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What Are Binaural Beats and How Can They Improve Brain Function? You may have heard of binaural beats and wondered what they are. In essence, binaural beats are sound frequencies that can be used as a way to produce the types of brainwaves needed to complete different tasks. Used in meditation and other healing modalities, binaural beats are much more than pretty music. They can be a powerful mechanism to improve your brain function. What Are Binaural Beats? Scientists have long known that music can have a positive effect on brain function, but binaural beats are a relatively new phenomenon. The term ‘binaural beats’ actually describes the sensations that your brain perceives when you listen through headphones to two different tones that are very close in pitch, simultaneously. The beat is heard as if the two sounds combine. This is important for the brain, as processing binaural beats is one of the few activities where both hemispheres of the brain work synchronically to produce a particular result. The brain can only hear one tone at a time, so both hemispheres work to produce one tone out of the two that are coming in through each ear. What Effect do Binaural Beats have on the Brain? Research has shown that listening to binaural beats has a similar effect to meditation. Binaural beats can have a powerful effect on your brain, helping you quickly achieve states of deep relaxation, increased concentration, improved sleep, and enhanced memory. And they do this by merely altering the frequencies of your brainwaves. Different sound frequencies encourage different brainwaves. By listening to binaural beats, we alter our brainwaves to produce the cognitive functions we need at the time: Gamma waves—Stimulate the brain during higher processing tasks and cognitive functioning to improve learning, memory, and information processing (40 Hz to 100 Hz frequency). Beta waves—Inspire conscious focus, improved memory, problem-solving, critical thinking, writing, reading, and socialization (12 Hz to 40 Hzfrequency). Alpha waves—Bridge the gap between conscious thinking and the subconscious mind. They promote calmness, deep relaxation, positivity, and decrease anxiety (8 Hz to 12 Hz frequency). Theta waves—Enhance creativity, emotional connection, intuition, relaxation, and restorative REM sleep (4 Hz to 8 Hzfrequency). Deltawaves—Motivate improved Immune system, natural healing, deep, restorative sleep (0 Hz to 4 Hz frequency). What’s the Best Way to Try Binaural Beats? To start exploring the potential of binaural beats, you will need a set of stereo headphones and a device that plays music, like your smartphone. You usually only need to listen for 15-30 minutes to achieve the brainwave state you desire. Don’t combine binaural beats therapy with other activities, especially not while driving or operating machinery. You can find a wide variety of free and low-cost binaural beats soundtracks online to use them while studying, creating, or preparing for sleep.

3 Ways to Make Sure You Get All the Sleep Your Brain Needs to Stay Healthy It seems like insomnia is a modern epidemic. Whether you deal with insomnia or you are chronically sleep-deprived, it’s likely that poor sleep is affecting your performance. Sleep deprivation feels terrible. You will have noticed that if you’ve had a bad night’s sleep, you feel sluggish, heavy, and slow, as though you’re trying to walk through syrup. You’re clumsy and confused, you drop things, and nothing seems to go right. As well as making you feel bad, a chronic lack of sleep can have physical effects on your brain. Sleep deprivation impairs your ability to process and store memories and can even increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Two proteins associated with Alzheimer's, beta amyloid, and the tau protein, increase with chronic poor sleep. There is some evidence in laboratory tests on mice that sleep helps to clear these proteins from the brain. The good news is that there are things you can do to improve your sleep health to keep your brain in tip-top shape. 1. Find Out Your Own Best Sleep Levels Everyone has their own individual sleep needs. Famously, British politicians Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher needed very little sleep, but only getting four or five hours a night is not recommended for most people. Whether you need seven hours or ten, find out what is enough sleep for you. Enough sleep means waking up without needing an alarm, feeling rested and energetic, and not needing coffee to get you through the day. 2. Improve your Sleep Hygiene Studies have shown that the hour or two before bedtime has a powerful effect on the quality of your sleep. Schedule in some proper downtime, and stop using blue light-emitting devices like smartphones, computers, tablets, and television an hour or so before you plan to go to bed. Read a book, take a relaxing bath, or listen to calming music—or all three—instead. 3. Don’t Lie There Trying to Sleep If you can’t sleep after ten minutes, get out of bed and do something else. Lying in bed, getting stressed because you can’t sleep is a recipe for poor sleep and insomnia. You’re also likely to start brooding, mulling over problems or running over the events of the day. Get up do something relaxing like reading or meditating until you feel sleepy. It’s okay to do this more than once, even multiple times. You’re trying to train your brain to think of bed as a sleeping place, not a thinking place. Improving your sleep will help you to feel calmer, be more productive, and may lower your risk of Alzheimer’s later in life.

How Essential Oils Improve Brain Function and What Oils to Use!! You probably know how good essentials oils smell and that they can lift your mood. But did you know that essential oils can actually improve your brain function? Those wonderful smells are made up of gazillions of tiny particles that directly affect the limbic part of your brain. Every time you breathe in the essential oil molecules, they are absorbed through the mucous linings of your nostrils and go straight to the olfactory system, eventually ending up in your olfactory cortex and your limbic area. The limbic part of your brain regulates emotions, memory, your nervous system, heart rate, and blood pressure. The reason that essential oils can be so effective and beneficial for your brain is due to the characteristics of sesquiterpenes, one of the three compounds that make up essential oils. Sesquiterpene molecules are so tiny they can pass the blood-brain barrier. They are also oxygen-carrying molecules which means they can help the brain heal, improve concentration and learning, and boost brain energy. But how do you know which essential oils to choose? The following oils have all been shown to improve cognitive function. Rosemary is an excellent oil to use if you’re studying, or to help manage dementia, as it has proprieties that can enhance your ability to store and retain information. Peppermint can help improve concentration, memory, and alertness. It is also good for soothing and relaxing muscles and can be applied directly to the forehead to help headaches. Basil is an ancient plant long used to increase attention spans and improve memory. Basil can also help calm and de-stress when you’re feeling overwhelmed. As well as helping to reduce anxiety, nervousness, and fatigue, basil will give you an energy boost right when you most need it. Lavender is not just good for helping you sleep. Research has shown that it can help you focus and improve your mental performance precisely because it helps cut through mental stress and fatigue. Grapefruit essential oil is associated with increased creativity, energy, and positivity and stimulates the brain to promote alertness and improve focus. Lemon stimulates the central nervous system, leading to increased attention span, greater focus, and enhanced ability to remember information. One study even showed that exposing workers to lemon essential oil increased work accuracy by more than fifty percent! Ylang ylang has been shown to have an antidepressant effect, improve mental processing and memory. Ylang ylang is also calming and leads to improved mood. If you were using your essential oil diffuser to make your environment smell nice, now you know you can do so much more with it. Improve your mood and your cognitive function, all while enjoying refreshing scents!

