Get Your Train of Thought Back on Track
Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation, presentation, or debate, stringing together thoughts in a way you hope is coherent and insightful when — poof! — you lose your train of thought? It’s frustrating. You just want to make yourself understood, but your brain has other plans. What if there were a way to keep your train of thought on track? Well, the good news is that recovering your train of thought is easy with the following hacks in mind. Repeat, repeat, repeat yourself. Paraphrasing your last few thoughts out loud can help you remember where you were going. Think of it as retracing your steps: You go back to the last words you remember saying, and more often than not, you’ll find your direction again.
not sitting in traffic during that time will do for your stress levels. Walkable neighborhoods incentivize residents and visitors alike to take a stroll rather than get behind the wheel. You’ll be more environmentally friendly. You’ve no doubt heard the laments of environmentalists over automobile pollution for years (or even decades). As it turns out, the best way to use your car less is to park it somewhere where you don’t need to use it all the time — where everything you need is within walking distance. Burning one gallon of gasoline creates 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, but walking leads to zero emissions. You’ll support the local economy. When you’re walking down the street, you’re more incentivized to stop, check out new local stores you’ve never visited before. If you end up buying Take a short pause. Pausing briefly is a great way to make recovering your train of thought seem natural. This hack works really well if you’re answering a question and you need time to think, and you also don’t want to be bogged down by a chorus of “ums” escaping from your mouth. Write it all down. This hack works well when you know beforehand that you’ll be speaking with someone or in front of people. Even if you never refer to your notes while speaking, simply writing down a road map for your train of thought can help you recover from a detour and speak more confidently. Remember your overall point. The easiest way to drive your train of thought into the weeds is to
something, you’ll have stimulated the local economy in a way that wouldn’t have been possible if you had been driving. Plus, when businesses in walkable neighborhoods are successful, it leads to more businesses opening in the same area, giving visitors and residents more options for shopping. According to Walkscore.com, which measures the walkability of different cities given a range of criteria, the Georgia State University, Peachtree Center and Buckhead Village neighborhoods are the most walkable neighborhoods in Atlanta. If you haven’t spent a lot of time in those neighborhoods, try visiting them at some point to experience some of the benefits of a walkable neighborhood for yourself! forget your overall point — or not to have an overriding point at all. Always have a short, overarching point you can use to recenter yourself and get back on track. With these hacks, your brain will have to work a lot harder to make you lose your train of thought! Now you’ll be more prepared to tackle any subject matter, no matter how deep or technical, that comes your way.
The Benefits of Walkable Neighborhoods
More and more, when homebuyers and renters alike look for a new place to live, “walkability” is a factor that pops up toward the top of their wish list. Walkability is, put simply, the degree to which a person can reach stores, restaurants, entertainment, and public transportation hubs by walking. While you might find that the aesthetic of a vibrant, walkable neighborhood with tons of local businesses and character draws you in, there are actually a myriad of tangible benefits to enjoying and living in walkable neighborhoods. You’ll be healthier. You don’t need a gym membership to keep yourself in good shape. There are plenty of health benefits from simply walking more often, including a reduced risk of heart attack, stroke, and obesity, and that’s before even touching on what
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