What’s a fun way to be more creative and more productive?
ke more breaks. Via the NYT: A growing body of evidence shows that taking regular breaks from mental tasks improves productivity and creativity — and that skipping breaks can lead to stress and exhaustion. And: Management should encourage employees to devise individually effective break routines, Dr. Levine says. But he also has some general guidelines: try working in intense 15-minute bursts, punctuated by breaks, in cycles that are repeated throughout the day. This works because “the thought process is not…
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How To Give A World Class Presentation: 10 Tips Backed By Research
actice in front of a large audience if possible. Rhetorical questions make your arguments more persuasive. Use a lot of imagery. You can create an instant feeling of familiarity with an audience by using the word "we." There are a number of tips for being making a good first impression, being more persuasive and being more charismatic. Stand up straight to feel powerful and confident. We like people who are prideful. Guys, don't be modest. Trying to seem smart makes…
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5 Easy Tricks For Beating Procrastination, Backed By Research
ke more specific plans. Just setting a date and a time when you're going to do something makes you more likely to follow through. Or just write down the steps necessary to do the work. Use short, painless dashes of effort. Just have at it for five minutes and feel free to watch the clock. Chances are you'll realize it's not so bad. Forgive yourself when you do procrastinate. It will help you get productive. Hey, even procrastination researchers have…
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A Quick Way To Boost Your Confidence, According To Research
ok at your resume. Reviewing your credentials can remind you how talented you are and induce a "reverse stereotype threat" that boosts confidence. Via Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To: I immediately think about my research credentials, a trick I developed after discovering that getting people to think about aspects of themselves that are conducive to success can actually be enough to propel them to a top performance and prevent…
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Is curiosity the key to creativity?
esearch evidence suggests a strong link between inquisitiveness and creative productivity." Via Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries: Research evidence suggests a strong link between inquisitiveness and creative productivity. In an extensive six-year study about the way creative executives in business think, for example, Professors Jeffrey Dyer of Brigham Young University and Hal Gregersen of INSEAD, surveyed over three thousand executives and interviewed five hundred people who had either started innovative companies or invented new products. They…
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Can you turn stress into excitement?
ny studies have shown we easily confuse our feelings: Ariely thinks it might have something to do with "misattribution of emotions": "Sometimes we have an emotion and we don't know where it's coming from, so we kind of stick it on something that seems sensible." The rush from a Red Bull and a roller coaster can make us believe we're in love with the person next to us. We can even fall in love with someone trying to kill us…
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Does networking make you more creative?
..businesspeople with entropic networks full of weak ties were three times more innovative than people with small networks of close friends..." Via Imagine: How Creativity Works: Ruef then analyzed each of these entrepreneurs using an elaborate metric of innovation. He measured the number of patents they’d applied for and kept track of all their trademarks. He rated the originality of their products and gave them bonus points if they’d “entered an unexploited niche” or pioneered a new marketing method. He…
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Here’s The Secret To Persistence, According To Research
en challenged, focus on "getting better" -- not doing well or looking good. Get-better goals increase motivation, make tasks more interesting and replenish energy. This effect even carries over to subsequent tasks. Via Nine Things Successful People Do Differently: Get-better goals, on the other hand, are practically bulletproof. When we think about what we are doing in terms of learning and mastering, accepting that we may make some mistakes along the way, we stay motivated despite the setbacks that might…
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