8 Proven Ways Walking Improves Your Brain It might surprise you to hear that something as simple as walking can actually improve your brainpower. It doesn’t even have to be full-on power walking! Even a twenty- or thirty-minute walk during your lunch break can have a positive impact on your brain. Here are eight ways science has proven that walking is excellent for your brain. 1. Walking Helps Lower Your Risk of Depression Walking is an excellent way to improve your mental health. A 2018 study showed that any kind of moderate aerobic exercise like brisk walking can boost your brain health and lower your risk of developing depression by a third. 2. Walking Improve Your Cognitive Function A number of studies have shown that the magic amount of twenty to thirty minutes of daily aerobic exercise, such as walking, improves cognitive function and memory. 3. Walking Stimulates Endorphins Just ten minutes of walking is enough to start your brain releasing endorphins, the brain chemicals that lower stress, boost your mental health, and make you feel good. You’ve heard of the runner’s high? Well, you can get a similar positive rush from a brisk walk! 4. Walking Releases the Brain’s Magic Protein Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) has been dubbed the brain’s ‘magic protein’ as it helps to rewire and build new neural pathways. Scientists believe it can even help lower your risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. And cardiovascular exercise is an easy way to stimulate the production of BDNF and keep your brain in peak condition. 5. Walking Lowers Physical and Mental Fatigue A 2008 study by the University of Georgia found that just three sessions a week of a low-intensity exercise like walking can reduce fatigue levels by as much as 65 percent. 6. Walking Builds Hippocampus Strength Your hippocampus is the key part of the brain for forming and storing memories. Research has shown that even brief walks can actually increase the size and efficiency of your hippocampus. 7. Walking Improves Creativity Artists, writers, and philosophers have long known the importance of walking for clearing blocked creativity and getting inspiration flowing again. Science can now back this up with a 2014 study by Stanford University showing that walking increases your creative output by up to sixty percent. 8. Walking Increases Blood Flow to the Brain Blood is vital for every organ in your body, not least of all, your brain. That magic twenty minutes is all it takes to increase the blood flow to your brain to keep it active and healthy.

5 Ways Having a Pet Improves Our Brain Health!! There’s a good reason why those cute cat and dog memes on social media are so popular. Pets make you feel good. Unless you’re allergic, there’s nothing more comforting than having a cat curl up on your lap or your dog rush to greet you when you get home. Besides being lovable, researchers are finding that there is good scientific evidence that having a pet is actively good for your brain health. Here are four ways pets benefit your brain. 1. Pets Are Great for Your Brain Chemistry When you see your pet, your brain automatically releases the pleasure chemicals oxytocin and serotonin. You are flooded with feel-good hormones and feel happy. Conversely, your cortisol levels drop. That’s the brain chemical associated with stress and anxiety. 2. Pets Help Your Mental Health Being a pet owner can help if you suffer from depression and anxiety. As well as having a connection with a creature who offers unconditional love, having a pet gives you a reason to get out of bed, even if it’s just to empty the litter tray or walk the dog. For many people with depression, a cat or dog can provide the closest connection and support in their lives. 3. Owning a Pet is Good for Your Heart Health A number of studies have shown a correlation between pet ownership and a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke. Researchers believe that it’s not just the physical activity associated with walking a dog, for example, that helps boost heart health. The benefits of stress relief and deep emotional connection with your dog or cat can be just as impactful. 4. Pets Improve Childhood Outcomes Studies have shown that owning a pet in childhood has positive impacts on behavior, cognitive function, emotional and mental health, and even social development. Animals help children who are having problems with self- esteem, loneliness, and social interaction. Pets can be especially helpful for children with autism or Asperger’s syndrome, who often have problems with social connection and communication. 5. Pets Can Help Older People Therapy dogs and cats are increasingly being used in nursing homes and other facilities caring for people with dementia. Having access to a pet can help with some of the most distressing symptoms such as memory loss, anxiety, and behavioral problems. Even robot animals can help reduce the need for medication in older patients with dementia. If you’ve wanted a pet, now you have even more reasons to get one. They improve quality of life and brain health!

3 Tips for Reducing Stress to Keep Your Brain Happy and Healthy You know stress is bad for you. It can lead to insomnia, poor sleep, digestive issues, high blood pressure, and headaches. It can also have a negative impact on your mental health, increasing your risk of depression and anxiety. But did you know that stress also affects your cognitive functions? Stress has been a constant of human existence for millennia. Humans have evolved to have specific reactions to stress, that back in caveman days could mean the difference between life and death. And these reactions are still there, buried in your reptile brain, prompting your fight or flight response, flooding your brain with cortisol and adrenaline. It doesn’t matter whether you’re facing a saber-toothed tiger or an impossible deadline, your brain and your body react in the same way. Unfortunately, the demands of modern life mean that many people are dealing with chronic stress, keeping those cortisol levels high, which leads to a greater risk of reduced cognitive function, poor memory, and retention, or even dementia. Here are three ways you can reduce your stress levels and improve your brain health. 1. Recognize Your Personal Response to Stress Learn how stress affects you and what your own personal triggers are. Some people deal better with stressors than others. Notice your physical, emotional, and mental health symptoms when you are experiencing stress. 2. Identify Your Triggers What stresses you out may be water off a duck’s back from your partner, friend, or colleague. If you can identify what breaks you out in a cold sweat or raises your anxiety levels, then you can anticipate stressful situations and head them off at the pass. Or at the very least learn to manage them better. 3. Learn to Say No Most people nowadays feel overstretched and overcommitted. Much of modern stress comes from feeling disempowered and overwhelmed. As well as stress management techniques like meditation and exercise, learning to say ‘no’ confidently and positively is one of the most potent weapons you can use against stress. Once you know what triggers your stress response and how that response affects you, it’s time to make self-care-based choices. Work out what you want to say ‘yes’ to in your life and let that drive your decision making about what you take on and what you don’t. If you want more time to be with your family, take up a new hobby or exercise, then you can choose whether you want to work late, or take on extra responsibilities.

