How To Think (Critically)
The first thing that we've got to do on our journey of thinking is to stop multitasking. I find it incredibly hard not to fall into the hole of trying to do more than one thing at once. My brain tries to argue that I am wasting time if I just do one thing at a time when clearly I could be doing 2 things - maybe even 3 or 4 things. But the truth is most of the time when I'm splitting my attention like that I'm actually getting less done. I'm not devoting enough attention to the task in front of me, and it not only suffers in quality but it also just takes longer to do.
Now there are exceptions to this guidance - for example, if I'm watching TV, I like having something to do, such as folding laundry or playing with my phone. Or if I'm going to be on the phone, I like to take a walk at the same time. This falls very much into the same realm of fidgets that we discussed in Episode 28: The Science of Fidgets. Sometimes having a small task in front of you that isn't mentally taxing can actually help you increase focus.
But when I'm talking about multitasking, those aren't generally the things I'm talking about. What we've got to watch out for is when we try and do things like reading our email while we're at a meeting, looking over our schedules while we are preparing our breakfast or texting while driving. And hey, really really don't do that last one.
The reason that multitasking doesn't work is that it is a misnomer - we can't actually focus on two things at once. What we're actually doing when we multitask is that we just quickly switch between tasks. Our brain goes from one thing to the other and back again - mostly without us even noticing. This has led some people to believe that ADHD makes us excellent candidates for multitasking. But ADHD actually does very poorly with task switching - it takes our brains even longer than neurotypicals to get back into focus after task switching and so we need to be extra vigilant about not multitasking.
It isn't always plain to see the deleterious effects of multitasking. One example that pops out is when I'm on the phone. If I start getting some other input - like I hear an announcement, someone turns on the TV, or my wife asks me a question. Instead of being able to just have the conversation or listen to what was just said to me, I can't process either. I have to stop one of the inputs so that my brain can sort out what I'm hearing.
Or if I'm watching a Youtube video and that spurs me to google something, then I either have to stop the video or just make a note to look it up when I'm done. I can't read anything and listen to something else at the same time - my brain will just try and filter whatever I'm not actively focusing on.
But what's more, multitasking keeps us from thinking. Sure we're having thoughts, but we can't think critically when we're switching between tasks. Thinking is about more than memorizing facts and regurgitating other people's ideas. If we want to have our own ideas for other people to regurgitate, then we've got to let ourselves have time for thinking.
Critical thinking is essential, but we've also got to understand why it's important. Simply put, critical think is the analysis of facts to form an opinion. Sometimes you'll come up with new ideas, and sometimes you'll find yourself agreeing with ideas that you've already heard before. Most times, I find that while I'll agree with ideas I've heard before, I'll have my own tweaks on how I view them.
We want to work on our critical thinking skills so that we can actually get something from what we're thinking about. It helps us make hard decisions, and it makes us harder to manipulate. It doesn't take a lot of critical thinking to know that a Nigerian prince isn't really trying to give you millions to dollars, but people still fall for that scam. The reason they send out so many of those emails isn't that they believe everyone is going to fall for it, they're just looking for the one person who will. We don't want to be that person.
One thing that is important to point out here is that a lot of people fall under the assumption that once they've done some critical thinking that they're going to find the truth of things. That they've found the one true answer. They incorrectly believe that there are definite, correct answers to all questions and that given all the facts, everyone else would also come to the same conclusions that they have. But no one ever has "all the facts," and even when they do have most of the pertaining facts, the lens that they view them through will significantly affect the conclusions they come to. The answers to most meaningful questions are rarely black and white or straightforward.
Once people realize that perhaps they need to dig a little deeper and view more ideas, they often swing too far in the other direction giving all arguments a "fair shake." But not all arguments are worth giving the benefit of the doubt. One of my hobbies has been reading about conspiracy theories - not in the sense that I'm looking for conspiracies to believe, rather I'm just interested in the ideas that people have come up with and genuinely find some of the entertaining.
One of my favorite theories I've come across is that in fact that there is no moon - it's just a trick of the light. That's right, a trick of the light. And now I'm sure that you are pausing and wondering "HOWWWW?" and that is simply explained by how light reflects around the glass dome that surrounds the Earth.
I'm going to stop there because I think that pretty well demonstrates why not all points of view are worth considering. If we want to think critically, we must accept that some arguments are just better than others and that some are just not worth entertaining at all.
