I’m not sure whether it’s just me, I suspect more feel like it, but my mind often feels constantly full to the brim.

Everyone seems busy. There never appears to be enough time, and the weeks and months and years seem to rush past faster than ever.

I’ve come to the conclusion that part of the problem is the constant stream of information we pump into our brains, a relatively recent phenomenon.

We’re continually plugged in. Our phones are rarely switched off and are nearly always within reach. When we get any free time, even 5 minutes, we check the news, emails, messages and social media throughout the day – often without consciously deciding to do it.

When we’re working, a lot of us sit in front of computers, emails dropping in trhouygout the day. When we’re relaxing, we watch television while scrolling through our phones. We have access to rolling news, opinions, entertainment and events from around the world, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We learn about disasters thousands of miles away, arguments between strangers, political controversies, celebrity gossip, other people’s holidays an highlights on our social feeds and countless problems that we can do very little about. Our minds are being asked to process far more information than they were ever designed to handle.

Our brains are flooded with information pretty much every second of the day.

It isn’t surprising that so many of us feel overwhelmed, distracted and mentally tired.

At no other point in human history have our brains ever took in so much information – and we just don’t get the time to process it all. It’s no wonder our brains are constantly full to the brim.

We’ve lost the empty moments

The problem isn’t only the amount of information we consume. It’s also that our phones have filled nearly every quiet moment we once had.

If we’re standing in a queue, we reach for our phone. If we’re waiting for the kettle to boil, we check a message. We take our phones into the bath, to bed and we reach for them to check any time there is a spare moment. 

These small gaps in the day once gave our minds time to wander, reflect, process and settle. We might have looked out of a window, noticed the world around us around us or simply allowed ourselves to be bored for a few minutes.

Now, almost every empty space is filled.

Boredom has become something to avoid, yet it may be exactly what our minds need. When we stop feeding the brain new information, it finally has a chance to process what is already there. Thoughts can resolve themselves, ideas can emerge, worries can begin to lose some of their intensity and memories can form from experiences – which can stretch our perception of time. Ever got lost on your phone which has turned into an hour, 2 hours of scrolling – no wonder time seems to go so fast in the world of the smart phone.

Stillness isn’t wasted time. It is recovery time for the mind.

The mind is like a waterfall

Imagine a waterfall after a constant stream of heavy rain. Huge volumes of water crash over the edge. The pool below becomes turbulent and choppy. The water is filled with foam, bubbles and debris. You cannot see beneath the surface because everything is moving too quickly.

Our minds can feel like this when we constantly pour information into them.

Every notification, message, news story, email, video and social media post adds a little more water. Even if each piece of information seems insignificant, the combined flow creates mental turbulence.

We may try to think our way out of it, but that can be like trying to calm a waterfall by adding more water to the flow. Sometimes, the answer isn’t to think harder. It is to reduce what is flowing in.

Turn down the flow and the water gradually becomes calmer.

The surface becomes still. Eventually, you can see clearly through it again.

Our minds work in a similar way. When we step away from the constant stream of information, thoughts begin to settle naturally. We don’t have to force ourselves to feel calm. We simply have to create the conditions in which calm can return.

That might happen when we leave phones and notification behind, during a quiet walk, while sitting beside the sea, working in the garden or drinking a cup of tea without a screen beside us. Nature is especially good at creating this feeling because it holds our attention gently. There is something to notice, but nothing demanding an immediate response.

The challenge is to unplug

The real challenge is learning to unplug more often.

This doesn’t mean throwing away our phones or cutting ourselves off from the world. Technology is useful, in moderation. The aim is simply to use it more deliberately, instead of allowing it to occupy every available moment. I know though screens are highly addictive, and massive budgets go into the likes of social media to think and deploy ways to keep us glued to the feeds, so it will take a lot of mental discipline… 

We could begin by checking messages, apps and emails at set times rather than continuously. We could limit how often we look at the news, turn off unnecessary notifications or leave our phone in another room for a set period each day.

We could bring in a daily walk without our phones and looking or listening to anything. Eat a meal without watching a screen. Stand in a queue and allow ourselves to wait. Sit outside for ten minutes and notice the sounds, the air and the changing light.

Small boundaries can make a surprising difference:

• Don’t reach for your phone during every quiet moment.
• Block out set-times where we don’t use phones, screens and technology.
• Keep the first and last half-hour of the day screen-free.
• Check social media and the news once a day rather than repeatedly.
• Switch off notifications that don’t genuinely matter.
• Do regular daily activities without your phone, podcasts, music or messages. This could be a walk, time in the bath, extended mealtime or time with family. 
• Spend time in nature and allow your thoughts to wander.
• Give yourself permission to be unavailable occasionally.

At first, the silence may feel uncomfortable. We have become so accustomed to stimulation that stillness can feel strangely empty. But if we remain with it, that emptiness begins to feel more like space.

Space to breathe. Space to think. Space to notice our own lives again.

We often say that time is moving too quickly, but perhaps part of the reason is that we are rarely fully present for it. Our attention is constantly being pulled towards the next notification, the next story and the next thing to do.

We cannot slow time itself, but we can stop rushing our minds through every moment.

Sometimes, the best thing we can do is turn down the flow, put the phone away and let the water become still.