How to Exercise Your Left/Right Brain
One thing to note is that just because you are dominant in one hemisphere of your brain, this doesn’t mean you don’t have strengths in the opposing side. Thankfully, it is not that black and white. Being dominant means that your initial thought process reacts in a way that is either more analytical and logical or more creative and visual. There are different techniques you can do to exercise the other side of your brain.
Neither side is more superior to the other. Leaders who are dominant in one side are not better leaders.
You can work in a creative field (i.e. art, music, theater) and still be left brain dominant. The opposite is true as well. You can work in a more analytical field (i.e. finance, strategy, etc.) and be right-brain dominant. So how do you know which side of your brain is your brain’s organic preference?
Those who consider themselves to be more left-brain dominant tend to be more naturally analytical and see or solve problems in sequential steps. Those who consider themselves to be more right-brain dominant tend to more intuitive naturally, trusting their gut while also seeing or solving problems based on past life experiences or visual information they’ve gathered over time. See our last post on “Brain Dominance and Leaders” to learn more.
While one hemisphere of your brain may be more dominant, this doesn’t mean that you can’t exercise the other side to help your brain process information in unique ways to help balance your strategic abilities.
If you are someone who learns more through taking in visual information or are considered to be more artsy, you would be considered right brain dominant. To help flex your left-brain logical side, try these tips to help your brain shift how it receives and processes information.
Tips to Exercise the Left Brain
Create a daily list of things you want to accomplish so you can cross them out. This allows you think sequentially but maintains the visual nature your brain is used to
Try working in silence when solving problems to increase your focus
Use a white board to write out a problem and map out potential solutions. Try not to doodle, which is your brain’s natural way to process logical thoughts through idle-type drawing
Build a jigsaw puzzle or play a puzzle type of game such as Sudoku or Crossword Puzzle
Now, if you are one who learns through analytical or data-related thinking, you are considered to be more logical or left brain dominant. To help flex your right-brain creative side, try these tips.
Tips to Exercise the Right Brain
As you solve a problem, take a drawing break to doodle and let your brain reprocess some information
Build charts and graphs rather than writing information out in paragraph or bulleted form
Play music while working to allow your brain to fully experience the learning moment
Try to pick up an arts and crafts hobby such as painting or sculpting
Even though you may be left or right hand dominant, there are some who are naturally ambidextrous and can use both of their hands to write, sign, eat, etc. Then, there are those unique few who choose to teach themselves how to use their less dominant or inferior side. Your brain can always learn new tricks and now you have some tools to help you.