“The Organized Mind” by Daniel J. Levitin is a helpful guide for improving your focus and organizing your information. It provides tips on how to manage your thoughts and use tools like notecards and labels.
If you want to achieve a Zen-like level of calm and know where all your information is stored, use this book to train your brain and learn new habits that will help you focus more clearly on the important tasks of the present day.
You may still be wondering if you should read the book. This book review will tell you everything about this book so you can decide if it is worth your time.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Key Insights
Lesson 1: As data becomes increasingly abundant, the need to make decisions with greater frequency also rises.
Life is filled with choices, and sometimes it feels like we’re constantly making decisions: should we opt for the cheaper option or splurge for unlimited data? Should we respond to this email or read those texts first? In today’s fast-paced world, it seems like we’re faced with decision-making nearly every minute. So, how can our minds cope with this continuous stream of choices when they’re really only designed to handle one concept at a time?
The answer lies in selectively paying attention to what truly matters. Our brains are designed to instinctively focus on aspects that have the most significant impact on our lives. Take, for example, walking your dog Fifi on a bustling street when she suddenly slips off her leash. As you frantically search for your furry friend, your brain will naturally filter out anything that doesn’t resemble Fifi’s size or color. This means you won’t pay attention to people, cars, buildings, or buses—instead, your brain will prioritize finding Fifi.
By doing this, your brain conserves precious processing power and efficiently narrows its focus. However, it’s essential to recognize that constantly switching between tasks or being bombarded with excessive information can negatively impact your brain’s efficiency. To optimize your mental capacity, it’s crucial to limit the number of tasks you try to juggle.
When it comes to decision-making, we should adopt a similar approach—automatically narrowing down to what’s most important. Don’t stress about trivial daily decisions; instead, look for shortcuts and simple ways to make choices. Assigning a monetary value to the time it takes to use a product or service can be an effective method for making these decisions.
For instance, imagine you’re contemplating hiring a professional cleaner for your home instead of doing it yourself. Ask yourself if spending $50 is worth gaining two extra hours of free time. If the answer is yes, go for it! There’s no need to agonize for hours over this decision.
Lesson 2: Create a place for each and every item.
Have you ever lost your keys, glasses, or phone? It’s frustrating, right? But did you know that it’s actually quite common to misplace the things we use the most? This is because we tend to always have these things with us, which makes them easier to misplace. In contrast, items like toothbrushes, which are only used in one location, are rarely lost.
Fortunately, there are simple solutions to this problem. One approach is to designate a specific location for your commonly used items, such as putting your keys in a bowl by the door or keeping your glasses in a designated drawer at your desk. Alternatively, you could consider getting duplicates of these items to keep in different locations.
But why do we tend to forget where we put our belongings in the first place? It turns out that the human brain has a dedicated area for spatial memory called the hippocampus. This part of the brain evolved to help us remember important information, such as the location of a watering hole or the territory of dangerous animals.
Interestingly, studies have shown that London cab drivers, who need to know the city street map by heart, have larger hippocampi than other people with similar training and ages. This suggests that the hippocampus can evolve to better handle the demands of long-term, accurate memory recall.
However, the hippocampus has its limits. It can only provide us with data about objects that are in a specific location, which makes it difficult when we need to find our scattered belongings. This is why having a designated spot for frequently used items can be helpful.
Lesson 3: Put your thoughts on paper.
Picture this: you have numerous thoughts and ideas about starting a project at work, but they’re all jumbled up in your head. What’s the best way to manage this situation? Keep in mind that our attention capacity is limited, so attempting to process everything internally can lead to information overload. The solution is simple yet effective: Write it down!
Using traditional index cards is an efficient method for capturing and organizing your thoughts as they come to you. For instance, while riding the bus, you might remember that you need to buy a birthday gift for your grandma. Instead of spending the day repeatedly reminding yourself or worrying about forgetting, jot it down to save yourself the stress.
If you think of something you can do right away, like calling your grandma to wish her a happy birthday, don’t hesitate—just do it. The two-minute rule is a helpful guideline: if an activity takes more than two minutes, write down how long it will take to complete, and start immediately.
Another valuable technique for decluttering your mind involves categorizing your written thoughts. Imagine you see a flying object with feathers; your brain is likely to quickly identify it as a bird. If you’re unsure whether it’s a hawk or an eagle, your brain will probably generalize and classify it as a bird of prey.
Similarly, you can categorize your notes using tools like index cards or mobile apps. Periodically compile all your notes and organize them under relevant headings such as “personal life,” “work,” or “children.” This way, you’ll always have easy access to your ideas and plans.
Lesson 4: Using a junk drawer every day to keep all your items together can save you a lot of time.
Organizing our thoughts and lives by creating categories is essential to maintaining an orderly environment. Sometimes, though, we come across items or ideas that don’t seem to fit into any existing category. In such cases, we can create a new category for these seemingly unclassifiable items or ideas, treating them as if they were discarded items in a drawer.
