10 Brain Training Hacks to Increase Your IQ,

Focus and Creativity

Dr. Jamie Schwandt

Dr. Jamie Schwandt is an American author, statistics professor, TV show host, motivational speaker,
lean six sigma master black belt, and a major in the United States Army. Full Bio
Becoming smarter is what a lot of people look for. While joining brain training programmes is an
option to increase your IQ, focus and creativity, it can be quite expensive. Luckily there are plenty
of free brain training hacks you can learn to make your brain smarter.
In this article, I’m going to introduce to you 10 free brain training hacks that will boost your brain
performance and make you smarter.
Table of Contents
1. The importance of brain training
2. Brain training hacks that will make you smarter
Hack #1. Learn by teaching
Hack #2. Learn by writing
Hack #3. Physical exercise
Hack #4. Listen to audiobooks
Hack #5. Read smarter
Hack #6. Reason backward
Hack #7. Quick and easy math tricks
Hack #8. Think – Try – Learn
Hack #9. Brain training apps
Hack #10. Learn a new language
3. Brain training is powerful

The importance of brain training

The fundamental building block in the brain is the neuron. By learning ways to enhance the
building block, we open a new frontier for understanding the power of our brain. Author of Brain
Building: Exercising Yourself Smarter by Marilyn vos Savant remarked,

“Building your brain power will open a new frontier beyond which lies an
understanding that seems nearly incalculable.”
So, what’s the point?
We can improve our brain power and intelligence through certain brain training exercises.
You might be wondering:

In our busy life, how can I find time to do this?

The answer is simple and it’s not that difficult.
Brain training is simply cognitive training using exercises to improve your brain power. By
improving your brain power, you will find that your IQ, focus, and creative skills will increase as
well.

Let’s take a look at how you can improve your brain power through brain training.

Brain training hacks that will make you smarter

Here are 10 brain training hacks you can use now to make you smarter tomorrow:

Hack #1. Learn by teaching

In Mindhacker, Ron and Marty Hale-Evans argue that we should learn by teaching.

“Before you can teach an idea, you must understand it. Therefore, teaching situations
can be proving grounds for your own knowledge. Accelerate your learning of a subject
by agreeing to teach it.” – Ron and Marty Hale-Evans
How to make this work:
1. Dive deep into a concept by breaking it apart (analysis) and putting it back together
(synthesis).
2. Find a way to teach the content. If you have the appropriate education, try teaching an online
course. If not, try teaching a new idea through places such as Udemy.
3. Use innovative systems thinking tools to conduct analysis and synthesis and to teach your
course. Read my other article to find out how you can explain ideas clearer to others: How to
Explain Things Better and Make Others Understand Your Ideas Easily

Hack #2. Learn by writing

One of my favorite methods for learning and increasing intelligence is writing. By writing or
blogging on a new topic, I force myself to break apart concepts. I then piece them back together by
writing about them.
How to make this work:

1. Start writing for a blog (i.e. Lifehack.org) or start your own. A great place to start writing is
on Medium.com.
2. Dive deep into a concept by breaking it apart (analysis) and putting it back together
(synthesis).
3. Write about the content you are learning and pay close attention to the feedback you receive
once published.

Hack #3. Physical exercise

Physical exercise will not only improve your body, but it will also improve your brain power.
Neurogenesis is the birth of new neurons in our brain. Exercise increases the levels of brain derived
neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which supports neurogenesis.
How to make this work:
1. Start an exercise routine. Read my article This 24 Hour Workout Will Leave You
Thinking, Looking And Feeling So Good for more ideas on how to start one.
2. Change your diet. Eliminate refined sugars and start taking vitamins to improve the
functioning of your brain.

Hack #4. Listen to audiobooks

My favorite hack to use along with physical exercise is audiobooks. I am always plugged into an
audiobook. While exercising, driving, cutting my grass, chores, and just about any other activity.

