Our brain is like muscles. The more you use and exercise it, the stronger it becomes. But, if you want to get maximum results, you should do more than just practice. What you need is deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is the kind of practice that stretches the boundaries of your capabilities. While in normal practice you just do the same activity again and again, in deliberate practice you push yourself to the limit. It’s not easy, but deliberate practice makes the difference between an expert and everyone else.
The principle of deliberate practice can be applied in whatever field you want to excel in, but here I will focus on mind development. Below are 8 ways to challenge and exercise your mind. Choose some of them you haven’t done and take your mind to the next level:
1. Read challenging articles
You can measure the difficulty level of an article by using Google Docs. Here is how to do it:
Create a new document
Paste the content of the article to the new document
Open the Tools -Word Count menu item. It will show you three metrics: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kindcaid Grade Level, and Automated Readability Index. The higher it is, the more difficult the article is.
Of course, it’s not necessary to measure the difficulty level of every article you read. Simply take some samples from a blog or web site and you will have good idea
2. Read challenging books
Classic books are good candidates since they are usually more difficult to read than new books. You could start with my list of classic books. You can also read the Pulitzer-winning books.
3. Read academic journals
One form of challenging reading we often overlook is academic journals. There are a lot of free journal articles you can read from Open science Directory. Some of the journal articles in Google Scholar are also free. Go there, pick a topic of your interest and read a journal article.
4. Play mind games
Choose a free mind game to play and you can have fun while exercising your mind. I started playing Sudoku last week and it was more difficult than I expected. But over time my mind got used to it and I can now solve the puzzles faster.
5. Aim to produce certain number of ideas everyday
The ideas can be in whatever fields you are working on. In my case, I try to write certain number of words everyday. Q10 - which I first learned from Dale - is an excellent tool you can use if you are a writer. One of its features is global target with which you can set the target number of words you want to write.
6. Brainstorm using thinking tools
There are many thinking tools you can use. The book Thinkertoys has many of them in one book and the web site Exploratree has a collection of tools you can use.
7. Do ultradian sprint
Doing ultradian sprint is a good way to train your focus and concentration. One trait of a well-trained brain is the ability to concentrate for long time and ultradian sprint can help you increase your ability to concentrate.
8. Set a project
Is there a project that has been in the back of your mind for some time? Perhaps you postpone it because you think it’s too difficult. Well, that’s a good candidate for deliberate practice. Often we are afraid of failure, but a mantra to quick progress is to make mistakes and make them quick. This way you will have a short feedback loop that will help you adjust your performance faster.
As I wrote in the beginning of this article, a key of deliberate practice is to push your current limit of ability. These challenges will stretch your boundary when you first do them, but after some time, you will get comfortable with it and it will no longer be deliberate practice. Here are some things you can do to keep making them deliberate practice:
1. For reading, try reading something in an unfamiliar field or read more challenging materials in the same field.
2. For playing mind games, increase the level of difficulty or try a new game you are not familiar with.
3. For producing certain number of ideas everyday, increase the target number or the quality of the ideas.
4. For doing ultradian sprint, increase the duration of the session.
5. For thinking challenge, try more difficult challenges.
6. For setting project, increase the scope of the project or do similar projects with stricter deadline.
Do you have tips or thoughts on mind exercise? I would love to hear them.
相关单词：capabilities
capabilities解释：n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力
capabilities例句：
He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自
相关单词：applied
applied解释：adj.应用的；v.应用，适用
applied例句：
She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
相关单词：automated
automated解释：a.自动化的
automated例句：
The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。
相关单词：brainstorm
brainstorm解释：vi.动脑筋，出主意，想办法，献计，献策
brainstorm例句：
The women meet twice a month to brainstorm and set business goals for each other.她们每个月聚会两次，在一起出谋献策，为各自制定生意目标。
We can brainstorm a list of the most influential individuals in the company.我们可以集体讨论，列出该公司中最有影响的人员的名单。
相关单词：sprint
sprint解释：n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过
sprint例句：
He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。
相关单词：postpone
postpone解释：v.延期，推迟
postpone例句：
I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。
相关单词：unfamiliar
unfamiliar解释：adj.陌生的，不熟悉的
unfamiliar例句：
I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。