4 Ways Multitasking Harms Your Brain You may have been encouraged to believe that multitasking is a good thing. It has been promoted as something that makes you more efficient and productive. But did you know that trying to do too many things at once actually harms your brain? In the past, there was a limit to how many things you could do at one time, but modern technology has encouraged people to take on more and more just to stay in the game. It’s rare to see someone walking down the street not glued to their smartphone on their way to a meeting while chugging their takeout coffee. Of course, humans are designed to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Even back in the caveman days, you had to be able to have a conversation and hunt and gather at the same time. But what science is now telling us is that we multitask at our own risk. Here’s what happens when you try to do two or more things at once. 1. Your Productivity Goes Down It’s a myth that multitasking makes you more proactive. Study after study has shown that multitasking slows you down as you switch from one activity to another. It can take up to five minutes to get back into the flow, which can lead to a 40% loss in productivity. On top of that, you make more mistakes when you multi-task. 2. Your Cognitive Performance Drops Switching between tasks disrupts your short-term memory, lowers your comprehension and creativity, and reduces your capacity to learn and retain information. It can even reduce your IQ by 15 points. 3. Multitasking Affects Your Judgment Believing you’re a good multitasker can lead to having an inflated view of your skills. People who routinely multitask have trouble organizing and analyzing their thoughts, they make more mistakes and retain less information. 4. Multitasking is Risky Trying to do too much at once can be actively dangerous to yourself and to others. Having a conversation while you’re crossing the street and checking your email on your phone is asking for trouble. And texting is the big, red flag for car accidents. Statistics show that texting while you drive is more dangerous than drunk driving, and texting drivers cause 25% of car accidents. Weaning yourself off multitasking will have benefits for your mental and physical health while making you much more efficient. It’s time to slow down and just take things one at a time!

3 Ways to Supercharge Your Brain Power Through Exercise You know exercise is good for your physical health, but did you know it’s also good for your brain? The latest neurological research has shown that there is a so-called ‘magic protein’ called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) that has the power to supercharge your brain and improve your memory. And it is stimulated by cardiovascular exercise! BDNF can rewire and build new neural pathways in the brain, especially in the crucial areas that control memory (the hippocampus) and analysis, thinking, and decision-making (the frontal lobes). Your frontal lobes are where most of the intellectual activity of the brain takes place, from processing the data that’s coming in all the time to problem-solving and making ethical decisions. And you can keep these critical parts of your brain bathed in BDNF by merely increasing the amount of exercise in your daily routine. If you find it hard to commit to regular exercise, here are three ways you can make it easier and supercharge your brain at the same time. 1. Make it Fun The key to maintaining an exercise regime is to choose an activity or activities that you enjoy. Not everyone likes going to the gym, but there are many other ways to increase your heart rate and get the BDNF pumping. Dancing, swimming, hiking out in nature, and bike riding will all get your heart rate up, and you’ll enjoy doing it. Even brisk walking will help. As a bonus, exercise will boost your endorphins, too, making you happier and more relaxed. 2. Schedule Your Exercise It’s easier to stick to a regular exercise plan if you schedule time in your diary. Set aside time and increase your sessions until you’re exercising for thirty minutes, four or five times a week. Like any other habit, once you make it a priority, it will become just another part of your regular routine like brushing your teeth. 3. Make it Musical Research has shown that music can increase motivation and happiness. Exercise will be much more fun if you’re bopping away to your favorite tunes. Even housework can become a brain-boosting dance routine when you’re vacuuming along to music that makes you smile. Turn up the volume and start cleaning to the beat! Create a playlist of your favorite songs, and you will find that exercise is pleasurable and much easier to stick to when there’s upbeat music to encourage you!

Keep Your Brain Healthy in Just 5 Minutes a Day You look after your body, stay as fit as you can and make time for a healthy lifestyle, right? It’s just as important to keep your brain healthy too if you want to deal better with stress, be more productive, and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia later in life. The good news is that you can keep your brain in tip-top condition by practicing meditation for as little as five minutes a day. Meditation has been shown to reverse the shrinking that happens as part of the natural aging process from your mid-20s onwards. A Harvard study showed that meditation can increase the size of your brain after just eight weeks of regular practice. Here’s how you can develop a meditation practice to suit you and your lifestyle to start taking better care of your brain right now. 1. Find the Right Meditation Style for You Possibly the most important way to start a meditation habit is to find what works for you. You don’t have to sit on a cushion for hours in a temple unless you want to. There are meditation apps for your smartphone, yoga and meditation tutorials on the internet, or you can find a meditation group in your local community. It can be as easy as sitting in a park during your lunch hour. 2. Schedule Meditation Time Be intentional and make time in your schedule for regular meditation practice. Studies have shown that as little as five or ten minutes a day is enough to feel the benefits of meditation, but it must be done consistently. If you can find time to brush your teeth, you can find time to meditate. 3. Start Small You don’t have to launch into a full meditation to start with. Take baby steps and begin by just sitting quietly and focusing on your breath. Observe your breathing and feel calmer as you concentrate inwards. 4. Add Some Meditation Exercises Once you feel comfortable with sitting and breathing quietly, you can add in some meditation exercises. A good one is the V-Shaped Breath exercise: Focus your attention on the point between your eyes. Imagine cool air coming in and out in the shape of a V. As you breathe in, expand the V across your forehead. Then as you exhale bring the breath down the V to the point between your eyes. As well as regulating your breathing, you are calming your frontal lobes, increasing your capacity to analyze and problem solve. Adding a five- minute meditation practice to your day is the first step in a healthier, happier brain.