How to make this work:

1. Purchase wireless running headphones.
2. Sign up for a free app connected to your local library e.g. OverDrive. Checkout audiobooks
through this free app.
3. Purchase audiobooks at a discount through Audible.com. If you are unable to find your
audiobook free through OverDrive, purchase the books here.
4. Download the app (or a similar app) Natural Reader, which is a free text to speech online
app allowing you to convert text to audio. Essentially, you can convert an online article, a
pdf, a word document, and similar files to an audio.
5. Step #5. After you have listened to an audiobook for a while, try bumping up the speed of
the book.
Hack #5. Read smarter
Start reading books faster and smarter. There are certain ways you should read a book. Some books
should be read faster than others.
How to make this work:

1. Skim the book first. Start with the title page, the inside of the cover, the table of contents,
then the back of the book.
2. Identify the author’s main theme (and main points within the book). Ask yourself the
question “why” throughout the book. For example, “Why is the author arguing this point?”.
3. Throughout the book and at the conclusion of the book, ask yourself three questions:
– What? What happened in the book?
– So What? What was the key takeaway?
– Now What? What can you do with this new information?

Hack #6. Reason backward

Maurice Ashley, Chess Grandmaster, discussed the importance of retrograde analysis or reasoning
backward in the following Ted Talk:
Object 1
 •

Let’s look at an example of reasoning backward.

Read the following sentence:

After reading this sentence, you will realize that the the brain doesn’t recognize a second ‘the’.
Now read the sentence again. Did you notice that you missed the second ‘the’?

Our mind is logical and proceeds forward, so we don’t see the second ‘the’; however, if we read the
sentence backwards we will always catch it.
“What is out of the common is usually a guide rather than a hindrance. In solving a problem of this
sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backward.” – Sherlock Homes, A Study in Scarlet

Hack #7. Quick and easy math tricks

Let’s examine some quick and easy math hacks that should be (but are not) taught in school.

Easily multiply any two-digit number by eleven:

32 x 11
Simply add the first two digits: 3 + 2 = 5
Place the 5 between the 3 and the 2 and you have your answer: 352

32 x 11 = 352

ii. Easily add two digit numbers:

84 + 57
Add 84 + 50 = 134

Then add 134 + 7 = 141

84 + 57 = 141
iii. Easily subtract three digit numbers:

645 – 372
Take 645 – 400 = 245
Then add 28 (or 20 then add 8) as 400 – 372 = 28

245 + 20 = 265 + 8 = 273

645 – 372 = 273
iv. Multiplication guestimation

Another powerful trick is multiplication guesstimation.

88 x 54 is approximately 90 x 50 = 4500
This is much easier to multiple as 9 x 5 = 45

The correct answer is: 88 x 54 = 4752

For more math tricks like this, I recommend the book Secrets of Mental Math by Arthur Benjamin
and Michael Shermer.

Hack #8. Think – Try – Learn

In Mindhacker, Ron and Marty Hale-Evans discuss a powerful tactic called Think – Try – Learn.
• Think: Theorize, Predict, Plan
• Try: Test, Observe, Record, Play
• Learn: Analyze, Define Meaning, Change, Grow
The following is an example of this method from Alphapunk.com:

Image via http://alphapunk.com/services/design/design-ethos/

Hack #9. Brain training apps
Elevate and Lumosity are brain training programs designed to improve our focus, speaking ability,
processing speed, memory, math skills, and much more.
Both programs come packed with more than 40 games and puzzles designed to improve our critical
thinking and cognitive skills.
A comparison of the two apps can be found here:1

Elevate
• Pros: Personal tracking, has the feel of a mobile game, available on iOS and Android, and
app of the year for 2014
• Cons: Poor graphics and only comes in English

Lumosity
• Pros: Fun and good memory improvement games, strong brand recognition, progress
tracking, available on ios, android and pc, and used in over 180 countries
• Cons: Expensive, repetitive, and have issues with iOS/Android app synch with desktop
Hack #10. Learn a new language

Learning a new language is one of the most powerful ways to improve your intelligence and
cognitive capacity.
I recently came across a fantastic new app called Chineasy Cards. This program makes learning
Chinese both fun and aesthetically pleasing. The design principles are stronger than any other
language app I have previously came across. I highly recommend this app if you are interested in
learning Chinese.

Brain training is powerful

Brain training is a powerful (yet simple) way to improve your brain power, IQ, creative thinking,
and critical thinking skills.
As Marilyn vos Savan said,
 “The mind can stretch. It can be strengthened, toned, and conditioned to perform
miracles for you.” – Marilyn vos Savant
By using these 10 easy brain training hacks, you will find that you have the basic building blocks to
increase your brain power.