With just a few simple habits, you can boost your intelligence and cognitive abilities. These eight practices can help you achieve greater mental acuity and improve your overall brain function. Incorporating these habits into your daily routine can lead to long-term benefits for your brain health and cognitive performance. Start implementing these habits today and watch your intelligence soar!

As we get busier, we may find it difficult to find time to sit down and really learn something new or broaden our horizons. Never mind reading the latest studies, somehow even finishing a light fiction book can be something that continues to be postponed due to the burden of increasingly dense responsibilities, or the distraction of smartphones and social media which are more tempting.

However, a recent thread on Quora shows that becoming smarter can be done in a way that doesn't actually take up much time between our activities. This topic invited answers from many people, including entrepreneurs , technology entrepreneurs, and meditation experts.

Here are 8 ideas gathered from that thread :

1. Read a lot

Well , duh ... Everyone agrees that the more you read, the broader your insight will be. There are many opinions about what reading habits you should adopt, from reading newspapers every day (either print or online ) to reading fiction and non-fiction books. Reading doesn't have to be finished in one sitting (except short articles), the important thing is to take the time to read.

2. Use online time wisely

Passing time by surfing the internet doesn't have to be spent opening social media or watching cute animal videos, you know, babes ! As we know, the internet is an endless source of knowledge. Whether it's reading blogs, taking online courses , or watching inspiring TED talk videos, you can make your time online more useful.

3. Write down what you just learned

Taking a few minutes every day to write about something you've just learned can make the knowledge stick in your brain more easily and for longer than just reading about it. Especially if you write it by hand on paper, because the motor nerves will work and you will be more focused on what you are writing compared to writing it with a computer keyboard or touchscreen . Writing by hand for 7 minutes per day is an exercise to keep your brain sharp.

4. Explain what you learn to other people

Albert Einstein once said: "If you can't explain something simply, it means you don't really understand it." Apart from writing, one way to understand something more quickly is to try to explain it to other people. Nowadays, getting new information is very easy, but what is more important is how you can retain that information and share it with other people.

5. Make a “done list”

If you usually write a list or bucket list of things you want to achieve, now try making a list of the things you have actually succeeded in achieving. The idea of ​​making a " done list " is recommended by several well-known motivators, whose aim is to build self-confidence and happiness by looking back at what achievements you have achieved, because these two things are an important part of intelligence.

6. Play games that sharpen the brain

Don't just play mobile games that are trending, try playing games that are not only for recreation but also train your brain. Chess, sudoku, puzzles , scrabble are some examples. Nowadays, there are actually lots of brain sharpening games that you can download to your smartphone .

7. Make friends with smart people

Instead of making you feel inferior, you should be grateful if you are surrounded by smart people around you because according to a study, the 5 closest people in your life have a big influence on your attitudes, habits and intelligence. Having smart friends means you will be more motivated to keep up with their conversations and will be encouraged to continue expanding your knowledge.

8. Try new things

One Quora user told the story of how when Steve Jobs was young, he studied calligraphy. After dropping out of school, the Apple founder had a lot of free time and decided to fill it by taking a calligraphy course. Even though it sounds random , the design skills he gained in the course are said to have had a big influence on the creation of the first Macintosh computer. The point of this story is that you will not know what knowledge will be useful later. Just try new things that you want to do, no matter how random , because no knowledge is useless.