The goal is "bandwidth freedom"...What if we could free ourselves--and others--of some of the wasteful bandwidth drains from the world around us? Well, we can.
And there are a lot of wise and talented people out there who have amazing techniques to do so. Their work is out there and has so much value--even more, I believe, when we view it through the bandwidth lens. Below, I share some initial guidance for how to attend to your own bandwidth, and --more importantly--how you can contribute to the universal liberation of bandwidth. |
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For you...
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The more you learn about bandwidth, the more you will realize that what is really needed is societal change--individual efforts will not be enough to transform our lives.
However, there are some solid, evidence-based ways that you can practice bandwidth self-care, invest your bandwidth more wisely, and refresh your bandwidth when exhausted. Some ideas below can start you off, but is difficult to make broad recommendations for individual action, when individuals are so different and have such varied circumstances. Please reach out for further guidance! |
Bandwidth Self-Care
Take care of your body. Your brain is part of your body. If you body isn't healthy, then your brain isn't healthy, and your bandwidth suffers. So eat, sleep, breathe, move. Eat nourishing foods. Sleep enough hours every day. Breathe--go outside, take deep breaths, drink your water (it has oxygen in it too). And move your body to get your blood circulating to your brain. These are critical for optimizing your bandwidth.
Find ways to practice acceptance, especially around uncertainty. When there is uncertainty, you are going to experience fear and confusion and frustration and all kinds of things. You could fight with those experiences and try to stop them from happening—but that’s just going suck up your bandwidth. If you can practice accepting what’s there, instead, at least you can save the extra bandwidth demands of avoidance and denial.
Be compassionate—to others AND yourself. Withhold judgment of others—remember you can’t see someone’s bandwidth. You can just see their actions—you don’t know what may be stealing their bandwidth—and thus limiting their choices. And for yourself, when your bandwidth is most in demand, things are ACTUALLY more effortful, and that is the time cut yourself a break. Judgments, critical thoughts, doubts, and frustration will use up your bandwidth.
Find ways to practice acceptance, especially around uncertainty. When there is uncertainty, you are going to experience fear and confusion and frustration and all kinds of things. You could fight with those experiences and try to stop them from happening—but that’s just going suck up your bandwidth. If you can practice accepting what’s there, instead, at least you can save the extra bandwidth demands of avoidance and denial.
Be compassionate—to others AND yourself. Withhold judgment of others—remember you can’t see someone’s bandwidth. You can just see their actions—you don’t know what may be stealing their bandwidth—and thus limiting their choices. And for yourself, when your bandwidth is most in demand, things are ACTUALLY more effortful, and that is the time cut yourself a break. Judgments, critical thoughts, doubts, and frustration will use up your bandwidth.
Invest Your Bandwidth Wisely
Focus on what’s important. It actually takes less bandwidth to do something that is important to you. What I tell my college students is to learn to love what they learn—even if they don’t. If you can find a way to relate something that you have to do, to something that is important to you, you can make it "easier" to do.
Next, keep things simple. Any healthy, functional habits or routines that you can develop and keep will be valuable. It takes some upfront bandwidth investment to form new habits, but it is definitely worth it. The goal is to rely on your automatic processing, even for things that are important, instead of your bandwidth. Things that are habits use your huge 11 million bits of automatic processing capacity, instead of the tiny little 100 bits of bandwidth.
Do your best to stop multi-tasking. As you may already know—there is not actually such thing as “multi-tasking.” When you multi-task, you are just switching back and forth between tasks really quickly. And every time you switch, you use bandwidth. So the faster you switch back and forth—or the more you multi-task—the faster you waste your bandwidth. Whenever you can, do one thing at a time—or least fewer things than you usually do.
Next, keep things simple. Any healthy, functional habits or routines that you can develop and keep will be valuable. It takes some upfront bandwidth investment to form new habits, but it is definitely worth it. The goal is to rely on your automatic processing, even for things that are important, instead of your bandwidth. Things that are habits use your huge 11 million bits of automatic processing capacity, instead of the tiny little 100 bits of bandwidth.
Do your best to stop multi-tasking. As you may already know—there is not actually such thing as “multi-tasking.” When you multi-task, you are just switching back and forth between tasks really quickly. And every time you switch, you use bandwidth. So the faster you switch back and forth—or the more you multi-task—the faster you waste your bandwidth. Whenever you can, do one thing at a time—or least fewer things than you usually do.
Refresh Your Bandwidth
Find ways to refresh your bandwidth. This is often the hardest part to give specific guidance on, because it is so different for different people AND for different circumstances. Ask yourself--what makes you feel mentally and emotionally refreshed, like you are ready to take on something new and challenging?
Here's a tip--some things might seem like refreshers, but they are actually more like "pause" buttons. For example, playing a game on your phone might be a nice break for a little while, but it's unlikely to actually refresh you. Same with food or alcohol. Or with scrolling through social media... So choose carefully!
- Maybe you feel better after a long, engaged conversation with a friend, that lets you get things off your mind.
- Or maybe journaling does that for you.
- For some people, meditation or spiritual practices are key.
- Creative expression or spending time in nature or working out can help.
- Sometimes it’s as easy as writing things down—just get them out of your brain for a bit.
Here's a tip--some things might seem like refreshers, but they are actually more like "pause" buttons. For example, playing a game on your phone might be a nice break for a little while, but it's unlikely to actually refresh you. Same with food or alcohol. Or with scrolling through social media... So choose carefully!
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Resources that promote Bandwidth Freedom
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