Your brain is hungry! The human brain, accounting for merely 2% body mass, can take up to 20% of your daily energy requirement. This can look like bad mileage, but is it?

The brain is more like a superstar juggler, balancing the energy allocated to a spectrum of functions, like reasoning, immunity, perception, and dreams. And while it manages all these jobs, many of us still dare to complain about our headaches, fuzziness, and distractions. The problem is not with the brain, but how we treat it.

Let’s face it! We are monkeys, and while evolution may have given us sophisticated gifts like the “sane” brain, the primal force is still strong within us. A small part of our brain still works as if we were living in jungles like thousands of years ago, that we refer to as the “monkey self” here. Some also call it the “reptilian brain” and it is responsible for instinctual and survival functions. It is exactly this monkey self that takes over when we act irrationally under strong emotions sometimes.

Does it not feel good to jump on beds or simply make silly noises? Hahaha, cute monkey. But, if you let this monkey handle your life, it is going to be a mess. If you were a car and the monkey-self its driver, it appears that the faster our car goes, the harder this mad driver pushes the accelerator. And that is no good. In the best case, the car will run out of gas quickly. And in the worst case? Expect nothing less than an accident.

Protect Your Bandwidth

Studies show that, on average, people check phones 40+ times a day. Usually, you would do so in your “free time.” Is this not what the free time is meant for? We agree, but if this happens so often, it is probably costing you some mental bandwidth.

Mental Bandwidth is the term for the limited amount of cognitive capacity humans have available for completing tasks. You must have noticed that on days where you have multiple demanding activities to do, you are unable to give your best in most of them. This is so because your talented juggler brain has more things to balance than just your conscious activities. No matter what you do, the brain would not sacrifice the quota for your sustenance functions like breathing, circulation, perception, and more.

Usually, our free time, when we rest or do simple activities like washing dishes, is a great break for the brain to recharge. But if this period is interrupted by scrolling through social media and news, you are asking your conscious brain to process new information. Even a minute of looking at new information can engage the brain for much longer. With this knowledge, look at your day. How often do you allow a notification or random call to interrupt you?

Sign the Contract of Kindness

In Greek mythology, when the great hero Ulysses was on a voyage, he was warned about the danger of Sirens, beautiful women on an island, singing enchanting songs. The problem was that their songs captivated the sailors, and made them act irrationally, ultimately wrecking their ships. Aware of the danger, Ulysses still wanted to hear their songs, so he made a contract with his fellow sailors. He asked them to tie him to the mast, and then fill their own ears with wax.

As the ship crossed the Sirens, Ulysses was captivated by their music, as expected, but could not do any harm because he was tied. On the other hand, the sailors kept working as usual because their ears were blocked with wax. Smart boy! This myth gave birth to the idea of “Ulysses Contract”: a freely made decision that is designed to bind oneself in the future. And we are going to use it to be kind to ourselves, to our brain.

We know that phones and social media are good, but there are associated dangers as well, just like the songs of the Sirens. As the world is learning more about the harms of unrestricted phone usage, like stress and reduced focus, tech companies are introducing features like “Do Not Disturb” and “App Usage Limit” in phones. And since you are a Kosmik explorer, you will go one step further. No, not by deleting the apps or your account 😉

Here’s how.