10 ways to trick your brain into being more productive, according to a neuroscientist

99U conference

Despite the fact that workdays look drastically different than they did 50 years ago, our bodies have not adapted to advances in technology, leading neuroscientist Sahar Yousef explained at Adobe's 99U conference.
You can trick your brain into getting more done by keeping smartphones out of sight, focusing on one task at a time, and wearing the same clothes everyday.
Here are 10 ways to trick your brain into getting more done.
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If you've ever complained about being too busy, it may not be your boss overworking you — your brain could be the problem.

Aside from actual work, employees waste more time with constant distractions, meetings, and emails than ever, according to software company Atlassian. Technology hasn't helped: on average, Vox found workers send Slack messages every 12 minutes in an eight-hour workday.

In conjunction to the constant barrage of distractions, employees and executives around the world complain of burnout and stress, particularly at large tech companies.

The paradox between the decline in productive work during the day and the feeling of being constantly overworked could boil down to your biology, UC Berkeley cognitive neuroscientist Sahar Yousef told the audience at Adobe's 99U conference, which brought together creative experts in fields from virtual reality to interactive art.

Everything about the workday has changed, Yousef said: most communication no longer occurs in person; technology allows workers to constantly be plugged into work regardless of a 9-to-5 schedule; you have coworkers around the world; and open offices have replaced cubicles.

Our bodies are the only thing that haven't changed, Yousef added. Many of us have not adapted our biology or rewired our brains to the tech that transformed our workplaces.

"We've created amazing new tech and devices, but the crux of the problem is that we're not changing — we're still ancient, we still have this old biology," Yousef told the audience. "Until we actually stop fighting our biology and embrace it and leverage it, it's going to feel like an uphill battle."

Yousef explained ways to rewire your workday to get the most out of your body's optimal performance ability. Here are 10 ways to trick your brain into getting more done, according to Yousef.

Keep smartphones — whether yours or someone else's — out of sight.

Distraction is the number one effectiveness killer, Yousef said. The main distraction culprit? Your smartphone.

In fact, a study out of the University of Texas-Austin found that if subjects were in the same room as any iPhone, even one that's not turned on and not yours, basic intelligence, memory, and attention scores all dip. "By having your smartphone out, you are literally bringing the IQ of the entire room down," Yousef told the audience.

Smartphones distract humans because, psychologically, they are no longer just objects to place phone calls. People become emotionally attached to feelings of value or memories, whether through emotional phone calls you remember having or with pictures of relatives you store.

"These phones are emotional, we care about them, and this is why they are the most distracting thing in human history at this point," Yousef said.

Keeping iPhones away help you detach from the emotional connection you have with your phone.

Ditch your open office.

Open offices have caused a net decline in productivity: Harvard researchers found with open office plans, face-to-face interaction time got cut by a factor of four, and workers sent 56% more emails at double the length.

In an open office, people constantly interact with coworkers with whom we have emotional connections to, Yousef said. Since humans are biologically social beings, having emotional connections keeps you more engaged with your "tribe," or your community, and less engaged with the tasks in front of you.

For this reason, doing work in a busy coffee shop can be more productive because you don't have any connection with those around you.

"The human brain isn't designed to be in a massive open space," Yousef said. "You're physiologically more stressed out. It's like trying to get work done at a daycare center."

Remember that it's physically impossible to multitask.

When humans switch from one task to another, our brains must take time and energy to focus on the next task. The time wasted in switching between tasks is called a "switch cost."

"Every single time we switch there is a cost," Yousef said. "It's draining. It's taking longer to do the same thing."

Yousef instead encourages people to mono-task, or even schedule intentional time to do one thing, called a "focus sprint." To do a focus sprint, you must set aside a block of time to intentionally get a single task done, set a timer, and turn off all other notifications.

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