Generally speaking, everyone wants to be as “effective” as they possibly can in life.
“Effective” will mean different things to different people, in different contexts, of course. But there will always tend to be certain commonalities and overlap regardless of whether you are looking for ways to be the best possible leader, or are rather focusing on something like being a more centered and composed individual.
Here are just a few general pastimes that you can try to work into your everyday life, that might help to make you significantly more effective at just about whatever it is you might be doing.
Work on puzzles and play problem-solving games
Becoming more effective doesn’t mean that you have to become extremely serious and austere all the time. In fact, entering into the challenges of everyday life with a healthy spirit of play can frequently lead to great breakthroughs and results that wouldn’t have been possible if you had instead been too headstrong and uptight.
Research indicates that simply having fun on a regular basis can significantly boost productivity in a general sense, while also enhancing well-being and – when those pastimes were enjoyed in collaboration with other people in particular – simultaneously improving social bonding.
Of course, games and pastimes that engage your mind and involve an element of problem-solving are likely to have certain particular benefits in and of themselves.
You could play straightforward anagram-solving games with your friends, using an unscramble words tool in order to reveal missed opportunities after each round. Or, you could construct puzzles, play board games, or do any number of other similar things.
In any case, you will likely become shrewder, more attentive, and will experience a greater sense of well-being at the same time, if you play some problem-solving games.
Read fiction
One thing about ambitious people – for example, the kind of people who are likely to be interested in becoming more effective in general – is that they can fall into the trap of becoming too pragmatically minded, to the detriment of many of the less strictly tangible aspects of personal development.
One area where this frequently manifests is in the form of a disregard for novels and fiction in general, in favor of reading practical guides and articles at every occasion.
Reading fiction, however, might actually be one of the best things you can do to become more effective in general.
Research has found that reading fiction promotes growth throughout the brain, while also helping to develop empathy and social intuition.
So, consider reading a few pages of a good novel before bed.
Regularly spend time enjoying silence and stillness in nature
Regular time spent in nature is remarkably effective at promoting good overall health, developing a sense of well-being, and reducing chronic stress.
More than that, though, getting out into a forest or park on a regular basis for a long stroll can serve as an ideal opportunity for “unplugging” from the ever-present digital world and 24-hour information cycle.
These moments of stillness can help to give you a great degree of insight, while simultaneously freeing you from having a myopic view of a particular situation – with the end result being that you can better perceive the bigger picture, while also maintaining a healthier overall perspective.
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