 LEADERSHIP

11 Habits that Will

Make You Smarter
Kenna Griffin — June 29, 2018

 13
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Interesting Not Interesting

Education is powerful. It’s also ongoing.

To be a truly educated person, you must devote

your life to learning, not just certain times of your
life or even particular times of the year.

It may seem silly for college students to think about

intentional learning habits. After all, you’re learning
nearly every day in a classroom. But classroom
learning is just one type of education. Also, believe
it or not, it won’t go on forever. You will graduate
sooner or later, which is why you should develop
self-education habits now.

The most intelligent people have daily rituals that

help them grow in their understanding of the world
around them.

Here are 11 habits you can add

to your regular routine to help
you learn every day.

TeroVesalainen / Pixabay

1. Question everything. Don’t assume anything.

Definitely don’t just blindly accept what you hear or
what you read on social media. Keep your eyes and
you mind open. Have a childlike curiosity that keeps
you questioning everything. Follow your questions
until you have answers and your curiosity is
satisfied.

2. Read every day. Reading is one of the best ways

to broaden your understanding and gain
knowledge. Warren Buffett says he spends 80
percent of his working day reading and thinking. If
Buffett can take time to read every day, so can you.
It doesn’t matter as much what you read, as long as
you read. Not sure how to fit reading into your daily
schedule? This post on making time to read every
day will help.

3. Find your passion. Confession: I’m obsessed with

serial killers. Ok, I’m actually just really interesting
in how the mind (including mental illness) works
and what makes people do the things they do.
Because of this, I’ve become an avid reader of true
crime and learn everything I can about psychology. I
also love learning about leadership and
productivity. Yes, crime, leadership and productivity
are my favorite topics. I know it’s
✉strange,
 but our
✉  
minds our diverse.

Regardless of whether it makes sense to anyone

else, find a topic or topics that interest you and take
in all of the related information you can. You’ll enjoy
the learning because you’re interested in the ideas.

4. Hang out with people who are smarter than you.

I love being the smartest person in the room. I also
love being the dumbest person in the room. You
automatically learn when you surround yourself by
people who are smarter than you, even if it’s in a
niche area. Ask questions. Be genuinely interested
in the answers. You will learn.

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5. Make time to think. My Ph.D. chair always told

me “You have to slow down and give yourself time to
think.” This is difficult to do, especially when you’re a
doer by nature like I am. However, enlightenment
doesn’t come from doing and doing. It shows itself
when you take time to pause and reflect on what
you know and what you still don’t understand.

6. Set goals. Smart people know what’s really

important to them and they spend their time every
day working toward their goals. Set goals for
yourself, then make them your priority.

7. Be productive. Being busy and being productive

are two different things. Focus your days on
completing tasks that further your goals and you’ll
feel accomplished at the end of the day.

8. Generate new ideas. Always be thinking about

new ideas or new ways of doing things. Jot down
ideas when they come to you. Push yourself to be
creative and think differently. Review your ideas
regularly and implement those that make sense.

9. Minimize TV time. I am not a huge television

viewer, but my husband is, so I understand the
desire to just veg out in front of the television or
Netflix during your downtime. Consider spending at
least part of this time reading, attending a webinar
or learning how to do something new. If TV is really
your thing, watch a documentary instead of the
regular fluff.

10. Crash your comfort zone. Do something each

day that isn’t something you would typically do.
Whether it’s as simple as trying a new food or as
radical as skydiving, do something every day that
scares or challenges you. It’s not just a cliche, life
and learning happen outside of your comfort zone.

11. Exercise your body and your brain. Exercise

actually improves memory and brain functioning.
Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Don’t
forget also to exercise your brain, even when you
aren’t moving your body. Consider downloading a
daily word app or working puzzles.

There are little things you can do every day outside

of the classroom to make learning a life-long
endeavor. Develop these habits now and they’ll
serve you well for the rest of your life.

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Author:
Kenna Griffin
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More by this author:

7 Guilt-Free Ways to Say ‘No’
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Comment?

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This article originally appeared on Prof KRG and has been republished
with permission.
Find out how to syndicate your content with B2C.

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