According to Instant Offices, when it comes to business, there are many benefits to exercising the brain to become more productive, and cognitive training is easier than you think.

Being More Positive

Cognitive training, or brain exercises, focus on improving the mind’s core abilities, generating better self-control and a more focused mindset.

One of the simplest ways to improve your mindset is to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. It may be easier said than done, but by using negative self-talk, such as ‘I could never do that’ or ‘I’m not good enough to…’ as a trigger to implement positive self-talk, you can begin a cycle of recognising and stopping negativity in its tracks, by counteracting it with something positive.

As Entrepreneur puts it, “your attitude is so much like an inner architect building resilience in your mindset”.

Psychology professor Barbara Frederickson believes that positive thinking, and controlling one’s mindset, is linked to improved problem solving, more energy, building resilience, improving decision making, and spreading positivity.

 The 12 Mindsets of Highly Productive People:

A positive mindset is one example of how exercising cognitive control can favourably impact the outcome of situations and how you feel. Here are some other popular mindsets of highly productive and successful people:

• Self-trust mindset
  • Goal-setting mindset
  • Driven mindset
  • Growth mindset
  • Courageous mindset
  • Focused mindset
  • Learning mindset
  • Grateful mindset
  • Decisive mindset

Many experts attest to the power of mental training as a workout to strengthen the brain. Like using weights to build muscle in your arms, there are exercises aimed at making your brain stronger, impacting your ability to work faster, and smarter.

 Benefits of Formal Brain Training Activities and Programs:

• Greater focus
  • Clarity of thoughts
  • Improved memory
  • Broader awareness
  • Quicker thinking

Some of the most successful people of this generation swear by hobbies that stimulate and train their minds:

Richard Branson plays chess: “It combines the greatest aspects of many different sports — tactics, planning, bravery and risk-taking…”

Warren Buffet plays the ukulele: The Berkshire Hathaway CEO has had a love affair with the musical instrument for decades.

Meryl Streep knits: “For me it was a place to gather my thoughts and understand the contemplative (life) … it’s a sort of clearing out place.”

There are many ways to train your brain to absorb information quicker, improve memory and expand mental capacity.

Activities to Strengthen the Brain:

Starting a new activity is not just challenging, it can help strengthen the brain by improving problem solving, reasoning and creative thinking – all traits that can benefit you in business.

The following activities are great for challenging different parts of the brain simultaneously.

• Ballroom dancing
  • Crossword puzzles
  • Learning a foreign language
  • Playing chess
  • Rubik’s cube-type puzzles
  • Sudoku
  • Knitting, drawing, painting
  • Exercise
  • Maths problem solving
  • Reading
  • Thinking visually when trying to remember
  • Cooking