Feeling stuck? Try the ‘healthy diet’ | Books

YYou might call it a mid-life crisis, but after turning 40 last year, I decided to commit to a long-neglected passion – learning the guitar. I set myself the goal of practicing 30 minutes a day, with the goal of going through the Bob Dylan songbook by the age of 41.

Of course, what stopped him was life. With work and family commitments, I was lucky enough to find half an hour of free time once or twice a week. Every day that passed without practice made me feel a bit sluggish, and the guitar soon began to gather dust next to my piano.

Then I came up with the idea of ​​a healthy diet: breaking down goals into smaller parts that we put in between our other responsibilities. Looking into this research, I found that we can do a lot even with a little bit more than we think. More importantly, these small victories can do wonders for our motivation, making us more likely to achieve our goals than if we had set more ambitious goals.

My first lead came from the world of wellness. The World Health Organization recommends that we take action 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercisea week. However, many people struggle to meet these limits. Some studies also show that just to have such a desire for fame they are very debilitating. In short, they feel that if they can’t reach the acceptable level, they might as well not bother.

As a result, sports scientists began to think about ways to make exercise routines more accessible by breaking them down a very short burst of exerciseit only takes a few minutes – a practice that is sometimes called “exercise”. If you’re working from home, you can get a little stressed after an hour of sitting at your desk, for example; in the evening, you can run right there during commercial breaks while watching TV.

The results can be impressive. A recent review the literature confirms that this short-term exercise can improve health outcomes, including increased oxygenation, respiration, and insulin levels. There is also new evidence that exercise can improve brain function and overall health. Interestingly, these interventions have a very low dropout rate, of 12% – with most people in each study continuing to the end. That’s impressive compared to other fitness programs, which often see more than a third of people fail.

There are many reasons why breaking things like this work. In natural movements, it’s easier to fit short games into the “between times” of the day rather than a full hour. But there are others incentives. Research has shown that simply breaking things down into smaller parts can help make a task more manageable, so we can’t procrastinate. If you’re not already fit, the idea of ​​a 30-minute run or an hour-long aerobics class sounds boring, while star jumping for a few minutes seems so easy – it makes us want to try it.

Finally, there is “the principle of progress“. Every small success builds our self-confidence – our belief in our ability to make our own changes. self-esteem increases often – a happy sound that means we are ready to repeat the same thing.

This principle can be extended to many other areas of life, including creativity and learning. This may come as a surprise, considering the well-known benefits of high concentration and the apparent dangers of over-indulgence, but a broader approach can come with its own insights. For example, when creating ideas, the brain can benefit from returning to the problem over and over again, as this helps a subject to be at the center of the ideological discussion. If you’re a struggling writer, it can help you get back to your writing quickly instead of feeling overwhelmed for a long time.

In education, short and sweet sessions can help prevent “learning“. It’s a risk if you have the opportunity to make too much progress at one time – after all, the benefits may increase, and further practice will not help to strengthen the future. That’s why psychologists like to encourage “varied practice”, including short training sessions separated by appropriate time.

As I discovered, it was surprisingly easy to use this method on the guitar. During the working day, there were many opportunities to carry my device for a few minutes: between interviews, as a morning or evening break, or as a small reward for finishing a story. It is not a substitute for longer sessions; sometimes, I really need to immerse myself in a piece. But I feel that I can make better use of that time if I keep my multitasking skills.

Perhaps most importantly, I’ve found that microdosing my musical goals is purely for fun. Learning a new song or picking up a new song makes me feel more motivated than checking social media, where I could spend those odd moments. Whatever frustrations I’m going through, I can always look forward to the rewards that come with picking up a guitar and moving a little further. Healthy food is fun in itself.

David Robson is the author of The Laws of Connection (Canongate). To support the Guardian, order your book from guardianbookshop.com. Shipping fees may apply.

Another reading

Hyperefficient: Transform Your Brain and Change the Way You Work by Mithu Storoni (Yellow Kite, £16.99)

Driving: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (Canongate, £10.99)

Guitar Zero: The Science of Learning to Play Music by Gary Marcus (Oneworld, £16.99)