Slansai.

Oct
13th

Mon

We are deluding ourselves if we think that the products that we design are the “things” that we sell, rather than the individual, social and cultural experience that they engender, and the value and impact that they have.

— Bill Buxton

Oct
12th

Sun

Tick-Tock by Danny Gregory:

My grandfather died last winter at 98 so I’m not even half his age yet. Maybe I’m only approaching the midpoint of my life, or maybe I’ll have massive heart attack and keel over at my desk this afternoon. There’s no telling.
Regardless, I know each day and hour are precious. But it’s hard to keep the relentless tsunami of stuff, or responsibilities, of things I want to do, from swiftly wiping each day off the board before I can even wipe the sleep out of my eyes. Life moves quickly and the further along the road I get, the faster the pages fly off the calendar.
Knowing this, trying to hold it on my mind, can help me to prioritize. But it’s still tough to keep the world at bay and to decided how to spend my time well. Often I lie in bed and think, damn, when am I going to get to read all those books I want to read or spend more time drawing with Jack or more time cooking dinner with Patti. When am I going to get to live in Micronesia or the South of France or in that little house in the meadow? When will I get to spend two hours a day at the gym or four hours a day doing oil paintings or six hours a day reading Proust? When will I learn Italian? Learn to drive a motorcycle? Defend my heavyweight boxing title?
I’m not filled with regret because I somehow feel I will get to do these things. I’m just not sure how or when. Perhaps my appetite is just larger than my calendar. Fortunately I am often insomniac so I get to spend 3 to 4 a.m. thinking about stuff I didn’t fit in during the day (most of it actually just anxious nonsense).
Anyway, this consideration of my gallon of ambition and my pint glass of life set me on the way to a new project. It’s something I’ve mulled over for a while and finally out into action. It’s an effort to really think about the things I wished I could have fit into a day and then an attempt to fit one of them into the next day.
I call it ‘Me Time’.

7 Steps to Making a Mind Map

Start in the CENTRE of a blank page turned sideways.Starting in the centre gives your Brain freedom to spread out in all directions and to express itself more freely and naturally.
Use an IMAGE or PICTURE for your central idea. An image is worth a thousand words and helps you use your Imagination. A central image is more interesting, keeps you focussed, helps you concentrate, and gives your Brain more of a buzz!
Use COLOURS throughout. Colours are as exciting to your Brain as are images. Colour adds extra vibrancy and life to your Mind Map, adds tremendous energy to your Creative Thinking, and is fun!
CONNECT your MAIN BRANCHES to the central image and connect your second- and third-level branches to the first and second levels, etc. Your Brain works by association. It likes to link two (or three, or four) things together. If you connect the branches, you will understand and remember a lot more easily.
Make your branches CURVED rather than straight-lined. Having nothing but straight lines is boring to your Brain.
Use ONE KEY WORD PER LINE. Single key words give your Mind Map more power and flexibility.
Use IMAGES throughout. Each image, like the central image, is also worth a thousand words. So if you have only 10 images in your Mind Map, it’s already the equal of 10,000 words of notes!

buzanworld.com

Drawing is not the same thing as sketching. Sketching is not the putting pen to paper, but the activity and the mindset that you bring to it.

— Bill Buxton

Oct
11th

Sat

Everybody has time. Stop fucking watching Lost.

— Gary Vaynerchuk (via trystero) (via jamiew) (via soupsoup) (via unicornology)

unicornology:

i agree whole heartedly with all of these.

lavenderlines:

amandoline:

verydefinitely:

burningarcades:

the codes I should live by. You too.

unicornology:

(via ronniebruce)

unicornology:

amandoline:

(via amandasthoughts)

unicornology:

srsly:

blaise:

randyhaddock:

beckypierson:

davereed:urza358: 12 and ½ Writing Rules | PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement

(via unicornology)

Oct
10th

Fri

The Brain Rules

1. EXERCISE: Exercise boosts brain power.
2. SURVIVAL: The human brain evolved, too.
3. WIRING: Every brain is wired differently.
4. ATTENTION: We don’t pay attention to boring things.
5. SHORT-TERM MEMORY: Repeat to remember.
6. LONG-TERM MEMORY: Remember to repeat.
7. SLEEP: Sleep well, think well.
8. STRESS: Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.
9. SENSORY INTEGRATION: Stimulate more of the senses.
10. VISION: Vision trumps all other senses.
11. GENDER: Male and female brains are different.
12. EXPLORATION: We are powerful and natural explorers.

John Medina’s 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. (via bauldoff via swissmiss)

Oct
8th

Wed

Slow down. The more you understand, the less you have to memorize. Don’t just read. Stop and think.

Use a pencil. There’s plenty of evidence that physical activity while learning can increase the learning.

Make this the last thing you read before bed. Or at least the last challenging thing.

Drink water. Lots of it.Your brain works best in a nice bath of fluid.

Talk about it. Out loud. Speaking activates a different part of the brain.

Listen to your brain. If you find yourself starting to skim the surface or forget what you just read, it’s time for a break.

Feel something. Groaning over a bad joke is still better than feeling nothing at all.

Get a lot of practice! There’s only one way to learn: do it.

The Head First Formula

Slow down. The more you understand, the less you have to memorize.
Don’t just read. Stop and think.
Use a pencil.
There’s plenty of evidence that physical activity while learning can increase the learning.
Make this the last thing you read before bed.
Or at least the last challenging thing.
Drink water. Lots of it.
Your brain works best in a nice bath of fluid.
Talk about it. Out loud.
Speaking activates a different part of the brain.
Listen to your brain.
If you find yourself starting to skim the surface or forget what you just read, it’s time for a break.
Feel something.
Groaning over a bad joke is still better than feeling nothing at all.
Get a lot of practice!
There’s only one way to learn: do it.

The Head First Formula

Remember, the brain wants to conserve bandwidth for the really important things… snakes, spiders, the fact that fire is hot, that socially you need to do a little better so that you have a hope in hell of sleeping with… that sort of thing.

— Kathy Sierra, Getting past the brain’s crap filter