Exploiting the Brain

Alena Holligan @sketchings sketchings.com

Wife and Mother of 3 young children PHP Teacher at Treehouse PHP Users Group Leader Women Who Code Leader

for Fun and Profit

Your most important tool

Perception

Physical

Learning

Memory

Everyone with a Brain Stand Up

Run in Place“Awake and Alert”

PUNCHES“listen, pay attention, follow through”

Read aloud

enthusiastic

motivational

fascinating

enjoyable

fun

humorous

useful

beneficial

simple

profitable

valuable

easy

talk this beneficial is fascinating

PRIMING

Elderly Priming

Words: Old, Gray, Florida

Significantly longer to walk to the elevator

Done on psychology students

Did the priming influence you? NO

Why? Make things up

We don’t say “I don’t know”

instagram.com/ginalee/

The Brain Makes Things Up

WE DON’T EVEN REALIZE IT!

I’m always right. I remember things wrong.

How do we use this to our advantage?

Two TruthsEveryone is the same Everyone is different

PHYSICALSleep, Food & Exercise

SLEEP

-Leo J. Burke

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one."

Question:How much sleep do you get?

Sleep Experiment

Physical Affects

blood pressure

immune system

body temp

1 night, -30% cognitive ability

5 days, mimics Alzheimer’s

Hallucinations and Paranoia

Factor to Obesity

metabolism

feel hungry

get cravings

longer to feel full

DIDN’T FEEL IMPAIRED

Some people need lessinsomniac gene

Probably NOT You!

Analyze

How much do you need, sleepcycle.com

Wake up at the same time everyday, even weekends - go to bed when you’re tired

Go to bed at the same time everyday - wake up without an alarm

Write down how you feel, multiple times- both physically and emotionally

When are you at your best

morning lark (1/10)

night owl (2/10)

play to your strengths

Sleep hacks

90 minute cycles

Create a routine

Turn off electronics or f.lux

Stop caffeine

Cool and Dark

Room/Bed is Sacred

SOUND

SMELL

Quick Tip

Naps Improve Performance26 min nap = 34% improvement ~ army

Everyone with a Brain Stand Up

Exercise

Why Exercise

improves blood flows

clears waste (in your brain)

improves performance

actually makes brain bigger

Walking

Walking Desks

Walking Meetings

Boeing

Mayo Clinic

Start your daywith Yoga

Quick TipTime Out App

Exercise for 75 minutes to maximize mortality reduction by 20%

Food

-Bill Phillips

"Food is the most widely abused anti-anxiety drug in America, and exercise is the most potent yet underutilized

antidepressant."

Food as Fuel

Brain adores glucose

2% of mass

20% of energy

Your brain needs fat

Balance: carbs, proteins and fats

Supplements

Caffeine and Alcohol are drugs, use carefully

Quick TipChange the way you think about food.

Find a good supplement

Learning

Everyone with a Brain Stand Up

Knowledge

Learned

Integrated with existing knowledge

Remembered over time

Deployed as Behavior

Learned

Use multiple modalities

Attention needs engagement

Elaborate, Meaningful, Context

Stories and Examples

Integrated with Existing Knowledge

Make it yours - do something with it

Teach

Remembered Over Time

Forgetting stuff is a feature not a bug

Take frequent breaks

Follow up

Spaced Repetition - The Mnemosyne Project

Deployed as Behavior

Have the right attitude

Make it a habit - habitica.com

Quick Tips

Make up crazy story

Senses: including Smells and Sounds

Managing Information

Bombarded with Information Overload

new languages

new technologies

new approaches

books

articles

blogs

podcasts

twitter

conferences

email

Continuous Partial Attention

We can’t multi-taskCell phones prove this

Email is like Gamblingvariable reinforcement

Attention is Precious

Selective Ignorance

Information Diet

Pick something you care about

Skim the rest

Use your friends

Prune Aggressively

Turn off InterruptionsTV

Email Facebook Cell Phone

Productivity

Inbox Zero (declare bankruptcy)

Getting Things Done (GTD)

Pomodoro Technique (Agile)

Sounds (focusatwill.com)

Location, Location, Location

Quick Tip

External BrainCapture ideas to generate more ideas.

We Forget. No, you wont remember.

Computers Don’t

Paper Doesn’t Either

Wiki is a great tool for teams

Everyone with a Brain Stand Up

Final Review

Mindfulness

Balance

Quality over Quantity

Engage your Senses

Try new things

Write it down

Location, Location, Location

Don’t forget to breathe

Resources

Books

Predictably Irrational

A Whole New Mind

Your Brain: The Missing Manual

Pragmatic Thinking and Learning

The Secret Code of Success

Getting Things Done

Brain Rules

Mind Hacks

Sway

Nudge

Drive

Websites

brainrules.net

lifehacker.com

43folders.com/izero

MindHacks.com

FocusAtWill.com

ted.com

emotiv.com

OpenBCI.com

There’s an App for that

sleepcycle.com

f.lux

dejal.com/timeout/

habitica.com

coach.me

-Ralph Keeney, Duke University

America’s top killer isn’t cancer or heart disease, nor is it smoking or obesity. It’s our inability to make smart choices and

overcome our own self-destructive behaviors.

Choose One Small Step Today

Alena Holligan@sketchingssketchings.com

Wife and Mother of 3 young children PHP Teacher at Treehouse PHP Users Group LeaderWomen Who Code Leader

https://joind.in/18814