Ep. 162 - FTB Summer Series | Popcorn Brain & the Case for Slowing Down

 In a world that glorifies hustle and constant motion, it can feel counterintuitive to hit pause. But what if slowing down is actually the key to real progress?  In this episode, we’re talking about the power of slowing down, stepping away from the constant digital buzz, and refocusing on what really matters. Real life isn’t happening in the notifications—it’s happening right in front of us.  Whether you're stuck in the busy loop or feeling like you're not moving fast enough, this is your reminder that slowing down isn't falling behind—it's choosing a better path forward.  

Transcript

When I was growing up, summertime wasn’t something I got excited about. Sure, school was out, but it also meant my extroverted self wasn’t around people on a regular basis, and I didn’t have a schedule of summer camps to look forward to.

My family simply didn’t have extra money for summertime extras. And I also grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where it was very common to have more than 100 days of 100°+ heat–that’s intense. Back then, summer was something to endure, and I passed a lot of those hot days in the cool aisles of the local library. Mmm, which definitely was the Genesis of my word nerdiness.

Now, I live in the lush land of Seattle, summer is the season we all cherish. With the Pacific Ocean, the Puget Sound, towering mountains, tall tall trees, and near-perfect weather, it feels like our very own adult summer camp.

And yet, even in the midst of all this natural beauty, there’s our technology always within reach and it can be easy to forget to look up and enjoy what’s right in front of us.

So for the next couple of months, we’re going to focus on what I’m calling The Summer Series—where there will be brain snacks and tangible tips on how  to de-stress our days and maybe even find a little more time and energy to go out and play.

The Bottom Line on Top of this episode is that one of the best ways to make progress is to go slow to go fast. 

I first heard that phrase of “go slow to go fast” when I was working with a top executive at Amazon. She was Harvard-trained, hard-charging, high-performing, high standards. I didn’t expect her to be a fan of “slow.” But she was. She knew that’s where real skills were developed. “Learn first,” she said. “Then you’ll gain speed as you grow confidence.”

That felt like permission in the fast-paced corporate world to do some more slow learning. But many of us—especially those who listen to podcasts like this one—already know the science and facts behind stress, sleep, and burnout. What we tend to wrestle with is permission to try something that doesn’t promise instant results. We’re smart but impatient.

And the business world counts on that impatience.

• Take this pill to sleep better.
  
  
  
• Take this shot to lose weight.
  
  
  
• Join this app to find love.
  
  

Add to cart, subtract the effort. But that’s not real life- this sprint for solutions usually ends with more stress than satisfaction.

In fact, stress seems to be the number one topic I hear—whether it’s crowded conference rooms or backyard barbecues. Everyone is talking about how tired they are. Exhaustion. Fitful sleep. Loneliness, even in the presence of other people.

We’re running on empty and calling it normal.

So as a kick off to these conversations, I want to start at the intersection of time management, energy management, and a surprising common side effect of our digital habits: popcorn brain.

A few years ago, I came across that term, coined by David Levy, a computer scientist at the University of Washington. He described it as “being so hooked on electronic multitasking that the slower-paced life offline holds very little interest.”

That’s a real metaphor: your thoughts start out slow, then pop, pop, pop—one idea firing after the next, like kernels in a microwave or a pan. The result is a popcorn brain that feels jumpy, scattered, and hungry for something new—constantly.

It’s not a clinical, medical diagnosis, but it is a real phenomenon: when our brains are overstimulated by screen time and notifications, it’s much harder to concentrate, follow through, or even feel calm.

And here’s the thing: your phone doesn’t even have to be in your hand. Research shows that just the visual presence of the phone or a watch or a device—even if it's turned off—can reduce your immediate attention levels and your working memory. It’s like your brain is reserving space just in case there’s another ping.

If you’re starting to wonder whether you’ve got a touch of popcorn brain, try a little self-experiment:
Put your phone and all devices in another room for an hour. Then pay attention to how often you think of it, want to reach for it—or are wanting to look something up.

And when was the last time you found yourself waiting at an elevator or paused at a red light trying to cross a street and you instinctively pulled out your phone? These are moments that used to be a little boring, but now it’s just tap tap scroll scroll pop pop. 

A 2023 study found that the average American checks their phone 205 times a day—about once every five minutes when we’re awake. This constant tether to tech trains our brains to crave novelty and dopamine over depth and focus.

So, how do we offset the popcorn? Let’s talk through five simple steps that can help reset a little bit as you go:

1. Find and embrace the micro-moments.
 Elevators, checkout lines, when you’re listening to hold music. Let them be. Don’t fill every pause with a scroll. These empty seconds are actually small recovery windows. When you let your brain idle, you tell your nervous system: it's okay to relax. Plus your brain may wander into its Default Mode Network, which is where creative ideas start to percolate. A little boredom can be a form of cognitive recess. 

2. Start and end your day without screens.
 Give your brain a soft entry and exit to your day. Just 15 minutes on each end. Let your mind wake up and wind down without notifications. And you don’t need the phone in your room because it’s your alarm, there are other simple, low-tech ways to solve that. If you’d like more on the science behind what to do in your first 30 minutes of the day go check out Episode 43.

3. Move—slowly.
 We’ll talk more about movement as this series goes along, but for now: any movement helps reset the nervous system–especially when we’ve been hunched over screens or sitting in a chair. A simple 10-minute walk can reduce cortisol and boost serotonin. No gear, no plan, no Peloton shoes. Just motion.

4. Lower your phone’s visual volume.
Turn your phone’s display to a grayscale and that can help reduce the visual stimuli that makes apps more engaging. You probably already know how to turn off notifications and sounds, but a huge help for me was when I discovered how to turn off the Raise to Wake feature. You can usually find that under settings with display. And what that does is allows the screen to stay dark when you pick it up and it only shows the home screen when you touch it. So if you’re moving around it's not automatically showing you everything that you have missed. As someone who gets easily distracted, this helps me go about the day and interact with the phone on my own terms instead of every time I see a notification. These are small shifts to reduce visual triggers and give you more control over when and why you want to engage with your phone.

5. Protect offline connection.
We do live in a lonely world even though it is very noisy. Invest in your real-time relationships by making sure your device is muted and not visible when spending time with someone. Research shows that even seeing a phone on the table nearby can make interactions feel less meaningful—and reduce both empathy and attention.

At the end of the day, Popcorn brain is not a permanent thing. It’s just your brain’s way of trying to keep up with a world that never slows down.

But here’s the truth: you are allowed to slow down—even if the world won’t.

You don’t need to ditch your devices and move to a cabin in the woods. You just need to give your brain a few more quiet moments. A few more chances to idle. A few more choices that feel like calm, not chaos.

This summer, let’s normalize slower scrolls and longer thoughts. Let’s teach our brains that stillness is not wasted time—it’s where renewal lives.

Because slow isn’t the opposite of success.
 It’s the foundation of sustainability and satisfaction.
 And slow is one more way we can take care… to take good care.