Dumb Little Man - Tips for Life

How to Focus When You’re Juggling Lots of Different Tasks

Have you ever noticed that the times when you really need to focus are the times when it’s toughest?

On days when you have far too much to do — an overflowing inbox, meetings to prepare for, chores to complete — it’s easy to end up darting from one task to the next, never making any real headway.

When you’ve got a lot to juggle, you need a battle plan. Here’s what to do:

Write a List
It’s impossible to focus when you’re constantly thinking “I mustn’t forget to send that email” or “I need to call John.” Write down everything that needs to get done today. Your list doesn’t have to be complex, and you don’t need to worry about sorting it at this stage.

Some people like to keep their work and personal lists separate; it’s up to you how you do that. If something’s on your mind, though, make sure you record it somewhere — even little things like “buy milk on the way home” can drag down your mental energy.

Decide on Priorities
Once you’ve got your list, it’s time to figure out what order to tackle your tasks in for today. First, look for anything that can be delegated or postponed: pare your list down as much as possible.

Next, work out what you want to do first. It’s up to you how you prioritize; normally, it makes sense to tackle the more important and urgent tasks first, but you may prefer to go for a few quick wins in the first half-hour of the day to build up a sense of momentum.

Put some sort of mark against your first, second, and third tasks. (I use one, two and three asterisks; you might prefer numbers, or colors.) That way, you can relax and get on with your tasks in order, knowing that you’re dealing with things efficiently, and that you’ll be able to get all the important stuff done.

Resist the Urge to Multi-Task
However tempting it is to have your emails open in one window while you reply to Tweets in another and edit that document in a third … don’t. You can’t focus on several things all at the same time, and you’ll end up making silly mistakes or forgetting to finish part of a task.

Tackle things one by one. That might mean:
- Setting a timer while you work on the report for 30 minutes
- Dealing with your emails as a batch, perhaps every few hours, not as they come in
- Closing social media programs until your lunch break (if they’re part of your work, treat them like your emails)
Any time you find yourself trying to tackle several things at once, stop. Remind yourself that you’ll work more effectively when you complete task A before moving onto task B.

Work Steadily, Take Breaks
None of us can focus for hours at a time — but when we’re busy, we often try to. This just leads to slowed progress, mistakes, and procrastination. (You know the kind of thing; you tell yourself you’ll just check Facebook quickly while waiting for a file to download, then you end up clicking on links, leaving comments, sending happy birthday messages…)

To stop yourself procrastinating, plan for regular breaks. Work for, say, 45 minutes on your report, then take a 5 or 10 minute break to stretch your legs and grab a glass of water. When you know you’ve got a break coming up, it’s a lot easier to stay focused.

Hopefully, your too-busy-to-think days don’t come up too often. If you seem to be in a constant pattern of rushing around, juggling more tasks than you can manage, then look for ways to make changes. That might mean learning some better time management skills, or talking to your manager about your workload.

If you’ve got a great tip for staying focused when life is hectic, share it with us in the comments below.

Written on 5/12/2012 by Ali Luke. Ali is a writer of fiction and non-fiction and a writing coach. She blogs about writing on her site, Aliventures.com, and has a free ebook "How to Find Time For Your Writing" available when you join her writing newsletter here.

Photo Credit: Keith Ellwood

7 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Triathlon

Triathlons can be intimidating.

The mere mention of one conjures up images of genetically perfect athletes speeding through race segments so fast that they're blurry. Fortunately, you don't have to be a genetic freak in order to be able to run your first triathlon. A sprint distance triathlon is typically only a 400-600m swim, a 12.4 mile bike and a 5k run and is one of the fastest growing sports in North America.

If you decide to race a triathlon, you can run your first sprint distance triathlon in about 3 months of training and as it turns out, triathlons aren't as intimidating as they sound.

After dozens of triathlons and a half ironman, here are 7 things I wish I knew about triathlon when I started:

You Don't Need A Wetsuit For Your First Race
You don't need a wetsuit for your first race. Not only is it an expensive piece of equipment that can take a while to get use to swimming in, a lot of times they're not even allowed! If the water temperature is above 84 degrees Fahrenheit you won't be allowed to wear the wetsuit and compete for awards. If you don't have a wetsuit, don't worry that much about it - lots of people race without one. Once you run one or two races and have them under your belt, you can look at renting or even buying a wetsuit - but it's not a "must-have" for your first race.

When You're In The Water Just Relax
Everyone is always nervous about the swim. When you’re in the water, waiting for the race gun to go off, it can be really, really tempting to get pumped up, overstressed spend all your energy thinking about the race. The swim is consistently the most feared leg for new triathletes without a swim background.

