Ordinary and altered states of consciousness

• Seed your mind garden with quality content. The format may impact how close you are to the source. The depth of the content you consume is not a measure of quality.
• When consuming content, grow branches on your knowledge tree by taking notes. It will help you remember better.
• To tend to your garden, you need to plant new ideas. Do this by replanting stems and cuttings from existing ideas you’ve added to your garden - by consistently taking notes, and combining them together, a bit like grafting.

It argues that you remember information better when you create your own version of it.

You can take short notes, long notes, it doesn’t matter as much as writing your thoughts in your own words.

Our brain’s executive system is active during any goal-oriented task, where there is a level of focus required.

During a period of passivity, the large scale brain networks become the default mode networks and work in tandem. This is our period of rest, where the entire brain is in a relaxed but highly active state.

This period is when we let our brain generate spontaneous thoughts while not being focused on anything.

Our brain is oscillating between two different brain states: Focused thinking and Diffused thinking. This is the reason people have shower thoughts or sudden solutions to problems that are bothering them for long.

These two modes of thinking allow us to merge creativity with productivity.

In chemistry, activation energy is the energy that must be supplied to result in a chemical reaction. The more energy you need, the harder it is to start the chemical reaction. A way to apply the activation energy principle is to reduce the amount of energy you need to do the action.

Ensure you have enough energy in the first place by feeling well-rested. Then break down the task into smaller chunks that need less activation energy. Once you have started, you'll often find yourself motivated enough to keep going.

Catalysis makes it easier for a reaction to start. To motivate yourself for a task, add a personal catalyst.

• Energetic linking. Try to link the task with an existing activity which requires low levels of activation energy. For example, to get yourself to listen to a podcast, play an episode while you shower.
• Energize your environment. If you are trying to study, go to the library for a quiet environment.
• Energy incentives. An accountability partner is a great way to create an incentive.