3 Strategies for Improving New Learning by Practicing Mindfulness When we consider how to keep our brains healthy, it’s common to focus on external habits we can change, like our sleep patterns, exercise, and nutrition. However, multiple scientific studies have proven that practicing mindfulness increases the growth of the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with processing and storing information and memories. It seems we may have overlooked our internal landscape as one of the ways we can improve how we learn and remember new information. Our brains rely on past experience and learnings to shape our reactions in the present. This reliance can interfere with learning and remembering new information when it conflicts with what we already believe. In other words, concepts that conflict with what you already know to be true are more difficult to remember. For example, you might find it more difficult to find items when they reorganize the grocery store, or you may call a new acquaintance by the name of someone they remind you of. Studies now prove that increased hippocampal growth improves our working memory. Therefore,practicing mindfulness is connected to both enhanced brain structure and brain function. Ready to put some simple strategies into place to make learning easier and improve your memory? 1. Notice When You’re Struggling to Learn The first step is to notice that you’re finding it difficult to learn new information or that you need more reminders. Start paying attention to when it takes you longer than usual to learn something new or when you need to review new information more often. 2. Notice the New Information We get so much data pouring into our brains every day that it can be a bit overwhelming. Be intentional in noticing and differentiating between new and old information, especially where there’s a conflict or a disconnect. It can help to visualize the new information and form a strong image in your mind. Try saying the new concept out loud a few times. 3. Notice What’s Happening Around You Take a few minutes at various intervals during your day to notice what’s going on around you. What task are you engaged in? What can you hear, see, smell, taste, and feel? Pay attention to what thoughts are in your mind and how your body feels. Now, allow the present moment to unfold. If thoughts or judgments come up, just notice them and let them go. These 3 simple steps can help you learn and remember new information, as well as assist you in finding calm and serenity in a busy world. As neuroscience discovers more about how the brain functions, no doubt we will continue to learn how brain health is impacted not only by our external lifestyle but also by the thoughts and associations that exist in our inner world.

6 Tips for Organizing Your Office to Make the Most of Your Time Every time you misplace something or find yourself shuffling through papers on your messy desk, you waste a few minutes of your time. We know what you’re thinking – a few minutes is nothing! That’s true, it doesn’t matter much in the short term, but it adds up. Soon enough, you’ve wasted days of your life because you didn’t keep things organized. The solution is simple: Set aside time to organize your life. Take it one step at a time, beginning with these six starter tips. 1. De-clutter Start with the most dreaded chore: purging and de-cluttering everything. All you need is one spring cleaning to get yourself on track. Plus, you can feel good about donating stuff you no longer need or use so that others who need them, can. 2. Decide Where You Will Work Pinpoint your “work zones,” the places where you’ll actually get work done, and the places where you will eliminate all clutter. Then you can move on to filing cabinets and drawers to store extraneous stuff. As long as you know where your workspace will live, you can fit everything else in around it. 3. Label Everything We mean everything! Not that you have a goldfish memory, but you probably won’t be able to remember where everything is. If you mix highlighters with staplers, you should label that. Anything that doesn’t seem intuitive should be labeled so that your future self will know exactly where to look. 4. Go Through Piles If you’re still stuck with a few piles of loose papers, sort through them. Decide which papers you need, which ones you can get rid of, and which ones you can scan and keep on the computer. In the digital age, piles of paper are outdated, so jump on the bandwagon and get rid of yours! 5. Do a Deep Clean Organizing and cleaning are two entirely different things, but both are important. Take a look at the things that you’d like to keep on your desk or in your office – picture frames, plants, and decorations, to name a few. Wipe them down and remove dust from them. Make sure everything is clean while you’re tidying up. While you’re at it, ask yourself if the stuff you plan to keep on your desk is a distraction. If the answer is yes, find another home for it. 6. Keep it up Rather than play catch up every quarter, do a weekly maintenance check on your desk and office to make sure everything is in order. Straighten your desk, purge any loose papers, and make sure everything is in its rightful place. Don’t forget about saving documents to the appropriate computer files and backing them all up. An organized desk gives you peace of mind and makes your office a home. The more organized you are, the more productive and efficient you will be!

6 Time Management Hacks from The World’s Most Successful People When you think of a successful CEO, you probably liken that person to Superman. It feels like a distant reality that someone can run a company, spend time with family, exercise every day, and somehow manage to write a book too. You know the kind of person we’re talking about because there are loads of these successful people out there. You can be like that, too. Here are six time management hacks from the world’s most successful people. Develop a Daily Routine It’s nice to have some level of structure before a busy day. If you can come up with a morning routine that you stick to, you’ll be ready to take on whatever comes your way throughout the rest of your day. Stop Wasting Time This sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how much time is wasted unnecessarily. If you’re waiting in line, check off some of your to-do items. Or when you’re driving, listen to a podcast or audiobook that will teach you something new to implement into your life. To put it simply, train your brain always to be productive. Make To-Do Lists that you Actually Do How many loose papers with untouched to-do items have you accumulated over the years? Set aside a few minutes at the beginning of your day, every day, to make a to-do list that you will knock out. Make that promise to yourself, and don’t break it. Reinvent Meetings Take it from American businessman and billionaire, Mark Cuban: "The only way you're going to get me for a meeting is if you're writing me a check.” Plenty of successful people avoid meetings like the plague. Why? They are almost always a waste of time. If you really need to schedule a meeting, have a streamlined agenda and a time limit for the meeting. Otherwise, migrate your meetings to an email chain or work chat platform like Slack. Reduce the Number of Decisions You Have to Make Steve Jobs wore the same outfit every day so that he didn’t have to mull over a bunch of wardrobe options every morning. Barack Obama limits his outfits to gray or blue suits. Nick Taranto used to only wear shoes without laces, so he didn’t have to tie them. You may think that trivial decisions only take seconds away from your time, but those are seconds you’ll never get back. Turn Your Tasks into Games Get competitive with yourself. Instead of thinking, “Ugh, I have to get this done by noon,” say, “I bet I can get this done before noon!” If you want to ratchet it up a notch, try using a gamifying to-do list app. Have fun with it!

