Brain rot is the word of 2024, according to Oxford University Press. They define it as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.”

Sounds about right! It’s funny with an explosion in technology that we’ve collectively become dumber. I think it’s because we live at the surface level so much. We’re spoon fed our entertainment and news.

I got my car maintained and while sitting in the waiting room, I looked around at the other customers waiting. Eight out of eight of my compatriots were staring at their phones. I heard mostly tv shows or social media clips in the waiting room. This is going to sound snooty but I had a book bag full of things to do. I had a book, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, index cards for jotting summaries for a word salad project I’m working on, and ear buds with a binder with my drum parts for the musical I’m playing (I wanted to review the score with the music). I could’ve kept busy for 12 hours!

I don’t mention this to say I’m better than anyone. I’m saying it’s easy to underestimate the value of the cracks in the day and any opportunity to delve deeper than the usual surface level of thinking.

Here are a few simple activities that involve deep thinking:

Brainstorm, Connect, Consider, Decide, Intuition, Center, Meditate, Imagine, Compose, Create, Plan, Prioritize, Strategize, Envision, Compare, Evaluate, Summarize, Refine, Question, Analyze, Investigate, and Explore.