Podcasts: rebooting and building your brain

How often do you restart your laptop? Or update to the latest operating system on your cellular device? The answer to these questions will vary from person to person, but we are prompted by in app messaging and push notifications remind us to update our software. If you don’t shut down your computer regularly, you will also find that it may become sluggish.

What if we adopted similar thinking for keeping our brains up to date and operating optimally? Human brains are arguably the most powerful piece of software on the planet and need to be upgraded from time to time. The speed of the upgrade lies in our own hands and our decisions guide what we expose ourselves to in order to enhance our development…

In writing this blog and thinking digitally (something I do a lot of), I kept coming back to the question of “are we consciously making enough time to upgrade our software, or are we upgrading it only when prompted to?”. This links to how we approach problems and our ability to see/understand all the elements of a system. Read this blog on design thinking, where I unpack this further.

Loads of research has been done around the topic of learning and developing. The model for schooling is shifting, tertiary education demands are changing as we navigate a more connected environment, and online learning is taking off in a big way.   

We are all different – some brains have an affinity to languages, while others process numbers better, and others are more creative. We also use different parts of the brain when we fulfil different tasks, the left and right side of the brain are most powerful when combined. Some studies suggest that listening to classical music at a young age can help your brain develop quicker, and meditating can (does) help slow your thoughts down (giving a clearer framework to the way we make decisions).

So where am I going with this rambling?  Our internal software is key to our development and growth. Let’s give ourselves time amongst everything that is on the go to upgrade the most powerful operating system in the world. Personally, I enjoy the deep end and find massive value in challenging myself to take a leap – don’t exclude yourself from giving something a go because you don’t have the skills dialed down to the “T”, give yourself an opportunity to learn.

Enjoy this week’s podcasts, here’s quick insight for people who may be skeptical about the growth of this medium. Search for a podcast in Google and pay attention to the page that is returned and how the various podcasts are returned at the top of the page.

This week’s podcasts

• The Ever-Evolving World of A.I. with Talla CEO Rob May
• Laurent Ezekiel, chief marketing and growth officer, WPP
• 096 Performance Marketing & Podcasting Media w/ Dan Granger, CEO of Oxford Road
• #19 The Psychology of Advertising with Rory Sutherland

Interesting reads from the week

• Gaming on Twitter is a whole new playing field for marketers
• Website color schemes that are changing the way we design
• How to Craft the Message for Your Minimum Viable Product