Think about how our brains like to classify everyday items in our homes. Most of us have designated spots for single light bulbs, paper clips, and car care products. If you have just a few light bulbs, it doesn’t make sense to store them separately when they could be placed with other unused items. Similarly, it’s perfectly fine to use a desk drawer as a catch-all for various office supplies or to create a “miscellaneous” folder for papers that don’t belong anywhere else but are too important to discard.
To ensure that your “junk drawer” remains functional, periodically check and organize its contents. This not only helps you keep track of everything but also provides an opportunity to declutter. As you go through the items, if you haven’t used something in a while, it’s likely that you won’t need it anytime soon, so it’s better to discard it.
Moreover, if you notice that a certain item’s quantity has grown unexpectedly, it might be time to allocate a specific space or container for it, such as a bin for light bulbs. Sometimes, items stored in a junk drawer can serve a purpose elsewhere in your life. For example, if you recently developed a passion for scrapbooking, rummaging through your junk drawer might reveal useful materials like an extra pair of scissors or double-sided tape.
Praise
1. Practical Suggestions for Better Organization
One of the major strengths of “The Organized Mind” is the practical advice that Levitin offers to readers. He delves into everyday tasks and situations, offering simple but effective solutions that can help improve our daily lives.
For instance, he explains the importance of concentrating on one task at a time and avoiding multitasking, which can lead to inefficiency and increased stress. By implementing his suggestions, such as having a designated junk drawer or using traditional note-taking methods, readers can work towards achieving a more organized life.
2. Insights into the Science of the Brain
Levitin’s academic approach to exploring how the brain functions is another major plus of this book. He breaks down complex neurological processes, making them easy to understand for the average reader.
By explaining how our attention system works or how memories are stored and accessed, Levitin helps readers gain a better understanding of their own minds. This knowledge can be applied to improve focus, organization, and even creativity.
3. Emphasis on the Benefits of Mindfulness
In addition to practical tips and scientific insights, “The Organized Mind” also delves into the mental and spiritual benefits of being organized.
Levitin highlights the importance of mindfulness and being present in the moment, which can only be achieved when we’re not constantly worried about unfinished tasks or future problems.
By adopting an organized lifestyle and implementing the strategies shared in the book, readers can work towards achieving a more balanced and mindful way of living.
Criticism
1. Overlapping with Other Books
While “The Organized Mind” does provide valuable insights into organization and focus in the digital age, some readers may find that it heavily overlaps with other influential works, such as “Thinking, Fast and Slow” and “Flow.”
Levitin’s additions to the existing knowledge in these books may seem superficial, like an extended magazine article rather than an essential new contribution. Readers who are already familiar with the concepts presented in these other books may not gain as much from reading “The Organized Mind.”
2. Lack of Organization and Tangential Content
Ironically, given the subject matter, some readers find “The Organized Mind” to be poorly organized itself. Levitin often goes off on tangents, which can make the book feel unfocused and difficult to follow. A more stringent editing process could have streamlined the content and made it easier to digest.
Moreover, while social media and technology have a significant impact on our ability to focus and stay organized, Levitin doesn’t delve deeply enough into this aspect. A more comprehensive exploration of technology’s role in the Information Age would have been beneficial.
3. Mixing Expertise with Personal Opinions
Levitin is a leading expert in his field, and his knowledge shines through in certain sections of the book. However, he also includes personal opinions on various topics unrelated to his expertise, which can be off-putting for some readers. This mixing of expert knowledge with layperson opinions can create an imbalance in the book’s overall quality, leading to an inconsistent reading experience.
Conclusion
“The Organized Mind” by Daniel Levitin is an excellent book that builds on his previous work “This is Your Brain on Music.” Levitin draws from his expertise in cognitive psychology and the latest research in cognitive neuroscience to offer readers practical tips for managing the overwhelming amount of information in our world today.
The book’s writing style is easy to understand and Levitin’s suggestions, such as using 3 x 5 index cards, are grounded in science. Levitin also warns against the dangers of email and multitasking, and offers guidance for making important decisions in different areas of life.
“The Organized Mind” is a great resource for anyone who wants to better understand and tackle the challenges of the information age. The book not only provides the latest scientific insights but also offers practical advice for improving personal organization. Overall, this is a highly recommended read.
Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, is a best-selling author and an award-winning scientist and teacher. He has written four books, including “This Is Your Brain on Music,” “The World in Six Songs,” “The Organized Mind,” and “Weaponized Lies,” which have been translated into 21 languages.
Besides being a neuroscientist, Levitin also has a background in music. Before entering the field of neuroscience, he worked as a session musician, sound engineer, and record producer, collaborating with famous artists like Stevie Wonder and Blue Oyster Cult. He has published extensively in both scientific journals and music magazines such as Grammy and Billboard.
Currently, Levitin is the Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at the Minerva Schools at KGI. His diverse experiences and expertise make him a fascinating author to read and learn from.
Buy The Book: The Organized Mind
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