6 Changes to Your Schedule to Help You Manage Your Time Like a Pro You’ve learned some tricks on how to manage your time, whether you’ve learned from a boss, a friend, or on your own. Yet putting those tricks into action is a different story. You have to learn how to make a schedule for yourself, which sounds about as daunting as being your own boss. Take out your self-starter hat and get ready to learn how to manage your time all on your own with these six hacks! 1. Leave Wiggle Room Between your Time Blocks Friends, meet buffer-time. No one should have a fully stacked calendar with no time in between for a break. Block out buffer-time on your calendar in between meetings and tasks. Your future self will thank you when your days are more productive, and the hours are less exhausting. 2. Organize Yourself This is a big life change for some people because organization habits don’t always come easily. At first, it may feel like you are spending extra time trying to stay organized, but the payoff is worth it. Here’s a staggering statistic: On average, Americans waste about 2.5 days a year looking for misplaced objects. Don’t be part of that statistic! Find a place for your belongings and always put them back where they belong. This goes for computer files too! Create a simple filing system and save new documents to the correct location. 3. Make Use of the 80-20 Rule Have you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? Otherwise known as the 80-20 rule, this principle says that you can get 80% of the work done in 20% of the time. Similarly, 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions. It can be applied to many things in life, so it’s a great concept to apply to your usage of time. Get in the habit of noticing what tasks get the most results. Spend more time on those actions and cut out some of the responsibilities that take up time but don’t produce the outcomes you are looking for. 4. Stop Waiting Every once and a while, you’ll inevitably have to wait for something: at the grocery store, in the doctor’s office, in traffic. Instead of actually waiting, or deferring to your phone for entertainment, do something productive with your time. Listen to a podcast you’ve been dying to try out, read a book on an interesting topic, or write in your journal. Turn waiting time into productive time. 5. Organize Your Tasks in Blocks Batch all your similar tasks together. For example, don’t check your email every time someone pings you. If it’s urgent, go right ahead, but otherwise, set a time block every two hours or so to plow through all your emails at one time. This keeps you focused, which is a more efficient way to work. 6. Try to Do Less This may sound like a slacker approach, but it’s not. Believe it or not – we take on way more than we need to, meaning we take on more than is beneficial to our work. If you find yourself planning parties, chatting with your coworkers, and dabbling in another department’s workload, you may have spread yourself to thin. By doing that, you’re not helping yourself or your peers. In the end, you could wind up letting down people because you overpromise and under-deliver.

5 Time Management Traps to Avoid at All Costs The art of time management is an involved practice. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and it often comes with roadblocks that deter people from optimally using their time. If you want to manage your time well, you need to be able to spot these traps and learn how to get out of them. It’s not rocket science. Most of these snares are intuitively spotted as red flags to productivity. Before we get too ahead of ourselves as expert time managers, let’s learn five time management traps that should be avoided at all costs. 1. Focusing on the Small Things Some people take the quote, “It’s the little things in life that matter most” a bit too seriously. Possessing gratitude is one thing, but fixating on trivial matters is where it gets a bit out of hand. Don’t put all your energy into the small stuff when you have more important things to focus on. 2. Lacking a Clear Vision To set goals for yourself, you need to have a sense of aim. What big goals do you have for your life? How large is the gap between where you are and where you want to be? What would you like to achieve? This is part of defining your vision, which you need to set in order to budget your time well. 3. Perfectionism Gone Wrong There is such a thing as being too perfect. We know, it’s hard to believe, but perfectionism can take a toll on you, and it can negatively impact your performance. If you’re too caught up in making something flawless, you may lose sight of the big picture. 4. Prioritizing the Wrong Things Have you ever found yourself spending hours on one project and only devoting 30 minutes to another? If you feel unbalanced with the way you distribute your time, you should check in with yourself. This can be an indicator that you’ve fallen into the time management trap of prioritizing the wrong things. 5. Forgetting to Review Your Skills It’s great to review your performance, but we’re talking about reviewing your time management skills. It’s never a one-size-fits-all approach, so you may need to try different strategies in order to find one that works best for you. We can assure you that you’ll find your own way of managing your time, but it may not come to you right off the bat. The next time you find yourself falling into a trap, try not to panic. None of these snares have quicksand foundations, so you’re not doomed if you fall into a pit every once and a while. The important thing is how you deal with it and how quickly you manage to get out!

5 Simple, Yet Effective Time Management Tasks You Should Start Using Today Are you trying to become an expert time manager? Have you noticed you don’t spend your time well throughout the day? We could keep going with these questions all day, but that would be a waste of time, right? We’re going to jump into five simple, yet effective time management tasks you should incorporate into your daily life. 1. Track your Time If someone asked you how long you spend reading emails every day, what would you say? What about your lunch break? Chances are, you don’t really know how long you spend on certain time blocks of the day. Start tracking your time and learn how to make changes so you can maximize it. 2. Set up Time Blocks When you have a certain set of tasks to do every day, set up time blocks for yourself. Give yourself 2 hours to do one thing and then 1 hour for another. It becomes a competition against yourself because you’ll be rushing to beat the clock, competing against yourself. 3. Plan it out Morning person or a night owl, it doesn’t matter. Use the beginning and the end of your day to make a plan and try your best to stick to it. Before you leave work at night, write a list of important tasks to get done the next day. In the morning, prioritize your list and review the items. Then, get to work! 4. Get it out of the Way Eat that frog – Mark Twain said it himself. Pick the most important, and most dreaded, tasks first, and knock them out first thing in the morning. It’s such a relief once you finish them, and then the rest of your day is devoted to tasks that you care more about and find more challenging. 5. Delegate When You Can If you have a task on your plate that a subordinate could do (maybe even better than you could), delegate it to them. Some people worry that this is a bad work ethic, but it’s part of company culture. You’re all on the same team, so it’s a matter of asking for help rather than being lazy. Understand what your point of genius is and use your time for those important tasks while handing off things that you aren’t great at or that are below your paygrade. We kept it simple with these tasks. Time management is an art worth perfecting, and you’ll get there. Check-in with yourself (and the clock), and make sure you’re really optimizing the hours you get in the day. And if you don’t, fear not! There’s always tomorrow. It’s a constant work in progress, so do your best, and the rest will fall in place.

