Monday, February 18, 2008

To Do

2:54PM Sarah Stokely | Can To Do lists really change the world? Well if they can we’re off to a great start with the publication of the 14 Great Engineering Challenges of the 21st Century. A panel of engineers, futurists and technologists, including Google co-founder Larry Page, made the list which aims to promote environmental sustainability, health, reducing our vulnerability and adding to the joy of living. The list includes fusion energy and reverse engineering the human brain! More »

Be more productive in the afternoon

2:32PM Sarah Stokely | Keep your to-do list simple and specific, and most importantly – get it out of the way. Those are a few “keep it simple, stupid” inspired tips from the How to Split an Atom blog today. The tip I liked was: “Use your energy well. Whatever time of the day that you feel the most productive, that’s when you should schedule your most annoying tasks. If you really don’t want to write that mail script and you’re a night person, put it off until 2 AM when you work best. On the flip side, save your less intensive tasks for the mid-afternoon when your energy is waning. Most of our procrastination comes from trying to get frustrating tasks done when we don’t have the energy to do them. The result is often that we don’t do anything.” Basically it’s about being honest with yourself. If you know you think best and are most productive in the morning, do the important brain work then, and don’t put it off. Later in the day if you tend to have a mid or late afternoon brain slump, use that time for less-demanding work, like chores or admin. Kicking yourself for not being able to do the thinking work at that point of the day is not productive. Being honest with yourself about when you do your best work, and when you need a break, will help you stay positive and keep procrastination at bay. 5 Steps to Becoming More Productive this Afternoon [How to split an atom] More »

Reprogram your sweet tooth

1:17PM Sarah Stokely | We may be genetically predisposed to crave sweets, but there are things you can do to tame the sweet tooth in kids and adults, according to an article by the SMH’s health writer Paula Goodyear. She interviewed neuroscientist Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis from the Garvan Institute for Medical Research, who says that eating a wide variety of food with different flavours makes a penchant for sweet flavours less likely. “Expose yourself to a wide variety of good, minimally processed foods – and don’t eat too much of any one food,” is her advice. She also warns that if you’re trying to cut out sweet foods, or lose weight through a low-kilojoule diet, you’ll need to ensure that sweet cravings don’t defeat you. Sometimes reduced food intake can trigger brain chemicals such as neuropeptide Y, orexins and melanin-concentrating hormone that make us more likely to want sweet things. Her solution is not to fast, but to eat a proper meal. “… if you’re hungry and have a sweet craving, the best strategy is to satisfy the hunger first by eating a real meal with vegetables – lean meat or fish and complex carbs, for instance - then have the creme caramel afterwards. This will help prevent you from snacking on more and more sweet things.” So how do you tame to calling of the sweet tooth? I find miminising the amount of sweets in the house helps – and portion control too. Open tubs of ice cream in the freezer is asking for trouble! Share tips in comments. Reprogram your sweet tooth [SMH] More »

NetAlert not so alert

1:13PM Sarah Stokely | Last year the former Howard government tried to help us protect ourselves and our kiddies from internet nasties by investing in a $190 million dollar “NetAlert” program. The government-sponsored porn-blocking internet filter made headlines when it was cracked by a schoolboy within a couple of weeks of being released. NetAlert is coming under the scrutiny of a Senate Estimates committee tomorrow, and some pretty interesting figures have been released by the (new) government, and were quoted in the SMH today. The SMH reports that only 144,088 filter products were downloaded or ordered on CD-ROM since it was released in August: “The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy has estimated about 29,000 of these accessed filter products were still being used – less than 2 per cent of the set target.” Ouch. More »

Use Cognitive Science to improve your PowerPoint Presentations

1:07PM Sarah Stokely | Here are some tips from cognitive science for improving the impact of your Powerpoint presentations. Harvard cognitive scientist Stephen M. Kosslyn has applied his research on how our brains process images into some tips for making presentations more memorable. The hokily-named Goldilocks Rule, the Rudolph Rule, the Rule of Four, and the Birds of a Feather Rule are explained in detail on the IO9 blog post, so hop over there for the full rundown. They are basically tips on how to minimise the amount of data you show to get the point across, and how to use the brain’s capacity for noticing changes and difference to be able to call attention to the important things in your presentation. How Cognitive Science Can Improve your PowerPoint Presentations [IO9] More »