Cal Newport

I'm gonna argue when you're doing immersive thinking, you need some sort of cognitive warmup routine that should be based on the consumption of information that just sort of gets those brain circuits fired up.

Your brain activity is going.

Now you're in a mode of, I wanna, my brain is connected in different ways.

I'm ready to start using it.

And then finally, the third element of immersive thinking will be some sort of exercise routine in which you use this warmed up brain to produce new information, information that is a stretch for you or otherwise demanding and interesting.

This is now the cognitive equivalent of actually lifting that heavy weight, trying to push things towards failure.

Environment, warmup, exercise.

That is what you need for the immersive thinking strategy to work.

Now, what I want to do here is give you a case study from my own life.

This is something I've actually done on multiple occasions here in my hometown of Washington, D.C.

I'm going to sort of describe the three elements of an immersive thinking mini excursion that I've done before.

All right, so for my example immersive thinking excursion, the environment I used was the National Gallery of Art.

here in Washington DC down on the mall.

So for me, I can jump on the Metro where I live, go a few stops.

I'll get out like in Judiciary Square and maybe walk, whatever it is, third of a mile, half a mile down to the mall.

I sort of like that walk and it helps clear my mind.

It's not too far away.

All right, so I went to the National Gallery of Art.

My warmup routine,

I would go to a particular gallery within the larger art museum.