As kids, the world is our classroom. First we learn some basics like how to sit Indian style, how to hold a crayon, how to cross the street, and how to share. Not to mention learning thousands and thousands of words. We get older and learn about Romeo and Juliet, World War II, and photosynthesis. Every year, we can look back on ourselves the year before and be amazed at how much we’ve learned. In college, things get a lot more specialized, but we’re still continuing to learn all that we can.

And then, we just stop.

42% of all college graduates never read another book again. Ever. But continuous learning is vital to making the most of what the world has to offer. You could say that it’s what separates us from the animals. And there is evidence to suggest that it plays a role in staving off mental diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Here are some ways to make sure you don’t break the habit of learning that most people abandon after graduation.

Travel

Surveys show that a fifth of Americans can’t find the U.S. on a world map. And I’ve heard some Americans say they don’t know where Canada is (hint: up). If people have such a horrible knowledge of geography, I have to think that they probably haven’t traveled much.

Go visit a foreign country, where you’ll be forced to learn a new culture. It’s bound to be a shock to find that not everyone does things the way you’re used to, and a culture shock means a learning experience. Even domestic travel can provide new opportunities, as you get used to a new way of life in a different part of the country.

Take up a new hobby

Simply beginning a new hobby can open you up to a brand new world waiting to be discovered. Skiing, golf, painting…the possibilities are endless. You’ll learn the intricacies of a new craft and meet new people. And these people might be very different from you, giving you more opportunities to learn new things.

Read books

You probably have a library very close to home that’s paid for with your tax dollars. If you just go there and read one book, you’ll be ahead of 42% of all college graduates. If you prefer to read the latest books and have a little money, there’s no shortage of bookstores, not to mention Amazon. Reading is a cheap form of entertainment with practically no risk of injury, and it boosts your brain power a lot more than watching TV.

Read the newspaper

While I’m not a fan of being inundated with the excessively negative news that everyone seems to think is so important, you might consider some other parts of the newspaper (in print or online). Beyond the stories about who was murdered last night or how the economy is destroying your standard of living, there’s this often overlooked part called the Arts section. Here you can read insightful articles on a wide variety of topics that you might not know much about. Best of all, you can read it without feeling depressed.

Read blogs

Obviously, you already do this. There are countless people out there sharing their knowledge on a huge range of niches, and anyone can find plenty of blogs that interest them. Because you can leave comments, blogging offers a level of interaction that can’t be matched by books.

Final thoughts

After you finish school, you’ll never again have someone giving you homework. And while you probably spent many years looking forward to that, it’s important to realize that learning is a big part of what makes life interesting. When your learning is self-directed, it can be a lot more fun than school was. You were given a large brain for a reason. Use it.

Source : http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/never-stop-learning/

“Reading sweeps the cobwebs away.” What does this means? “Reading enhances thinking. It stretches and strains our mental muscles. It hits our narrow, delicate, intolerant views with new ideas and strong facts. It stimulates growing up instead of growing old. It scratches those itches down deep inside. It takes us through virgin territory we would not otherwise discover.

There are three classifications of reader:-

• The Simple reader is an ordinary book consumer who read to make use of his spare time. Without any definite purpose, more often than not he does not read a book the second time.
• The Gentle reader, who wants to grow and who turns to books as a means of purifying his tastes depends his feelings, broadening his sympathies and enhancing his joy in life. He reads not from a constraint of fashion of learning, but from a thirst of pleasure. Such enjoyment re-establish the heart and quickens it, makes it stronger to endure the ills of life and more fertile in all good fruits of courage, love and cheerfulness.
• The Intelligent reader is the particular type of reader whose aim in reading is to obtain better acquaintance with facts. His greatest desire is to learn about things and he treasures books because of the accuracy of information they contain.

To become a good reader, here are some pointers:-

• When reading avoid unnecessary distractions. Some people we know have trained themselves to read in noisy surroundings. Most persons, however, find it easier to read in a disturbing sights and sounds.
• Have a clear objective for your reading. Why do you read? And why do you read that kind of book? When you turn the printed page, you should have a clear purpose for reading in mind. Just saying the word’s silently while your mind is elsewhere, or when you have no goal for your reading, is a waste of time.
•  Get into the habit of reading widely. You can improve your reading ability only by reading abundantly. Get into the habit of reading a great deal. You may start with light materials – with a popular magazine, a daily newspaper, or a book of easy short stories.

Find time to discover the richness of reading. Reading can make you rich in mind and soul. Try reading, you’ll enjoy it!

Environment

Your personal work environment plays a large role in your ability to concentrate. The more comfortable and welcoming your environment is, the easier it will likely be for you to stay there and focus.

