Brain Strategies For Productivity And Creativity
What you do in a day reflects what you do in a year. This realization is important to understand for peak productivity. Many things we do in our daily life are down right destructive, some we know some we don't. We have to eliminate our bad habits and ad positive ones. Here is a list of strategies you can incorporate in your daily life.
We need to remove whats destructive and ad what makes us more healthy and energetic. If you ad these strategies you will see significant results. Give it 90 days and change the way you feel about your work and your performance.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Avoid trans fats at all cost, these are dangerousness for your health and your mental performance. Your brain needs healthy food and oil. I cannot overemphasize this point enough. We need good fats in our body to function well. There are different types of healthy fats, you can study this further on your own(I recommend it). But one specific type is the famous Omega-3 Fatty Acid which you should have daily.
Omega-3 fatty acids are able to increase the cellular structures that generate energy and burn fat. Some studies show that the more omega-3 you consume the better will your body burn fat and transform it into energy.
Omega-3 fatty acids can for example be found in fish such as salmon and sardine.
Sensazione
“The five senses are the ministers of the soul.” Leonardo da Vinci
In Micheal Gelb's book "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day", he refers to among other things, da Vinci's use of the senses.
The sensazione principle relies on consciously refining your senses. The more you try to understand how you become effected by your senses the more can you use them to get creative and productive.
Ask yourself a lot of questions about your experience, which is made up by your senses. Let's take the sense, hearing, as an example. What are your favorite sounds? Make a list of your favorite music, and then analyse the songs/artists you have enlisted. Why do you enjoy certain sounds and what state do they put you in? Music releases dopamine to the brain and makes you more motivated.
You can also use music to your advantage to improve the connections of neurons in your brain. Studies has shown that music is processed in the right half of the brain... however what is interesting is that this only applies if you're not a very musical person. Professional musicians listen to and process music with the left side of their brains because of the established nets in place from learning and experiencing.
Your senses can be perfect tools, energy-boosters if you will, that motivates and enhances your awareness throughout the day.
Walks
Taking walks will benefit you tremendiously as it increases blood circulation and oxygenates your brain (so plus points for you who choose to walk in nature rather than on the subway). This can help you process your thoughts much easier since more blood flows to the brain and enhances the production of energy.
When you are physically rested but mentally exhausted take walks, you just might rejuvenate your creativity and productivity.
Free Child Walking on White Round Spheres Balance by Pink Sherbet Photography
Water
Your brain tissue is 85% water, which shows how much brain function rely on water. According to Sheryl Feinstein, who noted in her book The Praeger handbook of learning and the brain little as 2 % dehydration decreases brain performance and by the time you feel thirsty your brain is telling you that it's mildly dehydrated.
Drinking a lot of water will make you less tired, thus your mental concentration will expand which leads to a much more productive day.
espejo by A6U571N
Antioxidants
The amount of free radicals can increase in quantity and can eventually lead to cellular damage in your body. However, this is reduced by antioxidants. With age, the amount of antioxidants are reduced and we therefore need to fill that gap with vegetables and fruits. Studies have shown that a group of elderly people who consumed most antioxidants and least fat performed best on cognitive capacity tests. So, to keep your brain young and healthy, make sure to incorporate a fine set of antioxidants on your plate.
Tai Chi
During tai chi, you're focusing on movement and breathing, which will help reduce stress and create a state of calm. After practice you'll get a clearer mind and learn to focus on the present. Tai chi is often linked with the enhancement of creativity as it improves your kinesthetic sense: by enhancing your awareness of the relationship between your thinking and the actual movement of your body.
Occasional Fasting
Fasting can help you become more productive because your body doesn't use up most of its energy to digest food.
When fasting, your body systematically cleanses itself of everything besides vital tissue. As you're getting into a regular detoxification of your body with fasting you will be able to perform better as your energy level rises and creativity increases.
It's important to give your body a break from time-to-time to help the organs, particularly the liver, to cleanse itself. Digesting food is the most energy consuming function in the body, and by fasting you'll redirect that energy away from that process and allow organs to take care of themselves.
Fasting will also test your willpower. Now, this is far from starving yourself. If you go for starvation your body will eventually be forced to use vital tissue to survive which as a result weakens your body. Short-term fasting on the contrary (recommended: a day per week) simply forces you to take charge of your own urges and put your self-control to the test.
Sleep
Not enough sleep (less than 6 hours for adults) will make it very difficult for you to stay focused the next day. Little sleep also decreases your ability to carry out mathematical calculations.
Sleeping is great for solving problems. The more you sleep the better will you perform when awake. When sleeping, you're brain is still active: it's replaying the activities you've been occupied with during the day. The more information you learn before resting the more sleep will you need. Resting gives your brain a chance to process that information.
I am Ready by Giuseppe Bognanni
Continue reading here: 51 Pieces from the Renaissance
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