3 Vital Aspects of an Effective Time Management Mindset Ariana Huffington takes time to “pause” every day. Steve Jobs eliminated time-consuming decisions by wearing the same outfit every day. Jack Groetzinger gamifies his to-do list. Everyone has their own unique approach to managing their time. There’s no right or wrong way, but there are several vital aspects of developing an effective time management mindset. Here are three of them: 1. Figure Out Your Priorities When you’re caught between one task and another, you’re faced with a decision: Which task do I work on first? To avoid this, decide your priorities ahead of time and work accordingly. To meet deadlines without unnecessary stress and anxiety, you need to have a prioritization system regardless of the way you work. 2. Quality > Quantity This golden rule is plastered on the walls of every classroom, so it’s always a shock that people forget to follow it. We get caught up in our daily responsibilities – sometimes they feel so endless that quantity seems like the only option. If you’re plowing through your work but lack objectivism and passion, you may have caved and picked quantity over quality. Long- term, this is detrimental to your work ethic and time management skills. Learn how to manage your time for rewarding work that adds value to your life. Once you nail that down, you can begin to take on more tasks. 3. Review Your Work Of course, you always double-check and triple check your work before submitting it to someone for approval. Why not do the same for your workflow? Set up a time once or twice a month to go through your assignments and figure out if you’re operating efficiently. Ask yourself some of these questions: - Do I really need to be doing this task? - Is there any way I can automate this task? - Can I delegate this task to someone else? - Can I do this task less often? Going through these questions does not mean you’re taking the easy way out. In fact, it’s a foolproof approach to perfecting your work habits, which will make you a more efficient worker. It may sound like these tips will take no time at all, but you may be surprised. Many people are inclined to work, work, work that they don’t stop and find new ways to innovate their approach. Set aside a few hours to figure out how you’re incorporating these tactics into your work. It will save you tons of time in the future.

3 Time Management Strategies That Really Work When you’re working over 40 hours a week, trying to balance a personal life, social life, and a healthy life, your days can get really crazy. It’s hard to remember to do your laundry, let alone worry about how to manage your time efficiently. It becomes a battle of “What should I give up today?” in order to cram everything into your hectic schedule. Rather than make sacrifices, try making changes first. There are three simple strategies you can focus on in order to change the way you spend your time day in and day out. Here they are: 1. Stop Half-Working You know what we’re talking about. Half work is the death of productivity. It’s deceiving because you think you’re being extra productive by doing half of a task here and half of a task there. In reality, the multi-tasking bug has bitten you, and it’s turning into a full-blown unproductive epidemic. Don’t start on something and then take a phone break. Don’t set yourself up for failure by promising to get through half of your assignment. Give your task your total focus and plow through it. You’ll be happier looking back on a finished product rather than looking ahead at a whole bunch of unfinished projects. 2. Knock Out the Most Important Thing First Bite the bullet and line up your MITs. MIT stands for Most Important Thing. You know you need to get these things done, so why not just get them out of the way, especially if you dread them? You may think that by procrastinating on an MIT, you’ll accrue a bunch of energy and motivation to attack it later in the day, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, you’ll be more drained and energy-deprived later on in the day, so your best bet is to knock it out first thing in the morning. 3. Stick to the Schedule Schedule out all the things you’d like to get done in the day. Your schedule may include 5 or 6 big tasks to do at work, dinnertime, helping children with homework, and working out. Not every day goes perfectly as planned, so allow some wiggle room in your schedule between tasks as much as possible and be flexible when things change. If your day takes a turn, instead of saying, “Now I can’t make a big dinner, so I’ll just order take- out,” compromise with yourself. You can still make dinner, but maybe it won’t be a 4-course meal with dessert. Stick to your objectives and adjust them if needed. These three time management strategies are all you need to make better use of your time in the day. Remember: You only have 86,400 seconds in the day. Use them wisely, but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t. There’s always tomorrow.

3 Steps to Smart Delegation and Why Everyone Should Be Delegating Delegate: The cliché “greatest weakness” answer in an interview and the most under-utilized time management tool of all time. Why do we fear something that can help us so much? We’ll tell you why. Delegating is often thought of as laziness – pushing off tasks to other people and claiming the credit for them when they are finished to perfection. That connotation couldn’t be farther from the truth, though. First of all, delegating isn’t limited to the workplace. You can delegate from the comfort of your own home, so if it’s nerve-wracking to delegate work tasks to a coworker or direct report, try it out at home with these steps. Decide What Needs to be Delegated Simple, but often overlooked. Check-in with yourself to figure out where your time is going and if any of those tasks or responsibilities can be delegated out to other people. Decide if you want to delegate at home, at work, or a mix of both. For instance, maybe you’re tired of cleaning the house every week, and you’d like to invest in a cleaning service. Consider the tasks, both at work and at home, that you don’t enjoy or aren’t particularly good at. Those are the things you should be delegating. Identify Who Could Help You Once you know what you need help with, think about who can help you out. Perhaps you’d like someone to mow the lawn for you. You could hire a high school neighbor to mow your lawn, or you could hire a professional lawn service. Take time to brainstorm, and don’t overlook this step. This person will be an extension of you in a way. They will be taking on some of your work, so it’s critical that you are happy with the person you pick. Automate the Menial Manual Tasks You can’t automate everything. Otherwise, no one would work a day in their life! But you can automate some things. You can use automatic scheduling software to automatically schedule things like social media, meetings, time tracking, and project management. Heck, you can even automate your personal life, buy having healthy meals delivered to your door. And many online stores now have features where you can automate purchases that you get regularly. Set it and forget it. This step is helpful for those who would happily pay someone to take on tasks they dislike or aren’t good at. Taking advantage of all the ways you can automate your life using the technology we have at our fingertips. Automation is a form of delegation. Delegation isn’t a lazy way out. It’s about working smarter, not harder. It’s about using the time you have to your advantage so that you have more time to enjoy the life you’ve been given.

