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8

25 daily habits that will make you smarterJENNA GOUDREAU MAY 8, 2015, 08.05 PM

Wanttoexpandyourmind?Alittlebitofefforteverydaygoesalongway.

IntheQuorathread,"Whatwouldyoudotobealittlesmartereverysingleday?"(http://www.quora.com/Whatwouldyoudotobealittlesmartereverysingleday),readerssharedthehabitstheyfollowtofueltheirbrains.

Herearesomesimpleactionsthatcouldhelpyoubecomeasmarterperson.

1.Comeupwith10ideaseveryday.Thinkabouthowtoreducepoverty,howtosolveadailyproblemyouhave,interestingmovieideas,oranything.Itdoesn'tmatterwhatsubjectyourideasfallinto,aslongasyou'reworkingyourbrainandyourideamuscles.Yourlistmightevenleadtoanewstartupideaorwritingsubject.ClaudiaAzulaAltucher(http://qr.ae/AZHxN)

2.Readthenewspaper.Itwillhelpyoubecomemoreawareoftheimportantthingshappeningaroundtheword.You'lllearntoformyourownopinionsandconnectthedotsbetweenseeminglyunrelatedthings.You'llalsohavealotmoretotalkaboutatpartiesorwithfriends.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

3.Playdevil'sadvocate.Takesomethingyourecentlylearnedandgenerateauniqueopiniononitthatwouldn'timmediatelycometomind.Trytosupportitwithevidence,andbeopentotheideathatnewevidencewillchangeyouropinion.Repeatthiseveryday,andyou'llbecomemuchbetteratthinkingoutsidethebox.

Ifyou'refeelingstuck,tryreadingandcriticallyevaluatingtheeditorialsectionofpapers.Theywillhelpyouunderstandhowotherpeopleformargumentsandexpresstheiropinions.PeterDePaulo(http://qr.ae/AcwvQ)

4.Readachapterinafictionornonfictionbook.

DenisCharlet/GettyImages(https://www.flickr.com/photos/paszczak000/3311707373)

Exercise your brain.

Aimtoreadabookaweek.Youcanalwaysfindpocketsoftimetoread,whetheronyourdailycommuteorwhileyou'rewaitinginline.Goodreadsisagreatwaytokeeptrackofeverythingyoureadandtoalsofindacommunityofotherreaders.

Fictionbooksaregreatforunderstandingcharactersandgettingabsorbedintoanotherperspective,whilenonfictionbooksaregreatforintroducingyoutonewtopics,frompoliticstopsychology.ClaudiaAzulaAltucher(http://qr.ae/AZHxN)

Flickr/KamilPorembinski(https://www.flickr.com/photos/paszczak000/3311707373)

5.InsteadofwatchingTV,watcheducationalvideos.Sometimes,it'smorefuntowatchthingsaboutasubjectyoulovethantoreadaboutit,andyoucanlearnalotfromotherpeople'sexperiences.

Youcanfindfun,educationalvideosonKhanAcademyorwatchTEDtalks.YoucanalsofindgoodonesonYoutube'schannelSmarterEveryDay.(https://www.youtube.com/user/destinws2)Invideos,theinformationisoftenpresentedinadigestible,memorableway,soyoucanbeassuredthey'llstick.HendrikSleeckx(http://qr.ae/AcHM3)

6.Subscribetofeedsofinterestinginformation.

USEDITION(http://www.businessinsider.com?IR=C)

FollowinterestingvoicesonFacebookandTwitter,soyou'llalwayslearnsomethingnewwhenyoulookatyournewsfeedordashboard.Forexample,ifyouwanttokeepupwiththelatestnewsinscienceandtechnology,subscribetothe"IFuckingLoveScience"(https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FIFeakingLoveScience&ei=H2zFU4D2MsqsQTij4KoCg&usg=AFQjCNFPGYCs8ItfHmSqpx5H1nRHexajA&bvm=bv.70810081,d.cWc)pageonFacebook.Youcanalsofollowemailnewsletters,suchasCalNewport'sStudyHacks(http://calnewport.com/blog/)andTodayIFoundOut.(http://www.todayifoundout.com/)SaurabhShah(http://qr.ae/Ac22U)

