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7 Ancient Ideas That Will Improve Your Modern Life
Focus
Increase your focus by decreasing distraction and limiting options. The time to master something nowadays is the same it was for Renaissance apprentices (7 to 10 years), but it feels harder because of all the extra distractions we have.
Focus is a function, first and foremost, of limiting the number of options you give yourself for procrastinating.
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Key Ideas
Belongingness
Individuals often seem defined by their need to belong to a certain group: family, school, political party. This can be explained by the fact that it is seldom easier to defend a viewpoint o...
History repeats itself
One useful conclusion that people can draw throughout their life is that, all things considered, it is not easy to find a path that hasn't been walked on before.
Most likely, the ones before you have already tried what you are thinking about, so why not taking into account their reactions to the events when planning on taking up the same path?
Value more learning sources
Once you have decided on a certain path to follow for your professional life, you might also want to consider reading and learning a bit about any subject that can be connected, even in a small degree, to your field. This can be extremely useful and interesting.
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Key Ideas
Measure Output, Not Input
Systems are the best way to progress since they reward effort and we control all the variables. However, we need to have a sense of direction in those efforts, to know what we are trying to...
Use the 80/20 Rule
... to constantly question yourself if your focus, time or money is on the things that generate the majority of the results.
The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle states: 80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the input or action. The little things are the ones that account for the majority of the results.
Reserve Mornings for Deep Work
Our working memory, alertness, and concentration gradually improve a couple of hours after waking up, peaking at about mid-morning - our brain’s natural peak productivity period.
Take advantage of this state, by scheduling your most important work for this period. Focus on performing Deep Work, meaning you get to work free of distraction for a long period of time.
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Key Ideas
How Memories are Formed
- Create a memory. Our brain sends signals in a particular pattern associated with the event we're experiencing and creates connections between our neurons, called s...
Effective Ways to Improve Your Memory
- Meditate to improve working memory. Take a pause to empty your mind and to reduce stress.
- Although still debatable, drink coffee to help improve memory consolidation.
- Eat berries for better long-term memory. Berries contain flavanoids, which appear to strengthen connections in the brain.
- Exercise not only to improve memory recall, but also to enhance cognitive abilities.
- Chew gum to make stronger memories. It is proven that it increases activity in the hippocampus. It also increases heart rate which causes more blood to flow in the brain.
- Sleep more to consolidate and easily remember memories.