6 Things You Didn’t Know About Highly Creative People You may not realize that there are some differences between ordinary folks and highly creative people. If you’re friends with people who are highly creative, you’ve probably noticed they see the world in a slightly different way. But scientists have now found that their brains not only work differently, but their neural hardwiring is also unique. Creatives can sometimes be challenging to get along with, but it helps to understand why. 1. They’re always thinking Supercharged creative people always have something on the go. There’s always part of their brain that’s still in the studio or still writing. Creatives are usually very curious people, always wondering what if, or why? The problem-solving part of their brain just doesn’t slow down. 2. They push back One of the key characteristics of highly creative people is not taking the status quo on face value. They like to push back, to poke and ask the difficult questions. You’ll often hear the words ‘why?’ or ‘why not’ on their lips. 3. They follow their own path To thine own self be true is the creative’s motto. Living authentically and in a way that’s aligned with their values is an absolute priority for them. They don’t just question the status quo, they reject following the herd, and they don’t mind having unpopular opinions. 4. Their path isn’t linear A highly creative person’s mind often works in loops or spirals. They don’t tend to think in a linear, logical fashion and will often make great creative leaps. Einstein famously said that imagination is more important than knowledge, and this is exactly what he meant. The creative’s capacity to see connections can sometimes border on genius. 5. Creatives need downtime and space. Highly creative people will often work for extended periods and then need equal amounts of downtime to recover their energy. This can mean solitude, but not always as quiet companionships can be just as reviving as being alone. Scheduling doesn’t work so well and can even stifle the creative spirit. Similarly, creativity needs space, quiet, and separation from the day-to-day. 6. Creatives are storytellers Highly creative people are often highly sensitive to images, metaphors, and stories. Creativity is fundamentally about conveying a story from the artist to the viewer or reader. The narrative is the most ancient way of passing on deep truths like creation stories, heroic sagas. Creativity is the bedrock of humanity and a key element that separates us from other creatures. Telling stories helps us understand the world, to explain what we experience and to transcend the everyday.

5 Common Roadblocks to Getting into Creative Flow You know the feeling. There’s a deadline looming, and your mind has gone completely blank. Nothing, nada. It’s like your brain has frozen. Luckily the latest research shows us the most common roadblocks to creativity, and how to move past them and get on with the job. 1. Fear of failure Most people are afraid of failing because they see it as a one-way street to disaster, rejection, and a stain on their reputation forever. Perversely, fear of failure is the mirror image of perfectionism. The idea that nothing you can do will be good enough, and that this failure defines your identity. Fear of failure means you’re less likely to take risks, and you put off even starting. And those are two things that can kill creativity stone dead. Redefine creativity as a series of experiments, with failure as a kind of course-correction and an inevitable part of the process. 2. There’s not enough time The ticking clock is another creativity killer. If you’re like most people, your schedule is probably crammed, and you feel like you’ll never catch up. If your checklist just keeps growing, you won’t be able to relax in the creative process and let the ideas flow. A surprising way to find more time is to quarantine some chillout time in your diary. Priorities some downtime to listen to music, meditate, or just sit quietly. You’ll feel much less stressed and open to the creative flow. 3. You’re still staring at the screen Sitting at your desk, staring at the computer or the blank page is not a good way to get creative. If you’ve been trying to write or problem-solve and it’s just not happening, the best thing you can do is go for a walk or make a coffee. Get out of the environment that’s keeping you stuck, get moving, and your mental gears can disengage and relax enough to be ready when inspiration strikes. 4. You’re feeling negative Negative thinking can stop creativity in its track. If you’re sitting there frowning, and thinking you can’t do it, you’re pretty much guaranteeing that you won’t be able to do it. Pessimism and negative self-talk set up a vicious cycle of gloom and low energy. Reject that self-defeating attitude and give yourself a pep talk. Reframe your task and just promise yourself you’ll write down whatever comes into your head, just to get the process started. Remember, first drafts are invariably not your best product, because that’s what a first draft is for! You’ve done good work before, you’ll do it again. Tell the muse you’re ready and get writing!

5 Habits of Highly Creative People Are you living up to your creative potential? Have you thought about how encouraging your creativity could help boost your skills? People with highly creative minds commonly have more energy, are skilled at problem-solving, and have high productivity. Here are seven habits of highly creative people to kickstart your own creativity and help you reach your creative potential. 1. Aim high and learn new skills every day. If you really want to be a more creative thinker, cultivate your curiosity and learn something new every day. Whether it’s a skill or a fact or a new idea, just make sure you’re learning every day. Once daily learning has become a habit, you’ll find a new confidence and a growing curiosity about the world. 2. Learn to connect Creatives are highly skilled at joining what may seem like random dots. They see patterns where other folks just see a mess. And what they create as a result is fresh and unique and will stand out from the crowd. Stepping outside your comfort zone or your area of expertise also helps you get a different perspective on things and find innovative solutions to problems. 3. Be open to potential solutions Creative minds can see potential solutions to even the knottiest problems. When you bring your imagination to the task and are not bound by what already exists, you are free to blue sky all sorts of ideas. This is where techniques like brainstorming and mind-mapping can help free up your imagination. It doesn’t matter how crazy the thoughts are, put them all down and see what emerges. 4. Protect your creative space The blue sky stage of creativity can be a vulnerable time. The last thing you need is someone coming along with a pail of cold water and dousing your good ideas with criticism or skepticism. Keep that creative phase quarantined, and just map out all your ideas without editing or critiquing or showing them to anyone else. Plenty of time to refine and shape your project later! 5. Keep an open mind The key to preserving and enhancing your creativity is to stay open to different perspectives. Creativity is flexible and adaptive. If one thing doesn’t work, try another. Be open to new ideas and approaches and stay curious about the world and why people do things differently. Some of the most successful creatives are like magpies, collecting new ideas and strategies, and seeing how they apply to their own work.

5 Ways in Which Creative People Make Outstanding Entrepreneurs You might think that being creative doesn’t stack up well with business. After all, the stereotype of the suffering artist or writer wrestling with the Muse doesn’t sound like a great candidate to be running a company, right? But in fact, creative people make outstanding entrepreneurs. Researchers have found that there are a number of characteristics creatives share, which can make them innovative and successful businesspeople. 1. Creatives are innovative Creative people tend to take a different, even quirky view of the world. They have flexible, adaptive minds and can often find solutions to tricky problems. And they’re really good at coming up with lots of new ideas. 2. Creative processes mirror business processes. It might sound surprising, but the stages of developing a creative project are very similar to those involved in setting up a business. Commonly there are four steps to each enterprise. There is a research phase, gathering information about an issue, product, or problem. There is an ‘incubation; stage where this information gets processed, followed by a big breakthrough Eureka moment when the solution becomes clear. Then comes the final testing phase, where the creative/entrepreneur tests the solution to see if it works. This applies whether you’re setting up a business, launching a new product, or writing a novel. 3. Creatives and entrepreneurs work in the same conditions Both creatives and entrepreneurs work in a flexible, highly changeable environment. There is the freedom to float and test new ideas in a less structured environment than a regular job or company. There are risks and sometimes high stakes involved, but for the creative and entrepreneur alike, this is fertile ground that can allow innovative ideas to flourish. 4. They make connections One of the hallmarks of the creative mind is being able to think outside the box and make connections between superficially unrelated ideas. They are also intensely curious and want to know the ‘why’s and ‘why nots’ about the world. Entrepreneurs are also eclectic thinkers who are not afraid to try new strategies and ideas to see what happens. Both types are big on the ‘what if’ approach to the world. 5. They are great at communicating their message Both creatives and entrepreneurs are likely to be passionate about their work and have great powers of persuasion. They have thought about it and worked at it and lived it, so they know it inside out, and they care about sharing their passion with the world.

