, the computer would be like a desk with no surface—it would have nowhere to put the information it's working with.

This is very similar to our brain. Our brain, however, has "working memory" instead of RAM. They serve exactly the same function, but the most common feature between both is that they are both limited in capacity. Your brain cannot process all information at once; it's selective in what it needs to process. For example, you cannot focus on listening to your friend's story about her breakup while simultaneously writing your book. You might argue that you can do it with other things such as cooking or driving. Ideally, yes, but you are actually dividing your working memory's capacity between both. So instead of having 100% focus on listening to your friend's story, you are using 50% for it and 50% on something else. The more items you have in your working memory, the more it gets divided. In short, multitasking is a scam. There is no such thing as multitasking; there is only fast task-switching. It feels like multitasking because your brain operates at a speed you cannot comprehend.

As you get older, your working memory gets larger in relation to your brain's physical architecture. A child will have a small working memory, hence their short attention span. Older people will have more patience and can focus more because their working memory allows space to contemplate the details of the subject. In theory, an average adult can only hold 5-9 items at a time.

Now that we understand how working memory works and how much it can handle, we can now understand why the sea of information that we constantly expose ourselves to is destroying the way we remember things. Information gets buried in the deeper memory levels when it is repeated many times with almost 100% of your focus. This is called spaced repetition. So, if you read a book once, even with 100% focus, you will forget 80% of what you have learned, especially if it does not require other senses other than the eyes. This is why you remember activities that require your body movements and other senses more than what you have read. Do not trust your brain to remember everything. How many times have you forgotten a meeting or a specific task you have to do? This is why task management tools were invented.

And I think this is what's wrong in our generation. We use technology, our phones, and computers as an escape from reality, and often what happens is technology uses us, and we end up becoming the products. All these social media platforms are free because they take the most important thing from you: your attention. It's highly expensive and valuable to advertisers. 97.5% of Facebook's revenue comes from advertising. That should tell you something.

So, how do you use technology to expand the capacity of your brain? This is how I do it:

I use my computer and a software called Notion. Notion is like a personal database that you can manipulate and be creative with to record everything you do, including your daily tasks. This is not a paid advertisement, so hear me out. My homepage looks like this:

I have only five categories: Personal, Work, Life, Goals, and Values. Under each category, I have a growing number of subcategories that house my private information and data. My entire life can be deduced to this database. All my financial transactions are automatically calculated on the Finances page, the effects of my workout routine are tracked inside Health, and everything I read is summarized inside Reading. I can even keep track of how I develop my values by tracking what activities I do related to them. When you see your life on a page like this, everything becomes clear. You can now leave the boring information on your computer and access it only when you need it, and then leave the important ones inside your brain. The best thing about it is this tool is free.

Do I need to remember how much I spent on food last month? No, but it's certainly helpful to know whenever I calculate my budget. Do I need to remember what I need to do in the next few days? Certainly not. I can just access my calendar the night before. And whenever a new task arises while I am doing another, I can just drop it on the calendar so I can continue what I am working on. My workflow is never interrupted.

When I am cooking or doing laundry, I use my Apple Watch to schedule a timer. Whenever I am on the subway, I use my AirPods to listen to podcasts. Whenever I am on my break, I use my iPad to read the books I downloaded or write my thoughts. Whenever I use my phone, I go on social media to advertise my passive income sources and businesses. 90% of what I do with technology is a productive activity. The remaining 10% is for shenanigans, such as watching cute videos of dogs. But I know that when I do that 10%, it doesn't feel like a waste of time because I know that I have been productive before that.

This is how you use technology to empower your brain. Use it as a second brain to extend what your mind is capable of. Don't become a slave to it. By delegating boring and often tedious tasks to your devices, you free up a significant amount of space in your brain and time. This newfound freedom allows you to accomplish more. Now you have more time for yourself, your family and friends, and your dreams. If you asked wealthy individuals what they value the most, they would tell you it's time.

They hire other people to handle tasks they don't want to do, allowing them to focus on the core aspects of their business. And that’s all because they know it’s time that you cannot earn back when it’s spent.

People are often fascinated by the range of things I can do. I can draw, paint, write books and letters, dance, sing, play guitar, cook, code a bit, design, speak four languages, build businesses, rizz (?), and more. My friends and acquaintances often ask, "What can you not do?" The truth is, it's not that I can do everything; rather, I am skilled at managing my mental space and time. I prioritize what matters at the right time and allow myself to have fun at the right time as well and whenever a certain activity does not serve my main goals, I abandon them. As I grow older, I feel like I'm becoming more adept at mastering this skill, and I want to share this discovery with others so they can unlock their potential. I am not special. I've learned everything I know, and I am aware that there's more to learn.

Audrey Hepburn

Drawn by Ace Apolonio