7.Checkinwithyourfavoriteknowledgesources.Everyday,scrollthroughQuora,StackOverflow,specialtyblogs,oranyothersourcesthatsatiateyourhungerforknowledge.Thisisanextremelyeasyhabit,becauseotherusersarecuratingthecontentforyou,soallyouhavetodoisfollowtheoneswhowriteabouttopicsinterestingtoyou.TryusingPockettosavearticlesforlaterreading,andthentrytogetthroughthembeforegoingtosleepatnight.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

8.Sharewhatyoulearnwithotherpeople.Ifyoufindsomeonetodebateandanalyzeideaswith,youcanaddtoeachother'sknowledgeandgainnewperspectives.Also,whenyoucanexplainideastosomeoneelse,itmeansyou'vedefinitelymasteredtheconcept.Youcanevensharewhatyoulearnwithoutdirectlytalkingtosomeone.Manypeopleliketostartblogssotheycanengageothersinonlinedialogue.MikeXie(http://qr.ae/AcKwX)

Shutterstock

9.Maketwo"ToDo"lists:oneofworkrelatedskillsyouwanttolearnnow,andanotherofthingsyouwanttoachieveinthefuture.GoogleDocsisaconvenientwaytokeeptrackofyourlists.Forboth,decidewhatyouwanttolearn,compilesourcesthatwillteachyoutheseskills,andthenworkonthemeachday.

Forexample,ifyouworkinacomputersciencerelatedfield,yourfirstlistmightsuggestyoulearnsomethingnewinPythononedayorthatyoutryusingMongoDBanotherday.

Foryoursecondlist,youcanthinkaboutlongtermgoals,suchaswhetheryouwanttogointomarketingorarchitecture.Writedownthesmallstepsyouneedtotaketoreachthatgoal,whetherit'sbyreadingtheexpertsinthosefieldsortakingclassesatalocalcollege.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

10.Writean"IDid"list.Attheendofeachday,writedownwhatyoucompleted.Thiswillhelpyoufeelbetteraboutallthethingsyouaccomplished,especiallyifyou'refeelingdiscouraged.Itwillalsohelpyoureflectonhowproductiveyouwereandhowyoucanrestructureyourtodolistsforthenextday.ClaudiaAzulaAltucher(http://qr.ae/AZHxN)

11.Starta"StopDoing"list.

Toclearoutthementalclutter,takenoteofthemindlesswaysyouspendyourtime.Breakoldhabits,andmaketimefornew,betterones.AsWarrenBuffettsays(http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/07/jimcollinsstopdoinglist/),"Thedifferencebetweensuccessfulpeopleandverysuccessfulpeopleisthatverysuccessfulsay'no'toalmosteverything."ShaneParrish(http://www.quora.com/Whatwouldyoudotogrowalittleintelligentandknowledgeableeverysingleday/answer/ShaneParrish2?srid=iXqa&share=1)

12.Writedownwhatyoulearn.YoucanstartablogoruseanapplikeInkpadtohelpyoukeeptrackofeverythingyoulearn.Notonlywillthisbeagreatwaytokeeparecordofeverythingyou'redoing,butit'salsoagoodsourceofmotivationtokeepyouaccountable.Youwillwanttolearnmoreifyouknowthatattheendofthedayyou'llhavetowriteaboutit.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

13.Stimulateyourmind.Goingonadailyrunisagreatwaytogetyourbrainflowingandtokeepyourmentalhealthinshape.It'salsoagreatwaytothinkthroughdifficultdecisionsorprocessnewinformation.RickBruno(http://qr.ae/AcF2Z)

Flickr/DevBootcamp(https://www.flickr.com/photos/devbootcamp/16028016238)

14.Takeonlinecourses.

Checkoutthislistofthemostpopularonlinecoursesforprofessionals(http://www.businessinsider.com/freeonlinecoursesforprofessionals20147).Makesureyoudon'toverloadyourselfcommittoonetotwoandtrulyfocusonthem.Thesyllabuswillalsokeepyouontrack,soyouknowyouwillbedoingsomethingeveryday,whetherit'slisteningtoalectureorworkingonanassignment.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

15.Talktosomeoneyoufindinteresting.Evenifthey'restrangers,don'tbeafraidtoapproachthem.Askabouttheirinterestsandhowtheydiscoveredthem.Oftentimes,youlearnthemostfrompeopleyoubarelyknow.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

16.Hangoutwithpeoplewhoaresmarterthanyou.Spendasmuchtimeasyoucanwithsmartpeople.Everyday,youshouldstrivetohaveacoffeedateorwalkwithsomeonewhoinspiresyou.