Here are some ideas for improving your physical environment:

• Make sure you’re comfortable – Start by ensuring that your chair and desk are at the right height for you to work comfortably. If your chair is too high or your desk is too low, you’ll be uncomfortable, and you’ll be tempted to use this as an excuse to get up and walk away.
• Put up pictures – Viewing a natural scene or watching wildlife can help improve concentration. If you’re able to put up pictures in your office or work area, then choose landscapes or natural images that you enjoy. This can help your focus, especially if you can see the pictures from your desk.
• Shut out distractions as much as possible – Listening to music can help, especially if it’s instrumental music. Some people even use noise machines in their offices – these produce a steady “white noise,” like ocean waves or falling rain. This steady background noise can drown out other noise, helping you focus better and ignore distractions.

Nutrition

Follow some simple nutritional tips:

• Drink water – Many of us don’t think about drinking water while we’re at work, yet dehydration can make us feel tired, irritable, slow, or even sick. When our brains don’t have enough fluid, they can’t operate at peak performance. Staying hydrated is an easy way to help improve your concentration during the day.Eat breakfast – Start your day with a healthy breakfast. It’s much harder to concentrate when you’re hungry, so eat a well-rounded meal before you go to work. You can also help your concentration throughout the day by keeping healthy snacks at your desk. Almonds, whole-grain crackers, fresh fruit, and vegetables are good choices.
• Get up and move around – Do you walk around during the day? If you’re like many people, you probably don’t move around enough. Research has shown that regular walking can help increase your focus during the day.

Mindset

Constant distractions, and the low productivity that’s associated with these distractions, have become so commonplace in today’s offices that doctors have even given it a name: Attention Deficit Trait, or ADT. And, they say that entire organizations can suffer from it.

Follow some of these guidelines to help focus your mind:

• Set aside time to deal with worries – Many of us have trouble concentrating during the day because we’re constantly worrying about other things. It could be an approaching deadline for a project you haven’t started, a new colleague who’s causing problems, or just the amount of work on your desk. If you find yourself distracted by worries, then note these down so that you don’t need to hold them in your mind. Then schedule time to deal with these issues.
• Focus on one task at a time – It can be much harder to focus if you take minibreaks (15–30 seconds) to answer emails, send text messages, or take quick phone calls. Some researchers believe that it can take up to 15 minutes for us to regain complete focus after a distraction.
•  Close your email box and chat program – Let your voice mail do its job. If your office allows it, close your office door or put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign to let colleagues know you need to focus. (If you’re a manager and you want to operate an open door policy, then consider working from home or from elsewhere.)
• Switch between high- and low-attention tasks – This can give your brain a rest after heavy concentration. For instance, if you spend two hours working on your department’s budget, you’ll probably feel tired afterward. You can recharge your energy by working on a low-attention task, like filing, for 15 minutes before going back to your budget.
• Prioritize – Having too much to do can be distracting, and this sometime causes procrastination. Or, you may quickly jump from task to task, creating the illusion of work – but in reality, you’re not accomplishing very much. If you’re not sure which tasks to start or which are most important, take 10 or 15 minutes to prioritize your to-do list.

More tips for improving your concentration

• Take short breaks – We can be masters at focusing, but eventually we’re going to need a break. Our minds can struggle to focus intensely on tasks for eight hours a day. This is where it can be better to divide your work into one-hour segments, with a 5–10 minute break between tasks. This short break will allow your mind to rest before focusing again.
• Do your hardest tasks when you’re most alert – This will help you maximize your concentration.
• Use a phone headset – If you have a headset for your phone, consider using it for a few hours each day. If your colleagues think you’re on the phone, they’re less likely to interrupt you.
• Promise yourself a reward – For instance, make a rule that if you focus intensively for 45 minutes on one task, you can take a break to get a cup of coffee when you’re done. Little “self-rewards” can often be great motivators.
• Schedule email downloads – It can be tremendously distracting to have emails pinging into your inbox every few minutes – you’re tempted to stop what you’re doing, and answer them right away. If you can, schedule your email to download only a few times each day, and deal with all of your emails in one go.

Source: www.mindtools.com

Abstract

Carlisle in northwest England suffered its worse floods for more than 180 years in 2005. A study, reported here, was undertaken to assess the health and social impacts of these floods via in-depth, taped individual and focus-group interviews with people whose homes had been flooded and with agency workers who helped them. Respondents spoke of physical health ailments, psychological stress, water health-and-safety issues related to the floods, and disputes with insurance and construction companies, which they felt had caused and exacerbated psychological health problems. Support workers also suffered from psychological stress. Furthermore, it was found that people had low expectations of a flood and were not prepared. The findings are presented in five sections covering flood risk awareness, water contamination issues, physical health, mental health, and impact on frontline support workers. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for policy and practice vis-à-vis psychological health provision, contamination issues, training and support for frontline support workers, matters relating to restoration, and preparation for flooding.

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Left-right conflict:

Why is it so difficult? Because the right half of your brain
is trying to say the color, while the left side of your brain
is trying to say the word.