Healthy Brain Habit: Get Physical Exercise

We know that exercise is good for the body, but it’s also incredibly good for the brain. As the authors of “The Sharp Brains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews to Keep Your Brain Sharp” point out, physical exercise is one of the four pillars of brain fitness, the other three being good nutrition, stress management, and mental stimulation.  Exercise gets rid of harmful stress chemicals and it boosts problem-solving, planning, and attention. Getting more exercise will help you improve your cognitive functions whether you’re a high school or college student, part of the work force, or an elderly person in retirement.

Below you’ll find interesting data from two books, filled with information on how our brains work, which describe the science behind the discovery that our brain functions much better when we exercise.    Read the Rest of This Article »

Why Your Mood Is Killing Your Productivity (& What To Do About It)

Most people are on a quest to increase their productivity in order to do less and achieve more. Tips on how to organize your passwords, instructions on how to handle e-mail, advice to take creativity breaks, and information on how to apply Stephen Covey’s four-quadrant matrix are examples of advice that can help you become more productive.

However, the most important productivity tool that exists is your mind, and your moods have a powerful effect on your mind’s ability to function efficiently and effectively. Therefore, one of the most important things you can do to increase your productivity is learning how to self-regulate your moods. Fortunately, your body is fully equipped to help you do just that. Below you will find seven ways to help you self-regulate your moods.

1. Breathing

Since breathing is something we can easily control and regulate, it’s a useful tool for achieving a relaxed and clear state of mind. Andrew Weil, M.D.–a world-renowned pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, a healing approach which encompasses body, mind, and spirit–, advices the following: “Practicing regular, mindful breathing can be calming and energizing and can even help with stress-related health problems.”

One of the breathing exercises that he recommends is the 4-7-8 or Relaxing Breath, a natural tranquilizer for your nervous system. Simply place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise. Then follow these steps: Read the Rest of This Article »

The Other Side of Productivity: Coincidences, Synchronicity, and Serendipity

“We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many books, articles and blog posts have been written on the subject of productivity. Many of these contain great advice, including things such as: check your e-mail in bulk, and only twice a day; touch each paper that comes across your desk just once; set a strict limit on the amount of time you spend on social networking sites; have clearly defined goals; break your goals down into milestones and then into small, achievable steps; schedule those steps into your day; and so on. These are all logical, linear, and progressive steps that you can, and should, take to become more productive.

However, by putting so much emphasis on the linear aspects of productivity – that is, on things such as organization and time management – the non-linear, quantum leap aspects of productivity are being neglected. The other side of productivity involves synchronicity instead of decluttering, serendipity instead of creating processes, and coincidences instead of daily planners.

Coincidences

“Coincidence” is defined in Wikipedia as “the noteworthy alignment of two or more events or circumstances without obvious causal connection.” Swiss psychologist Carl Jung devoted a large part of his work to the study of “meaningful coincidences”, or synchronicity, and how seemingly chance occurrences can move our lives forward significantly. Sitting at a sidewalk café you overhear a conversation at the next table which you incorporate as a brilliant plot twist in the novel you’ve been struggling to finish for the past year; a book you pick up from the discount table at your neighborhood bookstore opens to a significant passage; a missed train starts a chain of events that changes the direction of your life; and so on.
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