Looking for an easy yet perhaps bizarre efficiency tip?

I picked up one of my useful work habits from the Big Man when we were in law school together. I noticed that he often had a plastic coffee stirrer in his mouth when he was studying.

Finally, I asked him about it.

“I like to have something in my mouth to chew on while I’m working,” he explained.

“Why a coffee stirrer?” I asked.

“Why not?” he answered.

Before too long, I ventured to put a plastic stirrer in my own mouth, and I was hooked. I keep five or six spare stirrers in my backpack at all times, and whenever I sit down at my computer, I pop one in my mouth.

I don’t actually chew on it much, I just hold it between my teeth, but somehow it does help me concentrate. I've never particularly liked chewing gum, but I know that gum helps some people concentrate. It must be the same principle. Putting the stirrer in my mouth is also a sign to myself that I’m sitting down to work, so it has a ritualistic value, too.

The Big Man and I have a lot of odd habits between us. I’m an inveterate hair-twister and hair-puller. The Big Man pats his head (not as strange-looking as it sounds) and gnaws on plastic pen caps. Those, unlike the plastic stirrers, he really chews up.

I’m sure all these behaviors are tied together in some way. Now that I write them down, they sure make us sound weird -- like little pair of gerbils. Oh well, we're happy.

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Comments

[Gillian]

What does the Big Man's dentist have to say about the pen caps?

[Matt Kirkland]

I do the same thing, and I'm afraid it's a manifestation of some kind of oral fixation. I don't buy much of the Freudian explanation, but at least I've got a name for it!

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_stage

[bine]

i read somewhere that the chewing of gum actually increases the blood flow to the brain, so that could explain the ability to concentrate better while you are chewing gum.
i wonder if the other habits you mention might do the same thing?

[Jen]

I'm not sure where I heard it, but I believe this is similar to sticking one's tongue out while concentration (picture a kid drawing a very important picture...) I think it goes that when all the muscles in the face and mouth are actively moving (which is their natural state) they take up a significant part of the brain's concentration. Sticking your tongue out, or having a stir stick to chew on keeps the muscles busy, and releases that part of the brain's concentrating ability. Not sure if it's exactly how it happens, but makes sense to me! Thanks for a great focus tip!

[Melody Platz]

I had a teacher in ninth grade. I loved him like only a fourteen-year-old girl can love a handsome male role model. Well, he spun his glasses constantly. He would hold them by one folded out handle and spin them round and round.

Of course, I started to do this to my glasses, and I do it to this day. It's a great tension reliever, and gives me something to do with my hands while I think.

[Stu]

I do pen lids too, but I don't chew them so much as just hold the pointy part in between my teeth. I do it a lot during tests too, which leads me to believe it does indeed have something to do with concentration.

[Alex Fayle]

Here's an article from 2004 that explains the better-thinking-while-chewing thing:

http://www.real-worldmindfulness.com/chewing-on-mindfulness.htm

Personally, I'm a cruncher. That meant that as a child I didn't just chew on my pencils; I actually ate them, crunching on the wood (and nearly choking myself many times). Now I tend to crunch on things like potato chips (not so good) or carrots (much better).

Cheers,
Alex

[Patti]

I love the image of you both chewing on stirrers and pen caps and your dear husband patting his head. Not gerbils, but simply human!

I don't chew anything, but I do stick my tongue out when concentrating. It's kind of like the mental version of holding your arms out when you need to balance.

[Desperate Housewife]

I remember reading that if you poke your tongue slightly out of your mouth when you're doing something, people are less likely to disturb you, because it signals that you're concentrating.

[Eva]

I knew it! In college I always chewed ice or gum while I was writing papers. I didn't know why, but it helped me. And here at work, where I write for a living, gum really helps too. I never knew why--thanks to that link in the comments, I do. Thanks for an interesting piece!

[Finja]

i also have a "oral habit" - i have a rubber that i constantly run over my lips.
it's pretty embarrassing, especially since the rubber can't do any erasing any more because it's quite greasy... but it really DOES help me concentrate.

[Lorna]

Oh, my. I'm going to sound like a tin-foil beanie type, but... please, please find something different to chew on. I'll pretty much guarantee that those stirrers have some nasties in them like phthalates which may be released through constant degradation via chewing and your saliva. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate for some basic info.

Maybe try toothpicks?

[CW]

Interestingly, I just read an article about optimism (http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/06/24/how.2b.optimist/index.html) that mentioned a study where people were to watch cartoons with a pen in their mouth (and some without). The ones with the pen rated them funnier because, according to the study, the physicality of it is like a smile and the muscle memory is attached to happiness. I would imagine that the coffee stirrer could do the same thing...

[Melissa, Multitasking Mama]

Alot of people have "quirky" habits that increase their productivity. From playing with your hair to chewing on erasers- whatever it is that helps you get things done is worth it. My son pulls on his ear when he is reading a book. My other son chews on the caps from plastic water bottles (not so good for the braces) It must be related to stimulating neurotransmitters in the brain that increase concentration and focus and the fact that it is almost subconscious makes it that much more interesting.

[Gretchen Rubin]

I love hearing all this! Good to know we have a lot of company. Zoikes, I hadn't thought about the chemicals in the plastic, however...need to give that some thought.

I have a long red coffee stirrer in my mouth this very moment.

[rummuser]

I used to be hair puller till I pulled them all out. I had a nasty accident when I was a mere lad and have a scar just above the what used to be the hair line. It became a habit to stroke the scar when concentrating on anything and it continues to date though there is no hair to cover the scar!

[Gecko]

I go through pen lids (while they're on the end of the pen)-then when they're too disgusting to look at, I get rid of them. Then before I know it I'm subconciously chewing the end of my pen. It's a horrible habit and I have often found myself coming out of deep concentration with someone looking at me, sometimes in disgust-and realising they had just lent me a pen. Ooops.
I am going to have to try out the plastic stirrer though, I don't drink coffee though so I'll just have to go get some simply for chewing purposes!