Practical Tips for Overcoming Chemobrain: Part 3

In Practical Tips for Overcoming Chemobrain: Part 2, Dusty talks about focusing on your strengths, acknowledging weaknesses and setting goals when it comes to improving memory and managing chemobrain.

“We are poor estimators of how we spend our time,” Dr. Pollard says. “If we are three or four minutes off in our estimations of how much time activities take, then we will have unrealistic expectations of what we can accomplish.”

Or perhaps we simply are wasting a lot of time.

“If you keep track of your actual minutes, it will give you a lot of insight into where you can make little tweaks to reach your goals.”

Multitasking myth

“There is a really good book called ‘The Myth of Multitasking’ by Dave Crenshaw,” says Dr. Pollard. “The point of the book is that there really is no such thing as multitasking. I agree. The brain is not capable of fully attending to more than one thing at once. You can partially attend to a couple of things, but you can’t fully attend to more than one thing at a time. The author says, when you think you’re multitasking, you are ‘switch tasking.’ Your brain is rapidly going back and forth thinking about multiple things. It’s a huge waste of time and energy.”

To improve your time management goals, make sure you are not trying to do three things at once. Do one thing at a time.

“When you are single focused, you are much more efficient,” she says.

Other tips to overcome chemobrain

“Processing speed slows down with chemobrain,” says Dr. Pollard. “It takes longer to do the same things. Allow yourself extra time. Tracking your time for a week might help you get a more realistic understanding of how you spend your time and how long it takes you to do certain things, so you allow the appropriate amount of time. Don’t expect yourself to do things as fast as you did before.”

Prevent distractions when you can. When you’re paying the bills, turn the TV off and turn your cell phone off. When you are paying the bills, focus only on paying the bills.

Be patient with yourself

“Finally, be patient with yourself,” she adds. “Your brain is going through a lot. Do the best you can. One foot in front of the other, cognitively. Learn and adapt as you try different techniques for harnessing your brain power. You may find one thing works and another does not. Be patient and try something new if the first technique doesn’t work.”

Author note: Dr. Karen Pollard is a licensed clinical psychologist with specialization in neuropsychology. Dr. Pollard earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from University of La Verne in Los Angeles. She then specialized in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Virginia. She has helped thousands of people gain a greater understanding of how their brain works and how to maximize their brain’s potential. She is the founder of Brain Power Advisors where she helps people unlock the unique processing power of their brain in order to increase efficiency and reduce stress. For more information, visit the Brain Power Advisors website.