Brain Fitness Australia

I commenced the Posit Science Insight visual processing program today. It has a simple layout in soothing colours and an up-to-date game ‘feel”.

Choice!

More choice is available in this program: I can choose the order of the exercises (that’s a relief after the predictability of the BFP.) This means that there is potentially greater variety and personal control which must increase motivation to keep going. Feedback, timing and individual calibration are built in (as in the BFP) and assessments can follow a recommended or free choice timeline.

The baseline assessment includes age and education level which I can’t remember being included in the Brain Fitness Program. Both of these are relevant to performance on UFOV, particularly increased age. I will explore that in a later post.

Here are my starting levels and goals set for improvement:

Visual precision(Bird Safari): Current:618ms Goal: 445ms (28% improvement) No time scale

Divided attention (Jewel Diver): Current: 4.1 items Goal: 4.7 items in 2 hours 40 mins.

Have you tired InSight yet? What do you think of the program?

Be self-aware

Finding it hard to finish your training program? Or have you bought it and not even started?

Being overwhelmed by the context in which you find yourself means something has to give.

But how did you get there in the first place?Are there things you can change?

The most important step is to become self-aware and aware of your situation. You need to know as much as you can about yourself to be able to fix things. Being aware of your own strengths and vulnerabilities and prioritising choices that are available to you is the trick. Listen to the dialogue inside your head, or at least feel the warning signals.

The Scream by Edvard Munch 1893

I actually had quite a buzz at having completed the BFP package— signed sealed and delivered, and it is my choice only if I do it again and when. The first thing I did after completion of the program was to write a list of all the things that I do, but don’t do “properly”. I am driven by the seasons in the garden, by the glut of tomatoes and fruit, by the animals, by obligations to others, by a need for an outlet for my own creativity and ideas, etc. All of which I enjoy, but at times I find overwhelming and something has to give.

One lady I spoke to said the BFP had given her time for herself. I think I need more of that.

Back to the gym this week.

Good intentions

Interestingly a small number of home purchasers that I have spoken to did not complete the program or did not even start it: it sits in the drawer. The reasons for purchasing the program were not just a matter of impulse! The intention to complete the program, is still there: there were good reasons for their purchase.

But good intentions have become overwhelmed by the context in which they find themselves: house renovation or sale, gardens to tend, elderly parents to care for, computer problems, the weather, caught up in other things (one person was getting married!), attending new courses, plus the everyday requirements of shopping , bill-paying, washing, cleaning, keeping up with hobbies and friends and sometimes ill health or falls, etc.

Resolution: spread out over time

A New Year resolution is intended to correct a bad habit, like no longer eating a favourite food or deciding to be on time for appointments. Habits are entrenched and stubborn and most resolutions end in failure. Most people look on such failure as a character issue, such as weakness or lack of “willpower”.

But you can blame it on your brain to some extent. Taking on or carelessly drifting into too many things over-taxes your “mental muscle” the brain, and either stress, failure or only half-baked outcomes are achieved all round. Like your working memory your over-taxed brain will go into overload and will fail you. The latest neuroscience research suggests that spreading resolutions or good intentions out over time is the best approach. This will reduce the load on your frontal lobes, but will involve them in conscious planning and decision-making.

So plan a space and attempt to keep it for your good intentions!