Clearing the Mind - Fresh Air and Natural Light, advises James Clear

James Clear is an entrepreneur who advises on productivity, good working practices and positive mental attitudes.  His newsletters are informative.

Today, he writes about where we find inspiration, overcome mental blocks, or indeed both,  Here's an excerpt which will make you want to head for wide open spaces or inspirational buildings with plenty of natural light:-

The Link Between Brains and Buildings

"Researchers have discovered a variety of ways that the buildings we live, work, and play in drive our behavior and our actions. The way we react and respond is often tied to the environment that we find ourselves in.

"For example, it has long been known that schools with more natural light provide a better learning environment for students and test scores often go up as a result. (Natural light and natural air are known to stimulate productivity in the workplace as well.)

"Additionally, buildings with natural elements built into them help reduce stress and calm us down (think of trees inside a mall or a garden in a lobby). Spaces with high ceilings and large rooms promote more expansive and creative thinking."

 
If you'd like to read more, here's the link:-  http://jamesclear.com/jonas-salk   And the article itself is entitled,  Want to Stick to Good Habits and Break Your Bad Ones? Try This.
  
Homepage: JamesClear.com

Creative Productivity: When Less Really = More

This video was sent to me in an email yesterday -it's about creative productivity, and giving our brain a break to allow time for inspiration to seep in.  The presenter is Morgan Giddings,  a neuro-scientist with a company dedicated to creative productivity.

It's good.  It takes as long as a slow breakfast to watch it.  Recommended!

Have your cake and eat it too: what brain science tells us about productivity (the 105 hour lie)

Now, please excuse me - I'm off to take a break!  Less equals more ... less twirling, more creative productivity.

We've ordered another 'How to Write a Lot'

Oh, they're dead keen, our scholarly community!  So many have reserved my recommendation that we've ordered another copy of Paul Silvia's How to Write a Lot!

 It's conversational.  It's conveniently-sized for reading on the Subway.  It'll give you a boot up the backside if you need a bit of "encouragement" to get you sitting down at the keyboard to write up that project.  What's not to like about it?!  Come and tell me that you've started writing.  All librarians love to hear that their recommendations hit the mark.

More details...

Writing and productivity

Interesting blogpost from the London School of Economics - it's sure to be useful to everyone involved in research.

30 tips for successful academic research and writing

By the way, I’m whizzing through Da Silvia’s How to Write A Lot – and I’ve written half an article in my spare time since the weekend, to prove its worth.   Recommended.  I'll review it when I've finished it.

• Amazon link

Whittaker's round-up

Lots of useful snippets have drifted into Whittaker's net of late.  So, here's Whittaker's round-up:-

• Teach faster, Write more (article by Susanne Morgan, for research support website Academic Ladder's February ezine)
• Pseuds' corner (identifying bad books - a THE article by Daniel Melia, 9 February 2012)
• Writing for peer-reviewed journals (strategies for getting published): forthcoming book by Pat Thomson and Barbara Kamler (Royal Conservatoire researchers - should we order this?)
• Re-skilling for research: a report from RLUK
• 201 years ago, 26 February 1811.  Yesterday (Sunday) was the anniversary of the death of James Johnson, instigator and publisher of the Scots Musical Museum. Genuinely a major contribution to Scottish song performers, collectors, scholars and aficionados.  He collaborated with Robert Burns for his seriously big-time, six-volume collection.  A worthy candidate for our "On this day" series of Scottish musical history facts.
• Postgraduate course in Arts management (Vienna)
• Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace Festival at the Scottish Storytelling Centre this week.