I have been thinking of the ideas of ‘thought as productivity’

In order to maximise productivity (for scientific innovation, creating art or literature and so on) humans often look at large scale macro things, our ‘habits’, our ‘identities’, our ‘interests’

For people with a programming background: thought must become the first-class citizen for life-efficiency; over any other category.

What if we take the opposite approach and look the ‘mico’ aspect of being a productive and prolific human being? That is, pointing our lens to the very nature of ‘thought’ itself.

The human condition, the human experience, all boils down to thoughts (and emotions) that a person experiences. And so it might be of great help for a human to be mindful of their thoughts. This can include several things such as developing an understanding of thoughts with things like: the quality of thoughts (logical/rational), what one thinks about (being vigilant of the thoughts entertained), how one thinks (the logistics of it, such as being in a distraction-free area, the number of hours of uninterrupted focus), and to what purpose does one think for.

To elaborate,

It would be of use to practice analysing the nature of one’s thoughts. I understand ‘nature’ is a very broad term. But what I intend by this point is that the thinker should always strive to keep an eye out for any and all attributes of the thinking that they are doing. The fundamental nature of a ‘unit thought’ is something I am not too sure of, but it might include things such as: it being visual or auditary; abstract or concrete; conscious or sub-conscious.

We then move to the aspect of ‘sequence of thoughts’, or the patterns in the thoughts.

We are now not dealing with the singular ‘unit thought’ Meta-cognition (being aware of one’s cognition) is the primary step. Be aware that thoughts follow certain patterns. Sequences that we re-utilise from time to time.

The following questions might help form a mental model:

  • Are we thinking the same thoughts in a loop over and over again?
  • Are the thoughts linear or diffuse? (Both have their place in thinking for example problem solving vs creativity).
  • Are the sequence of thoughts rational? Do the thoughts follow a logical cadence? Are thoughts riddled with biases and fallacies? (Of course, it will be impossible to be fully rational and logical, but when needed this can be of great service.)
  • Are the thoughts focused? Is the stream of thought able to be completed, or is the thinker losing track of the chain of thoughts.

Then we talk about philosophical aspects of thinking.

What is the subject one is thinking about? Is one thinking about poetry, and mathematics? Or is one thinking about how to be petty and evil to one’s friend?

What is the purpose of one’s thinking? To what end are you thinking for? Are you trying to solve a problem? Are you coming up with new ideas? Do you know why you are thinking what you’re thinking?

Last we talk about the nature of the thinker

Is the brain which is thinking these thoughts healthy? Is it hydrated? Sleep-deprived? Caffeinated? Under the influence? Utmost care of the thinking apparatus must be taken.

How much can one think? When does one think best? While taking a walk, in the shower, when and what time? Does the thinker know what things are useful to think about?

Care must be taken to have uninterrupted periods of time where one can think their best for long durations to increase effectiveness for the task at hand.

Is the thinker able to come back to the chain of thought after a moment of distraction?

Does the thinker know the value of thoughts?

Addendum

One can develop automations in life to have a set answer for things of a trivial nature. Example of a simple automation: do not spend too much time thinking about events or things that are unaligned with your purpose.