Cognitive Fitness

Description

The cognitive requirements of work have been growing for the last decades, mostly owing to automation. Today, as AI solutions become more common, the nature of human work will change to demand competences beyond intelligence. These include skills and characteristics that are still difficult to automate, such as continuous learning, creativity, uniqueness and authenticity, empathy, metacognition, the ability to resist biases in reasoning, understanding of probabilities and cognitive flexibility.

At the same time as work requires more of our brains, many are struggling with information overload, continued disruptions, and cumulative stress which can transform into difficulties of focus, memory and in general, of cognitive control.

This 1-day course is designed for individuals who want to improve their cognitive fitness. You will gain understanding of your personal obstacles of better focus, and how to tackle them, and learn to design your workday in a way that supports cognitive fitness.

Outcomes

After Cognitive Fitness you will:

• Understand the neural building blocks of higher-order cognition
• Know how stress and cognitive overload influences thought and affective processes
• Be able to assess what hinders your own focus and cognitive fitness most, and how to start removing these obstacles
• Learn how to quickly gauge your cognitive status and notice changes in fitness
• Have methods for improving focus and cognitive control

Target group

Cognitive Fitness is designed for individuals who have cognitively demanding work and/or struggle with cognitive overload, stress and ensuing problems in focus.

Course contents

What is your brain needed for at work?

• Cognitive requirements of work
  • How have the requirements changed, and why?
  • What can be expected in the future?
• Executive functions
  • Which cognitive mechanisms underlie learning, creativity and high-quality problem solving?
  • What is focus and what are the different reasons for increasing problems with focus in work life?

The effects of cognitive overload and stress

• Passive and active load at work
  • What is the effect of demanding too much, or too little of the brain?
  • What are the common sources of passive and active cognitive load at work?
• Recognizing under- and overload
  • How to notice the effects of over- or underload on you own cognition
  • When is stress chronic and how to notice the need for professional help?

Get a grip on you cognition

• Monitoring cognitive fitness
  • Methods for improving focus - depending on what is the main source of attention problems
  • Design your workday and environment in a way that supports cognitive fitness

Methodology

Cognitive Fitness will take place over Zoom, and utilize our proprietary software for exercises. The day contains interactive sessions, short expert lectures and Q&As, as well as assignments.