Creator gives five tips on whiteboardfrom @olivia.unplugged

Transcript

We are the most informed generation in history, yet somehow the dumbest. Here are five things I've been doing to fix that. Number one is I actually have real hobbies, and I split them into three different types. A lot of people commented on that hobby video talking about how they don't have time and they don't have money. Any more excuses? No? Okay. Moving on. I have a free hobby, what I call a coffee money hobby, and an investment hobby. My free hobby is reading. My friend and I lead a book club where we typically read nonfiction books. I'm also always reading a fiction book. That book typically comes with me on the better, and it's the one that I read before I go to bed. What I call my coffee money hobby is really just be making a small sacrifice within my monthly budget, and that funds my coffee money hobby, which is crocheting. And thirdly, an investment hobby. That is actually something where I have to invest in it. I am going to buy a DJ set. I'm gonna buy it secondhand, and that is my fall hobby. When you practice a skill, you are strengthening your brain's wiring. Having hobbies increases neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to form new connections, and improves long term memory and problem solving. And say it with me, scrolling is not a hobby. Number two, I research everything. For example, I went and saw Tron last night. Tonight, I am doing a deep dive on the sound engineers. The soundtrack was incredible. I wanna understand how many people did it actually take to be able to create this experience. Curiosity is a skill. Use it to your benefit. It strengthens your neuroplasticity, which keeps your brain young. And I know you're not thinking about that right now because you're young, but we all are gonna age. Number three is a fun one. Learn a new language. But you don't have to live in a different country to learn a new language. Learning a new language activates multiple different regions within your brain. It improves your memory, and it protects against cognitive decline. Yes, it is so humbling. Number four, I have hacked my life to slow down a little bit. We live in a world that rewards urgency. So I've built boundaries in my life that actually forced me to slow down. One of those boundaries means no phone in the first and last hours of my day. You have seen my tier to thrive time block on Opal, and this is what allows me to do things in the morning before work and after work. I do things that bring me joy in little doses, and what that does is it completely resets my baseline, and I actually start feeling pleasure in the simple things instead of always urgently searching for dopamine. And number five, not a brain thing, but a physical thing. I go for 10 k steps a day, and I do not skip breakfast. Exercise increases blood flow to the brain and best something called the BDNF, brain derived neurotrophic factor, which is like miracle good for your neurons. I also start every single day with a high protein breakfast. It stabilizes your cortisol and your blood sugar levels, and it gives your brain exactly what it needs to really, truly think clearly. Your morning coffee does not count as breakfast. Your brain deserves better than that. These are the things that actually make me better. Not the endless podcasts and self help loops, but the things that help make me feel alive. Being smart is not about cramming your brain with more information. We already have too much of that. It's about doing the things that you already know that make you better.