3 Steps To Boost Your Critical Thinking Skills During The COVID-19 Pandemic

As we’ve now passed the halfway point of the year, many leaders are now grappling with the reality that the COVID-19 global pandemic will not simply be a bad memory of 2020, but instead will be both a health crisis that lasts well into 2021, as well as an economic crisis whose effects and consequences will take several years to bounce back from.

With that realization also comes a shift in approach in terms of how we view this current health crisis, from one where our focus is on crisis management measures to reduce the negative fallout from the various measures put in place to reduce the spread of the virus, to how to balance the need to both be more adaptive and agile to sudden changes imposed by local and national governments in response to flare-ups as well as a potential second wave. And all the while making sure they keep the long view in mind for what we want and need to achieve in the months and years ahead.

Key to successfully maintaining that balance will be how well we develop and strengthen our critical thinking skills in a time when we’re having to deal with uncertainties and concerns about both our work and home lives.

Of course, many of us have no doubt read about how the pandemic and the various stay at home measures should be treated as a ‘golden opportunity’ to expand our horizons, citing such examples as how Newton came up with his theory of gravity while working from home during the Great Plague of London.

And yet, developmental neuropsychologist Dr. Mary Colvin has challenged this assumption stating how most of us are more likely suffering from what she calls “brain fog”, where the chronic stress arising from the current pandemic not only leads to “time warps so that the present moment is elongated”, but our attention becomes limited to looking out for threats as our complex thinking skills “go offline”.

As Dr. Colvin points out:

“In times of chronic stress, our brains habituate to the “fight or flight” response. Our awareness of worries may fade, but they continue to capture our attentional resources, making it harder to concentrate and fully observe our environment. At the same time, we may be more distractible, jumping from one thing to the next, unknowingly searching for signs of threat. Some incoming information will be missed, creating little holes in our everyday memory. We may make errors in decision-making or become stuck in old thought patterns.”

Add in the fact that the current pandemic has disrupted our usual routines – whether that be working remotely or employing social distancing measures and regularly washing our hands with disinfectant where ever we go – and it shouldn’t be surprising that many of us are struggling with a distracted mindset that naturally impedes our ability to think critically and focus on what matters most.

So in light of the prevailing uncertainties facing all industries not just in the short term, but also in the long term, how can leaders boost their critical thinking skills while dealing with the chronic stress that impairs our complex thinking skills, including our decision-making and planning skills?

Here are 3 steps you can take to put those various measures put in place to fight the spread of COVID-19 to work to help you boost your critical thinking skills.

1. Schedule “thinking time” in your work week

One of the biggest work impacts to come from the current health pandemic has been a disruption to our everyday work routines. With so many of us now working from home, those usual activities we’d do in our work spaces have been replaced with new ones – some good, and some not so good.

Of course, one of the challenges this creates is making sure we’re focusing our attention and efforts on what matters most. And as the quote from Dr. Colvin above notes, this is easier said than done when we’re in a state of chronic stress.

As such, the first step you need to take here is literally schedule “thinking time” in your work week, which admittedly is now both easier and harder to do. It’s easier to do now as we have more control over how we spend our days because of the fact that so many of us are still working from home. But that’s also the reason why it’s also harder for us to do as a result of the numerous distractions found in our homes that we’re not used to tuning out.

And yet, if you want to successfully dig yourself out of that brain fog and boost your critical thinking skills, you need to make time to exercise your brain, in much the same way many people are making sure to schedule time to exercise to avoid spending their days just sitting on the couch or at the kitchen table working away on their laptop.

2. Go for a walk to get some ‘quiet time’

Speaking of exercise, the next step you want to take to boost your critical thinking skills during this global pandemic and the chronic stress it engenders is to get out of your house and go for a walk.

When my city was put under lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19, one of the things I did a lot was go for a walk around my neighbourhood. I usually picked times when I knew most of my neighbours wouldn’t be out so as to limit any contact I had and with those who were out, I made sure to keep at least 2 meters distance between us.

The reason I did this was not only to give myself something to do, but it also gave me that quiet space to simply think, and frankly, it’s what I attribute to why I’ve been continuing to churn out new articles and release new episodes of my leadership podcast when so many of my colleagues have gone silent.

Similarly, when it comes to boosting your critical thinking skills, it’s important that you make time to go out for walks to not just give you that quiet time critical thinking requires, but also to give you a change of scenery that actually aids with this process. In fact, studies have shown that going for walks can not only improve your ability to focus, but it can actually boost our creative problem-solving skills.

At the very least, it gives you a chance to take a break from all the negative news surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and enjoy sunny blue skies of summer.

3. Breathe deeply (yes, this really makes a difference)

Whether you’re out for a walk or at home in front of your laptop, scientists have discovered that how you breathe can actually impact the way you feel and think, both of which have an impact on your critical thinking skills.

Researchers at Northwestern University conducted a series of experiments that demonstrated that inhaling through our nose stimulates areas of our brain associated with memory processing and decision-making more than inhaling through mouth does. In fact, the researchers found that inhaling through our nose when absorbing new information actually allows us to better retain that information.

Several studies that have already shown how deep breath exercises can help reduce stress levels and calm our emotional state, something that’s no doubt needed in this stressful time. But what this study also demonstrates is how paying attention to how we breathe can also help activate areas of our brain that will boost our critical thinking skills by improving our memory, decision-making, as well as our emotional state.

So now when you think about going out ‘to get some fresh air’, make sure you pay attention to how you’re breathing in that outdoor, summer air as taking in some deep breaths can do you a whole world of good – provided you’re staying socially distant from others, of course.

Some final thoughts

As much as we’d all like to know when this global pandemic will finally end and we can return to some new form of normalcy that doesn’t require social distancing measures, the simple truth is that no one at this point knows for certain how long we’ll have to be at this or when we’ll finally beat this virus once and for all.

And yet, our ability to think critically is like a lighthouse shining a light through the fog of uncertainty COVID-19 has created, helping us find our way to safety and better times [Share on Twitter].

And there’s little doubt that now is the time when we need leaders in all areas of society – both within the public and private realms – to not only be that voice of reassurance that we will collectively find a way through the storm and reach that safe harbour, but who will help us transform the way we work and live so as to improve the opportunities and experiences had by all under their care.