Session number: 9
Average n-back: 3.1?
Issues…. Something weird is happening with my brain…I keep finding I abort blocks…because I get confused…like feeling I am one off. And once I focus on maybe being one off then I really lose where I am. Have you been there (here?)
This post was submitted by nanz.
Tags: Brain Exercises, brain-fitness, brain-fitness-pro, buschkuehl, increase intelligence, increase IQ, intelligence-training, IQ-training, jaeggi, martin-buschkuehl, mind-sparke, susanne-jaeggi, Training Working-Memory, working-memory
Yup. Recognize that feeling. In my opinion canceling the block is a good thing to do in this situation. Then pause and empty your mind before focusing again on the rhythm of the n value you’re working at.
Moving up and down through the levels can cause this kind of confusion, too. You get one pattern fixed and then switching to another becomes tricky.
(Good for training the brain though…)
Hi there Nanz:
Yes. I too have had that experience of feeling “off by one”. Sometimes, I go through an entire training block feeling that I’m off by one. Other times I cancel the block as Martin has wisely suggested. In that way I also get the sense that I’m one off.
Also, when I start to analyze, develop strategy, plan, and generally worry about being “off by one”, then my focus really gets behind. Sometimes, that sense of being “off my one” arises in my awareness, then my mind starts to think about being off, and next my mind starts to get upset that I’m becoming so distracted. That is to say that feeling “off by one” triggers a cascade of rumination that leads to lots of misses, few hits, and a drop in n-back level.
What have I learned from this?
First, I have learned that feeling off by one is a cue. It’s the cue to relax and to focus on what am I doing? Right, I am n-back training. Focus.
Second, I have learned that if I get into a focus catastrophe, where one distraction leads to a cascade of mental gyrations and machinations, it’s best to cancel the block, regroup, compose myself, and begin again. If I lose total focus, then it’s best to cancel and begin again.
Third and finally, I have learned that developing a strategy can be useful before a training session or after a training session, but that it is NOT useful during a training session and NOT useful during a training block. That is to say that the best time, and really the only useful time, to develop a training strategy is before or after a training session. Develop the training strategy before starting training, commit to that training strategy, and be disciplined in sticking to that strategy despite the vicissitudes of an particular training block. Plan, commit, and stick with it.
Thanks for posting Nanz! I find your posts to be refreshing in their vitality, energy, and sense of fun.
Warm regards,
Shaun.