Learning to focus on the details can help you succeed.

Hey there!

Ready to focus? Chapter 3 is all about focus and how building mental models can help us make better faster decisions.

• A Flight Gone Wrong: Ever heard of cognitive tunneling? We'll talk about how it played a role in a major airplane incident and why managing our focus is super important, especially when things get intense.

• Clairvoyant Nurses: We'll explore how some amazing nurses in chaotic neonatal intensive care units stay cool and make life-saving decisions. Spoiler alert: mental models play a huge part!

• Mental Models: Want to be more successful and focused in life? We'll dive into how creating mental models can help you out and how storytelling can become your secret weapon for staying on track.

estimated read time: 5 minutes

Humans vs. Autopilot on an Air France Flight

Cognitive tunneling is when you get super focused on what's right in front of you, like when you're glued to your phone while everything around you is happening. You're so focused that you lose track of what's important. That's what happened to the pilots of Air France Flight with 228 people on board, heading for Paris from Rio de Janeiro. Skies were clear, and the passengers included honeymooners, a former conductor, an arms control activist, and even an eleven-year-old kid. One of the pilots brought his wife along for a mini-vacation in Rio, and she's now in the back of the plane, while he and two others are up front, flying everyone home.

But then, about four hours into the flight turbulence hits. The pitot tubes, are these metal cylinders that measure airspeed, sometimes they get clogged with ice crystals. No biggie, it's a common issue that pilots have dealt with for ages. The autopilot turns off, as it's supposed to, and Bonin, one of the junior pilots, takes control. If they'd just left things alone, the plane would've been fine, and the pitot tubes would've eventually thawed.

Bonin, suddenly had to focus on flying the plane when the autopilot stopped working. He got super focused on a screen that showed the plane tilting to one side. He was so tunnel-visioned that he didn't even notice he was pulling back on the control stick, making the plane's nose go up.

The other pilot, Robert, was supposed to be keeping an eye on Bonin but got distracted by another screen that was giving them updates. He didn't notice what Bonin was doing either.

The plane started to climb too high, and the pilots had to figure out what to do. If Bonin had just lowered the nose, everything would have been okay. But both pilots got tunnel-visioned on their screens and didn't know where to look for the right information. They were freaking out and couldn't think straight.

Bonin ended up doing something called "reactive thinking," which is when you go with what you know without really thinking about it. It can be helpful in some situations, like when athletes need to make quick decisions. But in this case, it made Bonin do the wrong thing. Instead of lowering the nose, he kept pulling back on the control stick and made the plane climb even higher.

Things got worse, and the plane started falling fast. The captain came in, and they all started panicking. Bonin couldn't even focus on the screens that were giving him the right information. They didn't know what to do, and the plane kept dropping.

This whole story shows how dangerous cognitive tunneling and reactive thinking can be, especially in high-stress situations. It's important to learn how to manage our focus so that we can make the best decisions, even when things get intense.

Clairvoyant Nurses

Back in the late '80s, there was this group of psychologists at a consulting firm called Klein Associates. They were trying to figure out why some people stay cool as cucumbers in crazy situations while others lose it. Their clients wanted to know if they could train their employees to focus on the right stuff when things got intense.

The team started by talking to professionals who worked in extreme environments, like firefighters and soldiers, but they couldn't really explain how they made decisions. It was all about "intuition."

Then, one researcher, Beth Crandall, went to check out neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) near her place in Dayton. NICUs are these wild mixtures of chaos and calm with beeping machines and alarms going off all the time. Nurses have to make super important choices all the time about which babies need their attention. Some nurses were amazing at figuring out which babies were in trouble, even when the signs were super subtle.

Crandall interviewed a bunch of nurses, including this one named Darlene who was like a baby whisperer. She once saved a baby's life just by noticing something was off, even though all the machines said everything was fine. When Crandall asked Darlene how she knew, she said it was just a hunch. But as they talked more, it turned out Darlene had this mental picture of what a healthy baby should look like, and the sick baby didn't fit that image.

Turns out, people who are great at focusing have a knack for creating mental pictures and stories in their heads about what they expect to see. They're always kind of daydreaming about the future and imagine their days in more detail than most of us. Psychologists call this "creating mental models," and it's become a big deal in cognitive psychology.

So the secret to staying focused, like Darlene, is to always be telling yourself stories and daydreaming about the future. That way, when something unexpected happens, you're not caught off guard and can zero in on what really matters.

Mental Models

Researchers found that people who are good at managing their attention and have the habit of making these mental models tend to do better in life - like making more money and getting better grades. The cool thing is, anyone can learn to do this! By telling ourselves stories about what's happening around us, we can get better at deciding where to focus.

If you wanna get better at noticing small details at work, imagine what you expect to see and do when you get to your desk. If you wanna be a better listener to your kids, think about the stuff they said at dinner last night. Basically, narrate your life as you live it, and it'll help you focus better.

This kind of thinking is important in all sorts of situations, like when you're applying for a job or hiring someone. Companies want people who can tell stories and connect the dots. Mental models help us deal with all the information that's constantly coming at us and make better decisions.

Think about the pressures you face every day. If your boss suddenly asks for your opinion in a meeting or an important email comes in, it's easy to get overwhelmed and say or do something without thinking it through. The solution? Get into the habit of telling yourself stories and narrating your life. That way, when things get intense, you'll be ready to focus on what really matters.

To be truly productive, we need to take control of our attention and build mental models that put us in charge. When you're driving to work, imagine how your day will go. When you're in a meeting or at lunch, describe to yourself what's happening and what it means. Talk to others about your ideas and let them challenge you. Keep pushing yourself to think ahead and anticipate what's next. As long as you're thinking, you're on the right track.

By creating mental models and narrating our lives, we can better anticipate what's next and make more informed decisions. Remember, it's all about finding the right balance of focus and being prepared for the unexpected. So, start daydreaming and telling stories to sharpen your focus and tackle life's challenges with confidence.

Keep pushing yourself to think ahead, and don't be afraid to share your ideas with others. As long as you're thinking and staying engaged, you're on the right track to becoming more focused, productive, and successful in your everyday life.

Happy focusing!

Catch you tomorrow.

Best,

Camillo