| 1) Exercize 2) Healthy diet (low weight, appropriate vitamins preferably from foods, etc.) 3) Sleep well - 6.30 hours seem to be the sweet spot, some need a little more (the recent "8 hours or bust" is mostly bogus pseudo-science, which even if peddled by an actual scientist, is not backed up properly, since the data show otherwise). - All three of the above boost congnitive skills, alertness, memory, etc, more than anything else. If you have some medical issues affecting the above (e.g. some condition), seek help, and treat them as well. E.g. you might need pills to focus. But take care of the above big 3 as a priority. 4) Read a lot. Mostly books. On fields outside technical/science (where newer is better), try to read a healthy chunk of old ones too. On scientific fields, read newer stuff, but also some of the classics (e.g. for IT, something like "The Mythical Man-Month"). For the fields you're interested in, don't go for summaries and lazy recaps, go to the sources. Cliff Notes helps you repeat the same talking points as anybody else. Reading the original material helps you form your own perspective (and, if the material is art, it's also a totally deeper experience). Shed the common tech/nerd prejudice that History, Literature, or Philosophy "don't matter". 5) Talk to people. All kinds of people. You don't only learn and get insights from Feynman or Buffet types, but also from a retired pilot, a plumber, a cook, a single mother of two, whatever. Some wont be insights about technical developments or scientific techniques, but will nonetheless be insights into human society, feelings, how the other half lives, and so on. 6) Don't try to master everything. Focus on 1-2 things, and try to get a general knowledge of others. Get personal experience with things you care about, not just theoritical. 7) Stress less. Excess stress (over things one should not stress about, rather than actual heavy problems of the moment) can kill cognitive ability. 8) Don't trust random eight point lists from random idiots on the internet. They could be right, but how would you know? |