For the past two days I have written in depth about developing the fundamental stage of our Steemit productivity strategy in order to avoid descending into the abyss of "Steemit Stuckness". I plan to continue building on this fundamental strategy in upcoming posts, but to add some valuable SPICE to this series I want to begin introducing and examining some more creative tools which we can integrate into the process to enhance our Steemit experience, and overall productivity. After all, Steemit is a creative kind of place, full of creative kinds of people. There's an art to the whole experience. So why not indulge our artistic hungers a bit?

Music As An Opiate

In my "Day 2" post I wrote about how, after making a new post, I do a Stage One "Chat Bomb", where I put on some music and blast all of the chat rooms relevant to my topic with the post in one go. I then follow this up with a slower run of the chat rooms over the next 24 hours - where I post the article again, and then spend some time interacting, upvoting, commenting, and following other posters. The key here is that I use music to ENHANCE the initial menial task of "post bombing" the chat rooms. But this music actually serves MULTIPLE functions besides just mitigating boredom.

Music As Pleasant Electroshock Treatment

Music changes our brainwaves. It's like a more safe, and enjoyable, form of "electroshock" treatment for the brain, which can knock our brainwaves out of a rut and into a more creative state. It is a MAJOR antidote to "Steemit Stuckness", in that when we are stuck our brain waves have literally fallen into an unhealthy resonance groove. This is ESPECIALLY true when we are interfacing with computers, as these devices are also pumping out all kinds of nasty electromagnetic waves which are literally SCREWING our heads up by amplifying these more basal brainwave frequencies. In fact, there is now a scientifically documented neurological condition name "Electromagnetic Sensitivity Disorder" which is quite nasty, and growing into, yet another, global epidemic. Quality music resets the brain by enhancing the alpha wave wavelengths, which are the ones responsible for states of higher creativity, contemplation, and expanded awareness. When you are are enjoying nature, listening to some good jazz, or reading a fascinating article on Steemit, you are operating in a state of enhanced alpha brain wave activity. When you are in "information overload" mode, getting frustrated by politics and "fake news", or listening to abrasive sounds or music, you are in a heightened state of beta brain waves. Beta waves are the ones which dominate the mundane world in which we primarily operate in modern times.

How You Can Use Music to Increase Creativity
https://imagineoutloud.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/how-you-can-use-music-to-increase-creativity/

Music As Antidote To Left-Brain Dominance

Another aspect of this is that music also helps to get you out of the "left brain"-heavy, hyper-logical, linear mental state - the pattern which is dominant when you are digging yourself into the abyss of "SteemIt Stuckness" through the process of constant choosing, clicking, processing the overwhelming mass of interesting incoming posts, partially reading some of those posts, etc. Steemit has a tendency to throw the brain into a dysfunctional state of "beta overload." Luckily, alpha-enhancing tools, including music and meditation, can reverse this negative state, and bring us back into a more open, creative, and positive state of mind.

Music As The "Lying" Counterbalance To "Sitting"

Another major issue I am addressing in this Steemit Success series is the epidemic of "Repetitive Stress Injury" (RSI) disorder plaguing humanity as we move further into the 24/7-connected information age. One of the major evolving RSI epidemics involves the damage done to the brain, eyes, and skeletal system (specifically the back and neck) as a result of sitting up for long periods and interfacing with computing devices. There are numerous issues here, but I will briefly focus here a few which can be alleviated with the help of music. Firstly, sitting up at the computer for long periods of time can be very destructive to the spine and neck, leading to all sorts of chronic muscular-skeletal disorders. Unfortunately, sitting up tends to be the most effective way to interact with these devices for most of the common tasks people engage in. However, that doesn't mean that we can't SWITCH UP the sitting with other postures. This is where music comes in. Taking breaks from sitting by listening to music while LYING DOWN is an EXTREMELY effective technique for taking stress off the back and neck, and giving them a healthy amount of rest, which significantly minimizes the longer term RSI issue which arise out of sitting. Postcasts are also helpful on this front, although the language processing demands of podcasts are more stressful than music consumption. I have gotten to the point where I now aim for a "one hour sitting - one hour lying" routine, where I do my "sitting work" (ex. typing, reading, etc.) for one hour, and then alternate that with one hour of "lying work" (ex. listening to music, listening to a podcast related to my work, etc.). Sometimes I need to break this down further into 15-minutes (sitting) and 15 minutes (lying). Try it out. I can assure you that you will see results immediately.

Aside from giving your PHYSICAL body a healthy amount of rest from "sitting work", you are also giving your BRAIN a much-needed rest as well. That is, when you are mired in "SteemIt Stuckness" one of the most important things you brain needs is some rest. Scientific studies have shown that your brain uses up more of your body's energy consumption (metabolism) than any other organ. This is especially true when you are doing "sitting work" because you are using BOTH your auditory AND VISUAL perceptual processing systems. The visual processing system is especially demanding of energy, and so when you mix some "lying work" in with your "sitting work" you are taking the stress on your brain down a few notches, and giving it some room to work its way out of the hyper-aroused ("stuck"), beta-heavy, state.

Why Does the Brain Need So Much Power?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-the-brain-need-s/

Today's Dreaded Homework Task

Counteract one hour of your "sitting work" with one hour of "lying work", where you lie down and listen to one of your more inspiring musical selections. If the demands of your work necessitate it you can break it down into "15-minutes (sitting) and 15-minutes (lying), or another appropriate ratio.. YouTube is a treasure-trove of music of all genres, and all periods of recorded history.

I personally have evolved into a HUGE jazz fan throughout my life, and I find jazz to be the most enjoyable, and effective, style of music to give me a "nitro" alpha brain wave boost. After listening to some good jazz for 30 minutes, I find myself calmer, and more invigorated and motivated to get back to my "sitting work" tasks with enhanced productivity. Give this simple, yet highly enjoyable, homework task a try, and feel free to share your experience/thoughts in the comments.

Here is the jazz album I have been integrating into my work process today. Enjoy...

Full Steem Ahead...

@transcript-junky