Now, if someone was able to come to me with a reason to entertain these ideas, I would consider what they had to say, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for that.
The easiest way to start down the path of critical thinking is by asking simple questions - I do this all the time when I'm working on new episodes. I ask myself questions like, "what do I already know about this," and "what do I still need to research." But the most important question I always have to ask myself is, "what am I assuming?" and then, "could those assumptions be wrong?" And there have been cases where I started working on an episode where I've discovered that some of my ideas weren't entirely as fact-based as I believed.
Questioning assumptions is one of the most powerful things you can do to improve your critical thinking - we'll often toss out ideas out of hand because they wouldn't work for whatever reason, but if we stop and question whether those reasons are real reasons sometimes, we're going to be surprised. Not all of our assumptions are going to be wrong, but we shouldn't let ourselves get complacent with what we already "know."
When we're questioning these assumptions, it's also essential for us to not just jump into research mode. Write down what you are assuming and try to think through it on your own. Once you come to a wall in your thinking, you can do some research. I find this especially important because when I first start this process, I often don't know what my questions actually are. If I spend a little time and pinpoint what my actual assumption is, it makes the research part a lot easier.
Once you do start your additional research, a great question to google here is "things I wish I knew before I started" because that often covers a lot of the false assumptions you might have about a topic. Of course, be sure to try and be objective about what you're reading here. Maybe the reason someone had a problem with a particular task doesn't apply to you - perhaps the person writing the article doesn't have ADHD and never considered what would make things harder for your brain. Don't just assume everything you read and hear is truth - use some critical thinking.
Some other great questions to ask are:
What would this look like if it were easy?
It may seem obvious that X causes Y, but what if Y caused X?
What if I had to this a different way?
How would I get someone else to do this?
When we ask ourselves questions like this, it forces us to think about problems from different perspectives. When we approach a problem from multiple angles, we often can come up with better answers than if we just go with the obvious answer.
This is all well and good, but as I started off this episode, ADHD and thinking have a bit of a strained relationship. It can be challenging for me to just sit and think about something. And it also just isn't an effective method for me. I get too antsy, or I'll find myself thinking in loops.
To help me process out my thinking, I need to be able to externalize it.
We can do this in several ways - my favorite method is using the giant whiteboard in my office - oh, such a luxury to have so much space to write on, I miss you whiteboard. Anyways, I just let all my ideas flow out onto my whiteboard and then use that to help me find connections. If you're a little more organized while your putting down your ideas than I am, then a great idea here is to create a mind map. A mind map is basically just a diagram that helps you display information visually. You write down thoughts and link them with arrows and circle ideas and use pictures. I'm realizing that it is very difficult to take something that is meant to make words visual and then turn them back into words. Check out the show notes for some great videos on mind mapping.
I also like using regular journaling to help me think through problems - I went over journaling way back in Episode 6. While it is a little hard for me to connect ideas while journaling, it still lets me get the thoughts out of my head and into words. When I'm forced to write those words down, it forces me to organize them into actual ideas. Often I'll try writing something out and find that I'm not exactly sure how to say what I'm thinking, but as I find the right words, the idea becomes more concrete, and the more I can articulate the thought, the better it becomes.
Another method to get my brain juice flowing is just going for a walk without my usual set-up of podcasts to listen to. When I isolate my brain from all the distractions of regular life and go outside, it is a breath of fresh air, both figuratively and literally. Of course, it's also a good idea to have something to record your thoughts as you're going as well. It's no fun getting home from a good thinking session and not being able to remember any of your ideas.
I rarely find that my first thought on something is my best thought. I'm usually just parroting an idea I got from someone else - and that's an okay place to start off from, but we want to go beyond that. And that's what giving ourselves time to think does. It lets us form connections that we wouldn't otherwise see. It lets us come up with solutions we might have never explored, and it lets us reflect on better ways to do things.
So get out there and do some critical thinking, but don't take my word on it, think about it yourself.
This Episode’s Top Tips
Stop trying to multitask. Multitasking reduces the efficiency that we can perform any task and prevents us from really thinking through our problems.
Critical thinking is valuable because it helps us make hard decisions and it makes us harder to manipulate.
Ask yourself more questions to improve your critical thinking skills. Always challenge your assumptions.
Find ways to help facilitate your thinking time such mind mapping or taking a walk.
Mentioned in the Episode
Episode 6: How to Journal Even If You Have ADHD
Episode 28: The Science of Fidgets
Mind Mapping Videos