Alwaysbehumbleandwillingtolearn.Askasmanyquestionsaspossible.Ifyouarealwaysaroundpeoplewhoaremoreknowledgeablethanyou,you'llhavenochoicebuttolearnmore.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

17.Followyourquestions.Ifyouseeorhearaboutsomethingcool,don'tjustletthemomentpass.Followuppursueyourcuriosityandfindtheanswertoyourquestion.MikeXie(http://qr.ae/AcKwX)

18.Useawordofthedayapp.Youwillincreaseyourvocabulary,whichcanhelpyouincompetitivetestsliketheSATorGRE,orevenjustsoundmoreeloquentindailyinteractions.

Youcanalsotrytolearnnewvocabularyinadifferentlanguage.Everyday,trytoaddfiveto10morewordstotheforeignlanguageyouaretryingtopursue.YoucanuseLiveMocha,Basuu,orDuoLingo.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

19.Dosomethingscary."Gettingoutofourcomfortzonealwaysmakesuswiser."Everyday,pushyourselfalittlefurther.TrypublicspeakingbyjoiningaToastMastersclass,leadameetingbyvolunteeringaproposalatwork,orreachouttosomeoneyoureallyadmirebysendingaquickletteroremail.ClaudiaAzulaAltucher(http://qr.ae/AZHxN)

20.Explorenewareas.Ifyoucan'ttraveleveryday,atleasttrytofindsomethingnewwithinyourhometown.You'llmeetdifferentpeople,learnnewfacts,andunderstandsomethingnewabouttheworld.It'salotmoreproductivethanstayingathomeandwatchingTV.ManasJSaloi(http://qr.ae/AZN9U)

SionTouhig/Getty

21.Play"smart"games.Somegames,likechessandScrabble,expandyourmind.Challengeyourselfwhenyouplaythem.Forexample,playScrabblewithoutadictionary.YoucanalsosolvepuzzlesviagameslikeSudoku,2048,andDoors.SaurabhShah(http://qr.ae/Ac22U)

22.Setasidesometimetodonothing.Oftentimes,sittinginsilencecanhelpyougetinspirationandreflectonyourday.ClaudiaAzulaAltucher(http://qr.ae/AZHxN)

23.Adoptaproductivehobby.Ifyouhavesomethingyoucanworkoneveryday,fromknittingtoflyfishing,youcanactivelylearnmorejustfromdoing.Forinstance,youmaytrytoplayanewpieceofmusiceveryday,readaphysicstextbook,writeafewmorepagesinyournovel,orlearnanewcomputerskill.MayankRajput(http://qr.ae/Acod1)

24.Applywhatyoulearn.

(/15GreatCareersWithUnconventionalHours/articleshow/21417789.cms)15GreatCareersWithUnconventionalHours(/15GreatCareersWithUnconventionalHours/articleshow/21417789.cms)

(/The10BestCareersRightNowForRecentCollegeGraduates/articleshow/24209890.cms)The10BestCareersRightNowForRecentCollegeG...(/The10BestCareersRightNowForRecentCollegeGraduates/articleshow/24209890.cms)

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jobs/articleshow/47205123.cms)

Ifyourecentlylearnedanewcodingskillorhowtoplayaninstrument,makesureyouareusingthatskillinyourlifeasoftenaspossible.Learningbydoingisoneofthemosteffectivewaystobecomesmarter.HimanshuPal(http://qr.ae/AcAMk)

25.Exercise,andeatahealthydiet.Optforbrainfoods(http://www.businessinsider.com/foodandproductivity20143)tofuelyourthinking,andavoidalcoholandheavymealsthatwillmakeyousluggish.Whenyourenergydips,takeawalk."Themorebloodflowingintoyourbrain,thebetteryourperformance.GreatthinkerslikeMahatmaGandhiandCharlesDarwinwerefamousfortheirlongwalks."JannePiiroinen(http://qr.ae/0xUCS)

ThisisanupdateofanarticleoriginallywrittenbyMaggieZhang.

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