system 1 – From the desk of Adam Thomas

Not a great word

Using it takes away an opportunity to communicate what you work on. It comes from a place of insecurity. “If I say I’m busy, then that will confirm what I am doing to the other person.”

Being “busy” means we lost track of what we are doing. Just by using that word, we generally settle on System 1 (or gut reaction) thinking. Suddenly, the day is gone.

The worst part about the word is the two behaviors feed each other. When you don’t stop to communicate what you are doing and feed into your insecurity, it gets easier to lose track because “busy” often works.

Note: You aren’t as busy as you think you are.

Our brain doesn’t think in just one way.

According to Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, we have two modes of thought.

System 1 – Intuitive (i.e. breathing): This is where you do things you don’t think about. It’s how one walks and chews bubblegum. It’s why you don’t remember the details of your commute home. It is relying on the brain’s automatic (read: dumb) systems to get things done. You don’t spend a lot of energy here.
System 2 – Calculating (i.e. writing a blog): This is where you are “thinking.” The stuff you make an effort to do. Remember how you felt when you answered a question on an exam you weren’t sure about, or a presentation that affected your salary? It is where the brain exerts energy to get things done. If you remember back to those times, you remember how tired you were after.

We can do a ton of things with “System 1” thinking, but it comes with a bunch of caveats. For example, you miss out on any critical thinking. A lot of people mistake the ability to walk and chew gum as the ability to “multitask.” It isn’t multitasking, it’s auto-pilot.

However, the “multitasking” one thinks about has to do with being able to do so with “System 2” thinking. Each time you change tasks with “System 2” thinking you end up with switching costs and the work suffers.

Pay attention to the work. If you find yourself thinking, realize it is “System 2” don’t do anything else after you define a start and end point. Allow the rest of the world to come back after the work.

Trust me, it’s not going anywhere.