fbpx

Most Note-Taking is a Waste of Time. Here’s What Works.

Braincat, Learning, Thinking, Writing

You’re a student sitting in class, a consultant in front of a client, an executive in a meeting, an employee at a 3-day seminar… And you take notes. But why? Because you always took notes? Because everyone else does? Because you believe note-taking will help you remember? Here’s an even better question. What are you […]

more

Super-Study: Accelerate Your Learning with These Three Steps

Learning

As human beings, we’re born to learn… and learn… and never stop. Learning is joy to the brain, an endless source of dopamine, the neurochemical of pleasure. So how did we come up with an education system that so often kills the appetite to learn, despite the heroic efforts of dedicated teachers? According to JW […]

more

Backfill: The Lifesaver Every Writer Needs

Writing

You’ve a piece to write and a deadline to meet. But are you ready to start writing? Really? Do you have ALL the research finished? Are your notes in order? Is your outline perfect? Be honest now. Shouldn’t you do a just a teeny bit more preparation first? That’s how the mind messes with writers! […]

more

Thinking in Many Dimensions

Thinking

Your brain is not a computer. Human thinking is multidimensional. It includes reason, emotions, images, memories… the list is endless. To save ourselves effort, we often tend to shrink this dimensional aspect. It’s way easier to maintain our thinking along a single track. People get confused about “intelligence”.  Someone who can recall large volumes of […]

more

First Write, Then Create the Outline

Writing

The value of a good outline is obvious to most writers, and for many of us it’s the best place to start a new piece. Today, there are some great outlining tools to help you create a well-structured, clean-looking outline that’s easy to edit. Why are outlines so widely used by writers? There are clear […]

more

The Editing Toolkit: Polish Your Writing with These Six “Reader’s Questions”

Writing

As every writer knows, writing is just half the job. The other half is editing. I like to think of my first draft as clay I’ve thrown onto the potter’s wheel. (Not that I have the faintest ceramic skills, but as a writer I’m allowed to imagine!). Now I’ve created that raw, wet stuff, I’m […]

more

Hate Writing? Learn to Love It with These Four Hacks

Writing

It’s no mystery why so many people hate writing. Someone (usually a teacher) made them feel stupid because of something they’d written. This is a horrible thing to do to a child — or an adult. Confidence in all of us is fragile and it can be broken way too easily. Writing in particular can […]

more

The Power of Emergent Thinking

Thinking

Once I was moving house and I bought a stack of cardboard boxes from the moving company to help. They were printed with large bold labels like “Kitchen” “Clothes” “Toys” “Books” etc. Sounds like a helpful idea? Not for me! Of course, some of my belongings fit under these labels, but many did not. I […]

more

There Is No Such Thing as “The Brain”

Brain Science

I’m an avid subscriber to Dr. Ginger Campbell’s wonderful Brian Science Podcast. I have my Flipboard set to capture brain news. When time allows, I rummage around Google Scholar for obscure neuroscience studies. In sum, I’m one of a swelling population of brain science junkies. So it’s a bit troubling to notice a weird proposition […]

more

Thinking in Many Dimensions

Thinking

Your brain is not a computer. Human thinking is multidimensional. It includes reason, emotions, images, memories… the list is endless. To save ourselves effort, we often tend to shrink this dimensional aspect. It’s way easier to maintain our thinking along a single track. People get confused about “intelligence”.  Someone who can recall and handle large […]

more
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. More Information