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Ten Ways to Defeat Brain Drain

Those of us who are busy all the time can experience burnout, exhaustion, and fatigue from spending long periods of time in focused concentration. I call this syndrome “Brain Drain.” I used to call it “SAT head” because many students report that after taking the SAT tests, they feel an odd mental exhaustion caused by too much focused thinking. Brain drain, if gone unchecked, can result in depression, stress, and even anger if you push after the drain has set in. So even though you need to keep your project going nonstop, you would be much more productive if at the first sign of brain drain, you took a break and did something about it.

Here are some of the signs you might be suffering from brain drain.

1. Mental exhaustion.
2. Irritation or drowsiness when thinking about what you have to do.
3. Putting off certain tasks because they are “too hard to think about.”
4. Snipping at others who are not moving fast enough.
5. Feeling as if the harder you work, the farther behind you get.
6. Feeling depressed, stressed out, or as if you can’t keep up mentally with your task list.

Here are 10 ways you can beat brain drain.

1. Meditate By meditate, I mean sitting and closing your eyes for 20 minutes or so. Sit still and simply observe the thoughts that come into your mind. Don’t try to solve any problems. Just watch and let go.
2. Take A Walk A brisk walk outdoors—especially in a park or someplace you are not familiar with will take your mind off your main task so it can relax. Pay attention to the scenes as you travel. Stop and smell the roses, as the cliche goes. Take a minute to see the beauty of panoramas.
3. Listen to classical music Sitting still with relaxing Mozart or Bach playing through headphones can transcend the brain drain. It will relax you while coaxing your mind to think about other things. (Editor: Here are some freeclassical music downloads.)
4. Read something entertaining There is nothing like a chapter of your favorite book to take your mind off the causes of your brain drain. Reading is an interactive action, so you keep your mind active, while relaxing at the same time. Tip: Use reading for 10-20 minutes as a reward for 30 minutes of focused work. Use an egg timer to keep track.
5. Reboot your brain with a caffeine nap. University studies show that drinking a cup of coffee and then immediately taking a 10-15 minute catnap gives you an energy boost. This is called a caffeine nap. I’ve found it works equally well for brain drain. (Just make sure you have something to do when you wake up, because you are going to be ready to rock and roll.)
6. Go to a movie. If you can fit in a two hour movie, at the theater, it is worth the time and money just so you can get away mentally and physically. Sitting in front of the big screen is a great way to take your mind off everything.
7. Listen to motivational CDs This is a tip I picked up from Steve Pavlina. When he’s tired from intense thinking, he pops in a motivational CD. Although it might seem like this would be more work, it isn’t. By listening, you can relax, and become almost passive, as the ideas and strategies gradually break the drain.
8. Play a sport Studies show that people who do a competitive sport such as tennis, basketball, golf, martial arts, or football are happier overall. To compete in the sport may make you tired physically, but will wake you up mentally. When you wake up mentally, brain drain stops being as big a problem.
9. Break down your project into bite-sized chunks Rome wasn’t built in a day. Maybe you are trying to move your mountain in a day too. Take a half hour or an hour to take a close look at your projects. Are you trying to write a novel in one day, when it would be more practical to shoot for three pages of a novel a day? You might be in brain drain because you simply don’t have sensible objectives.
10. Play a game Halo 3 players rejoice! Playing a game that gets you away from your draining thoughts is an excellent way to get past the sluggishness. You might prefer crossword puzzles or sudokus if you don’t like video games. Either way, playing a game lets you know life doesn’t always have to be so serious and focused. Make time for play too!

Remember, the good news is brain drain means you are using your brain at maximum capacity. The bad news is you are not giving your brain needed periods of rest. Rest is important for creative thinking and problem solving. Thus a series of short breaks between your work is necessary for you to work at a high level. So in planning your next intense project, be sure to scatter in several scheduled periods where you can take a break and give your brain some time to incubate.

