Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Thinking Smarter

1. Make a Done List 6

2. Change Your Memories 10

3. Be Kinder, Be Happier 16

4. Reward Upfront 18

5. Make a Better Impression 20

6. Exercise More to Make Your Brain Run Better 22

7. Let Your Body Do the Talking 24

8. Be More Musical 26

9. Don’t Get Labelled 28

Part 2 Getting Started

10. See Things Differently 36

11. Watch Cat Videos 40

12. Don’t Be Biased 42

13. Practice With Purpose 46

14. Stop Moaning 50

15. Don’t Get Stressed 56

16. Make Fewer Decisions 60

17. Count the Days, Minutes and Hours 64

18. Look on the Bright Side 66

Part 3 Problem Solving

19. Take a Break 70

20. Just Start 72

21. Take Away the Context 74

22. Keep Asking Why 78

23. Sleep Well 82

24. Be More Sarcastic 86

25. Take Notes 90

26. Notice Your Mistakes 94

27. Write by Hand 98

Part 4 Idea Generation

28. Map It Out 102

29. Run a Brain Marathon 104

30. Do Something Different 108

31. Don’t Try to Have Good Ideas 114

32. Think Like a Child 116

33. Don’t Finish 120

34. Take Part in Name Calling 122

35. Stay Focused 128

36. Work Messy 132

Part 5 Breaking Through and Innovating

37. Enjoy Being Blocked 136

38. Think Like Goldilocks 140

39. Take a Walk, Have a Shower 145

40. Switch Off 150

41. Think When You’re Tired 154

42. Just Say It 158

43. Give It the Overnight Test 160

44. Plan a Pre-Mortem 164

45. Make a Story of It 168

References 174

Image credits 177

About the Author 178

Acknowledgements 179

About the Author

Neil Pavitt has over 25 years' experience as an award winning Creative Director and Writer in advertising and television working for companies like Saatchi & Saatchi and Sky. He is the founder of Lightbulb Consultancy, who specialise in demystifying the creative process for clients such as  Lloyds Bank, AstraZeneca and Goldman Sachs.

Reviews

"The self-help genre of performance-enhancing books is an increasingly crowded space. Heavyweight academic-style titles compete with flimsy motivational books that stretch thin ideas well beyond the space they deserve. Neil Pavitt s book Brainhack bridges this divide. It s relatively thin and tight editing means it moves along at a cracking pace with tons of good ideas on how to improve your cognitive abilities." (The Irish Times, March 2016) "A fun, engaging read that you'll love telling your friends and family about" (Woman's Way, March 2016) "Easy to read and highly informative, there's plenty of food for thought here" (PQ Magazine, May 2016)