5 Ways to Hack Your Creativity—Backed by Science You might not realize that creativity has a measurable effect on your brain function. Science has shown that blood flow to your frontal cortex increases when you’re engaged in a creative task. Creativity can boost neural pathways, and measurably increase your cognitive function. Here are five tips backed by science that will help you encourage your creativity and increase your brainpower. 1. Go into brain-training mode You can think of your creativity as a kind of muscle that responds to exercise. Just as you work out at the gym, you can go into training and encourage new connections throughout your brain. The easiest way to do this is to schedule regular screen breaks throughout your day. Get your brain out of scrolling mode and into active thinking. Allow your mind to wander, daydream, and muse. 2. Change your environment You may not realize that your brain responds to changes in your environment, even small ones. Rearrange your desk, or work in a different office or have your team meeting in a café or park. Contextual changes big and small act as creativity nudges, making your brain sit up and take notice, make adjustments, and solve different problems. 3. Learn something completely new It’s natural for humans to want to stay in their individual comfort zone, but you can kickstart your creative thinking by learning something completely new. It can be as challenging as learning a new language or taking a ceramics or metalwork course. Whatever you choose, your new learning will help your brain develop new ideas and ways of thinking. And these new ways of thinking promote more creative thinking in the workplace. 4. Write it down! Whenever you have a new idea, make sure you write it down in a notebook or on your smartphone. It’s one of those quirks of human nature that you often think of something when you’re in the shower or driving or just dropping off to sleep, situations where your brain is free to roam around and come up with solutions. You can be guaranteed you won’t remember that phrase or question later, so make sure you write it down as soon as you can. It doesn’t have to be the whole thing, just a few words to prompt your memory later will do it! 5. Set yourself some challenges It’s easy to slip into regular routines of thinking or problem-solving at the office or at home. Your brain gets bored and detaches, making it harder to think creatively. You can give your brain a kickstart by setting yourself challenges. Try and get that presentation done with a time limit, or do some brain-storming with colleagues.

4 Easy Ways to Train Your Brain to Be More Creative You might be surprised to hear that you can actually train your brain to be more creative. Oftentimes, people think that creativity is some mystical, innate skill, and you either have it, or you don’t. But research has shown that there are some strategies you can use to stimulate creativity in your everyday life and benefit from new ways of thinking and problem solving. 1. Switch up your regular routine It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of doing things the same way every day. But the more you stimulate your brain with change and novelty, the more flexible and creative your brain gets. Keep your creative mind on its toes by reading new books, trying different foods and places to eat, even trying different routes through your neighborhood. Switching up your usual routines will stimulate your mind and get you thinking about new possibilities and approaches to life. 2. Relax the rules So much of what you do is bounded by shoulds and oughts. From those eight glasses of water you’re supposed to drink, the right foods to eat, and how much and when, to whether it’s okay to talk in the elevator, much of your life is probably restricted by how you think you should behave. Try breaking some of the rules today. Smile and say hi to the waiter or the bus driver. Crack a joke in that silent elevator. Open up a bit and allow your creative, maybe even slightly anarchic brain to flourish. 3. Look around you Another good way of relaxing your mind and allowing your creativity to grow is to simply sit in the present and observe what’s going on around you. Work your way through each of your senses and really notice your environment. What can you hear, see, smell, feel, even taste? Notice everything and then write down what comes into your head. When you walk down the street, look up and around. Chances are you’ll be the only person not looking at their phone or frowning into the idle distance. Don’t miss out on noticing the signs of spring or autumn. Look up and around and see how many colors and textures are right there in front of you. 4. Really talk to people How much of your conversation is either you talking or being talked at? Step back a little and really engage with other people. Don’t just talk or think of what you’re going to say next. Practice active listening and give the other person space to speak. Real conversation can open up all sorts of possibilities and creative solutions you might never have thought of.

5 Reasons to Develop Your Creativity in Daily Life You might think that creativity is something you can’t do. So many people say, ‘oh I’m just not the creative type.’ But it is within everyone to be creative. And it’s not just good for the soul to sketch or play with clay or embroider. Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes, and it has some unexpected benefits for the rest of your life. 1. Creativity helps you solve problems Fostering your creativity trains your brain to be more adaptable and flexible in dealing with all sorts of problems. Not just how to get that pot completely balanced and smooth, but how to solve that problem with a work project or a relationship or a career issue. Being creative takes you out of the linear thinking mode and the confines of regular logic. Options stop being only black and white. Your mind can look at your problem from many different angles and sees potential nuances that you otherwise might miss. 2. Creativity can help you live longer Surprising but true. Studies have shown that being creative can actually reduce your mortality risk and add years to your life. Making, drawing, woodwork, knitting, or painting all fire different neural pathways in your brain and help to reduce stress and anxiety. Creativity slows cognitive aging and enables you to lead a happier, more fulfilling life. 3. Creativity grows your confidence Learning a creative skill takes application and lots of practice. You’ll make a lot of mud pies and lopsided pots before you can create beautiful and functional tableware. Mastering your chosen art form helps you develop confidence in your abilities that will overflow into other areas of your life. As you overcome failure and succeed in making beautiful things, you will see that persistence and optimism is the way to success. 4. Creativity is immensely satisfying There is nothing like starting with raw materials and being able to make something unique from them. Whether you start with a lump of clay or you make your summer wardrobe from scratch, you know you have the skills and creative spark to make whatever you want. You aren’t dependent on stores and other people’s work. You know you can start with zero skills and learn a completely new skill. 5. Creativity helps you express yourself Making an artwork or a piece of writing or an item of clothing allows you to make something that is completely yours. No one else can make the exact same thing that you can. Living a creative life can help you see that whatever you bring to the world is unique and special.