Newsweek's 31 Ways to Get Smarter in 2012

Welcome back! It's now a new year and while some people might be quaking in their boots over the ridiculous notion that we're all going to die or the Rapture is upon us, the rest of us who prefer to use our brains are always looking for ways to keep them intact and in use. Here is a link to the little mini-article I just finished reading by The Daily Beast/Newsweek. I don't agree with all of them, but here are a few that I've found have definitely helped me in keeping my mind agile and loose and, perhaps, a little more malleable over the years.

1.) Play Words With Friends

Word games are always a good way to keep the brain moving...so is Sudoku.

3.) Take Tae Kwon Do

Or any physical activity in general, really. It's all good for you.

4.) Get News From Al Jazeera

...if only to get another perspective from a non-US biased source.

5.) Toss Your Smartphone 

Particularly the part about going offline from time to time, which I do frequently with Facebook. I find myself more mentally productive during these internet absences.

7.) Download the TED App

TED talks are some of the most interesting things to have shown up on the internet in the last decade. Do yourself a favor and spend a day checking out random talks on damn near everything.

8.) Go to a Literary Festival

Books are your friends.

10.) Learn a Language

"New languages work out the pre-frontal cortex, which affects decision making and emotions."

16.) Eat Yogurt

Besides being tasty, studies in mice have shown that they handle anxiety better and show increased activity in parts of the brain that handle memories and emotions after having yogurt.

18.) See a Shakespeare Play

This is a very "duh" kind of idea. 

20.) Hydrate

Surprisingly, I drink more water than booze, but after cutting out most sodas and sugary crap, I simply feel cleaner while sticking to water.

22.) Visit MOMA

Art museums...I'm biased as I love them, but go out and get some culture. The point isn't to like everything, but rather to simply experience it and ponder it.

23.) Play an Instrument

Boosts IQ and and helps in aiding memory retention and coordination.

26.) Zone Out

This is huge. As a writer, I often find myself doing this. It's when some of my most interesting ideas come to me and they're typically the right ones to play with. Letting the subconscious take over for awhile allows the brain to solve the problems that you couldn't. 

27.) Drink Coffee

Besides being a diuretic, consumption of coffee can bolster short-term memory. 

29.) Become an Expert

"Master one task you really enjoy and your brain will perform more efficiently when you do it. Chess whizzes, for example, recognize patterns more quickly than amateurs. Expertise is not innate - practice, as the old saying goes, does make perfect."

30.) Write Reviews Online

Deconstructing something you liked or hated most definitely forces to you examine the why of the emotion. This is critical thinking at its best, even if you're not the most eloquent of writers. 

31.) Get Out of Town

Eliminating outside stimuli like crowded streets can help focus the brain back to the important things rather than processing all of the excess nonsense and can reduce brain overload. 

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