The Best Tools to Boost Brainpower and Keep You Learning!
There is an old English Proverb which states, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise.” While your schedule might not be conducive to waking up with the sun and retiring early, that isn’t really the main point of this saying. It’s about good habits and the results they yield. So, if you’re like me, sometimes you just feel like you need a fresh start, like your old habits aren’t working for you to help you reach your goals. The new year is the perfect time to set a goal, make a plan, and pursue growth. So, in each post in this series, I’ll be sharing some tools to help you achieve all your goals in one of these areas: health, finance, or intellectual growth. This post focuses on growing our minds.
Goal: Grow Your Mind
Wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge come in many forms. Training your brain or gaining more knowledge are worthy goals indeed, and there are many ways to grow your intellect. For example, this year I plan to read five books that fall outside my most-read genres to try and branch out to discover new voices and ideas. However, books aren’t the only tool to expand your mind. Whatever your goal may be, I’ve got you covered!
First Pick for Wisdom Goals: Audible
A few years ago, some friends and I started a book club mostly as an excuse to get together. I’m an avid reader, but not everyone in our group was, and those members opted to listen to audiobooks. This is when I discovered Audible. My husband and I began listening to books together in the car on long trips, and it has truly brought us closer because we can actively share in a hobby we both love. Another member of our book club told me that listening to audiobooks has changed his life. He now loves to read when he really didn’t before. Talk about growth!
You can download the app to your device, choose books with ease, and listen anywhere. My husband and I subscribe to the $7.95 per month plan, but there are lots of options to fit your budget and your appetite for books. Whether you are a committed bibliophile or a reluctant reader, if your goal is to read more, Audible is one of the best apps out there. You can get it here.
Second Pick for Wisdom Goal: TheSkimm
A few years ago, I made a goal to become more informed about the world around me. It had become hard for me to keep up with news. Watching it always put me in a negative headspace. I preferred, therefore, to read my news. But especially after having children, it was hard to find the time to scroll through various sites to see all the stories of the day. And there was just so much! This all changed when a friend of mine told me about TheSkimm.
TheSkimm is a site that delivers news to your inbox every weekday. Each news story is related in a short paragraph-length blurb that is well-researched but readable. And the language makes you feel like you are just getting a rundown of what’s going on from a friend who has come over for coffee. I like that it’s a newsletter I can read in about 5 minutes, but every blurb also has links to other articles from various sources if I want to read more or check facts. So, if you want to be more informed, check it out here.
Helpful Tools for Any Wisdom Goal:
Read More:
- Goodreads (site and app): the largest community of book lovers in one place, its the king of book sites
- Libby by Overdrive (app): if you check out ebooks from your public library, you have to have this app
- Audible (app): in my humble opinion, the best app for audiobooks
- The Modern Ms. Darcy (blog and podcast): the perfect blog for any book lover
Watch Great Films:
- AFI 100 Films (site): a handy checklist to help you view the 100 greatest movies of all time
- Likewise (site and app): select your favorite books, movies, and TV to get a list daily of what you should watch (or read) next
- The Essentials (book by Jeremy Arnold): 52 “essential” films, perfect for watching one each week as a yearly goal
Keep Up with News:
- The Skimm (site): get news in bite-sized morsels in your inbox each weekday
- Flipboard (app): create your profile to get a curated selection of news daily in a pretty magazine-style collection
Improve Your Thinking:
- Mindful (blog): if mindfulness is your goal, many health sites say this is the blog to follow
- Curious (book by Ian Leslie): a look into an often undervalued trait that could be the key to greater knowledge and lifelong learning
Train Your Brain:
- Think like a Freak (book by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt): retraining your brain from the guys who brought you Freakonomics
- Lumosity (app): an original standard for all other brain game apps, lumosity is still considered one of the best
If you have any great resources for growing your mind in any way, please share in the comments!
If you are planning to learn more this year, check out these posts about learning and life:
- Five Books You’ll Love That Teach you Something Too!
- Powerful Life Lessons from the Most Magical Place on Earth
- I learned THIS at 36! Challenge yourself to learn something new!
And if you’d like to read the other two posts in the series, click below:
- Insanely Helpful Tools for Meeting Your Health Goals This Year!
- Useful Tools to Help You Meet your Financial Goals Now!
Thanks for reading, and have a good day!
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