A simple way to boost your brain power

Getting off social media for one-week improves mood and self-esteem

A study discovered that women aged 18-29 who took a one-week break from social media experienced a significant boost in self-esteem and body image. While this might not be surprising, this study is the first of its kind to investigate the impact of a short social media break on body image. If you are struggling with low mood or self-confidence, a short break from the socials might be just what the doctor ordered.

Is ChatGPT really more creative than humans?

Will AI replace humans when it comes to creative thinking? Perhaps not yet…A recent study found that while AI (specifically ChatGPT-4) excelled at generating diverse ideas, human judges still perceived human responses as more creative overall. I personally love using ChatGPT or Claude to help augment my thinking and problem solving - with the right prompts, I have found it to be a great sparring partner.

Want to boost your brain power? Read a fiction book

New research shows that reading fiction, even in small doses, can boost your brainpower in meaningful ways. The study found that diving into a good book can improve your verbal skills, increase empathy, and help you see the world through other people's eyes. And while short-term fiction reading can prime your social cognitive skills, long-term engagement is linked to better verbal and overall cognitive abilities. This highlights the unique role fiction plays in sharpening our minds.

So, next time you pick up a novel, know that it's not just an escape—it's a workout for your brain too.

My favourite keyboard shortcut

Thanks to great tips from people like Rahul Vohra, I often try to invest time in learning the keyboard shortcuts for the software I use most frequently to boost my efficiency. However, one of my pet peeves has been the absence of a shortcut for switching between tabs in a browser window (Brave is my browser of choice).

I recently learnt that “Cmd + Option + Right/Left Arrow” does the trick on a Mac. And if you are in a Windows machine, Claude tells me that this should do the job:

• Ctrl + Tab: Switch to the next tab to the right

• Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Switch to the previous tab to the left

Create beautiful black and white sketches

I am loving ChatGPT’s Sketchy GPT - it allows you to create beautiful black and white drawings in seconds. Very useful for creating unique images for presentations, reports, the socials, and newsletters like this one.

(Prompt: Create a sketch for my newsletter. It is called One Percent Better and is all about self-optimisation. Make it fun and surprising.)

As always, leave a comment below to let me know which tips you are enjoying the most!