 

Books to read till 30-Oct-2010

1) Head First C#: Second Edition

2) The Practical English by Michael Swan.

3) Megaliving by Robin Sharma

Start to give online test for .Net

10 Brainstorming Techniques that Help Stimulate Your Individual Creativity

Brainstorming is a valuable method for rediscovering your creativity. Some days, you are drowning in an ocean of ideas. Others, you are looking at the desert and hoping for an oasis. You are creative, your brain just needs a bit of priming. Here are ten methods for brainstorming to get the idea river gushing.

1. Free Writing

Stream of consciousness writing is one of the most unpredictable forms of writing. You do not know where your brain will lead you, but you can be assured that it will be interesting. There is no special preparation for this method. Open a new Notepad window or pick up a sheet of paper and start writing.

2. Wordplay

Start writing poetry about your favorite topic. Use words that rhyme. Write the song that is going through your head. Pick your favorite prefix or suffix and start listing all of the words within which that fragment resides. Attempt to be as silly as possible.

3. What If?

Most novels are written on the premise of ‘what if?’ What if there were no water on our planet? What if there were too much water on the planet? What would happen if our feet were digitigrade instead of plantigrade? Ask some what if questions and see where the answers take you.

4. Mind Map

Mind mapping is an exciting method of generating ideas because you are building on the idea of ‘and then?’ You are mapping out those tangents that your mind takes. Take a concept or idea and write it in the center of your page. Write concepts and ideas around that idea until something interests you. When you exhaust the options for one of the topic, elaborate on one of the subtopics.

5. Analogy

Take two unrelated topics and attempt to connect them. Start with the question ‘How is _____ like a ______?’ and see what happens. Your brain is geared toward answering questions, so you will immediately start finding answers. Write down your list and see where it leads.

6. Role Playing

How would someone else handle the situation that you are in? What would someone else have for dinner? This exercise is all about looking at the alternative perspective to a problem. How would the person that you dislike the most care for their pets?

7. Escapism

Start with a common problem or situation that everybody has. Write a list of surreal solutions. There can be no reasonable or completely feasible answers on this list. Once you have your list, search for items which can be altered to become viable.

8. Outlining

This brainstorming technique is perfect for analytical people. This is like the mind map method. You are using writing instead of drawing to convey your ideas. Start with a broad subject and break it into subtopics. The outline method is very useful for writing non fiction.

9. 77 Storms

When you are brainstorming, aim for a specific number and do not stop until you have reached the number. Do not judge the ideas, merely fill the page. This will give you ideas and directions.

10. Questions

Look at the items which surround you and ask questions. What is the history of this object? Why is the mantlepiece made of faux wood? These questions are intended to be childlike because it will spur on your brain. Search for answers to your questions after ten minutes.

Using these creativity techniques will help you to get your ideas once again flowing like a river. Brainstorming will add that extra push to your writing and take you in exciting directions.

I’m back

I was lost last three months .
I don’t know What I did in last three months.
Is that only work. no other activity…..

Use a Daily Log to Keep Yourself Focused on Productivity

Keep a Log of Everything Useful You’ve Accomplished
You might be tempted to simply use your to-do list’s completed items view to track what you’ve accomplished, but you’d be fooling yourself—between co-workers bugging us, unexpected problems arising, and just plain old procrastination, the difference between what we check off our daily to-do list and what we actually do can be huge. A lot of the things you accomplish may never make it to your to-do list.

This is where the daily log can help you understand what you’ve actually done for the day in comparison to what you had planned for the day. It’s not difficult—simply keep a log of everything that you’ve accomplished for the day, preferably adding notes quickly as you go along. Made it through a boring meeting without sleeping? Log it. Finally sent in that that TPS report, cover sheet included? Log it.

You might be surprised at the outcome, especially when you give in to procrastination—your to-do list might be telling you to start that big, important project, but your daily log will detail how you cleaned everything in your house instead of tackling it.

My June 2010 Wordle

Wordle