External impacts on cognitive flexibility

- While our own internalized habits often constrict our cognitive flexibility, the world outside of ourselves is set up to decrease it as well. The technology that has become so ubiquitous in our everyday professional and personal lives keeps track of more and more of our daily habits. We like the convenience, and the corporations like that it makes us more loyal customers. Our favorite online store knows our preferred products and suggests them. Our music player knows the songs and artists we're most likely to choose and puts them front and center. And perhaps most risky, our social media curates a newsfeed with stories and interactions that it knows will confirm what we already believe and like. This can become a vicious cycle in terms of cognitive flexibility, because it means that inertia takes over quite easily. It becomes harder to be exposed to ideas that are different than the ones we already believed. It gets more difficult to explore new activities and opinions that are a departure from what we already think or do, no matter how much valuable insight or enjoyment those new activities and opinions might bring to us. We become less autonomous in making our own choices and less active in thinking for ourselves. Our cognitive flexibility also tends to diminish when we feel overwhelmed by information overload. If the lunch menu seems too huge, then we just stick with our usual order. If there are too many search results for a certain type of product, then we just click on the first one, which advertisers paid to get placed there. The paradox of choice has long been noted. When we're faced with too many options, then instead of expanding our horizons, we tend to narrow them to what's most comfortable in order to avoid the stress of having to choose. We can counteract this by being prepared to devote time and effort to important decisions. We can plan to pace ourselves, manage our stress, and make a goal to incorporate and truly consider different options. Similarly, we also can't be particularly cognitively flexible when we're overly distracted, which reduces our impulse control. This is why multitasking, often mistaken for cognitive flexibility, can actually decrease it. When approaching a problem, do your best to allow unstructured and open time to think it through rather than forcing yourself to come up with a solution while you have multiple other tasks on your mind and multiple other browser windows open. Many people do their most creative thinking when their mind is allowed to wander unconstrained, such as in the shower or on a walk. Build in this time for thought rather than narrowing your decision-making to times when you'll feel compelled to check a box quickly.