#staying sharp

The Lazy Dev’s Guide to Staying Sharp And Avoiding Procrastination

Staying sharp and being productive are two common complaints for everyone, but more so for the lazy developer. Most have day jobs, get home tired, and still need to make dinner, clean up a bit, and make time for the family before finally curling up on the couch to just… exist! It’s natural to think “I’ll work on that level later, right now I just want to binge watch Netflix.” But see, the problem…

Learn Something New Every Day

“The lifelong practice of learning is what makes us humans and our lives worthwhile.”

Learning across a wide range of subjects gives us a range of perspectives to call on in our own narrow day-to-day areas of specialization.

Learning helps us more easily and readily adapt to new situations.

A broad knowledge of unfamiliar situations feeds innovationby inspiring us to think creatively and…

Hey Anon!

Those of us who have spent time out of school have all felt this fear. Sometimes, I thought I could hear my brain shrinking it was so bad. 

Staying in one's mental prime isn't just for med school hopefuls; it's important for everyone! Here are some things that have worked for me and things my friends and classmates like:

read for pleasure. A book, magazine, anything. On that subject...

learn new skills and/or hobbies

maintain/practice old skills and/or hobbies

take breaks when necessary

SLEEP. Sleep deprivation has been demonstrated over and over to reduce memory, amongst other things!

exercise. Healthy body, healthy mind!

Eat right. I'll never condemn treats every once in a while (coming from the girl whose pre-test ritual is fried chicken) but doing one's best to eat for health is never wrong.

Try new things! Like learning new skills, it helps to create new neural bridges and works out your cognition.

Games! I have a family member who has to do a crossword every weekend because she swears that it keeps her sharp. I've heard people say games like mahjongg, bridge, crosswords, sudoku and yes even video games help them keep the mind sharp!

Find the learning and knowledge in everything. Just doing that may already make your mind sharper! 

Awesome question! 

md-a