It's okay. Relax. Stay loose and don’t go too hard right out of the gate. If you have a lot of people around you kicking and splashing, breathe and go at your own pace - one that's quick, but (more importantly) sustainable. It's way too common for people to freeze up and panic during the swim. If you ever feel rushed, panicked or tired, simply stop, tread water, hold on to a buoy or a boat if you have to and take deep breaths until you calm down.

Keep Your Nutrition Simple
Nutrition for triathlon can get really complicated, really fast - if you let it. However, it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Simply eating well will cut out half the complexity of a nutrition regimen. Eliminating processed foods and choosing to eat real food and choosing water instead of sodas, and alcohol will help get your body get used to digesting real nutrients and utilizing your energy resources efficiently. It sounds really simple and it is. In fact, if you do this, you don’t have to worry about carbo-loading or any other nutrition hacks for your first sprint distance triathlon.

Follow A Training Program
A triathlon training program is immensely helpful to helping you get started doing your first race. Besides actually getting you physically ready for a race, a training program lays out a road map to show you where to start your training and how to finish based on your training level. It’s much easier to focus on a 30 minute workout you have to do today than it is to think about the triathlon you have to run in just 90 days. Not only does a training plan make things less intimidating but it also guides you from your current fitness level across the fitness line.

Practice Brick Workouts
If you’ve practiced swim, bike and run workouts and think that’s all there is to a triathlon, you’d be wrong. You’ll want to practice brick workouts before your first race.

Brick workouts are when you practice two disciplines back to back. The most common brick is the bike and the run. you’ll do your bike workout and then get off, change shoes if you need to, and do your run

The first time you’ll do this, your legs will feel like lead. That’s why they’re called brick workouts. After practicing this a couple times through, your legs will start to get the hang of it and your mind will get used to the fact that the first quarter or half mile of running is just going to be tough.

Your Bike Doesn't Matter Until It Matters
You really don't need a nice bike to get started racing. Too many new triathletes go out and buy a $5,000 bike, do one race with it and then let it collect dust in the garage. You can get a bike for $150 off Craigslist or borrow one to get started. It really doesn't matter what type of bike you start out, with one exception. Don't use a mountain bike. You might not realize it now, but a mountain bike is significantly slower and harder to pedal than a road bike. The frame of the bike is less comfortable for long distances, the overall bike is much heavier and the wheel is much smaller and wider, which means you go less distance every time you pedal and each of those pedal strokes harder. If you're like me, you might not full grasp the difference of this until you race your first triathlon on a mountain bike. Never again. Beg, borrow or steal a road bike if you can.

Start Now
Triathlon season is coming up. You’ll see the bulk of triathlons happening from May to late September. If you can exercise for just 15 minutes right now, you can train to do a triathlon in about 3 months. If you start now, you’ll be ready for early summer races and (if you enjoy your first triathlon), you’ll have a couple of months to do your second as well.

The absolute hardest part of doing a triathlon is the act of deciding that you're going to do it. Make that decision and everything else is just the legwork to make it happen.

On the fence, why not sign up for a triathlon today and run your first triathlon in 3 months.

Written on 5/7/2012 by Joel Runyon. Joel writes about triathlons and other impossible things at the Blog of Impossible Things and Impossible HQ. He recently released Impossible TRI: a triathlon guide for running your first triathlon in 3 months.

Photo Credit: photovandal

One Simple Way to Impress: Do What You Say You'll Do

Over the past week, two people have – independently – thanked me for simply doing what I said I’d do.
In a perfect world, we’d take it for granted that people would actually come through on their promises and commitments. But in the real world, it’s the sad truth that many people – in business and in their personal lives – don’t always put their words into action.

You probably know a few people who always talk big, but never come through for you. Perhaps they promise to help out, and let you down at the last minute. Maybe they’re constantly running late. And, over time, you realize that this is just a habit with them: you can’t rely on them to do what they’ve said they’ll do.

Of course, none of us are perfect. I know I’ve had times when I had to reluctantly back out of a commitment, and I expect you have too. Stuff comes up. Problems happen. But you want to do everything you can to be a man or woman of your word.

Here’s how:

Don’t Over-Commit
The easiest way to avoid flaking out on commitments is to make sure you don’t take on too much in the first place.
This means learning to say “no” – not just to other people, but also to yourself. Opportunities will come your way constantly, and you need to be choosy about which ones you latch onto. Think of these opportunities as items on a restaurant menu: sure, you might be keen on half a dozen of the entrees, but that doesn’t mean you’d order them all at once.

Don’t Back Out at the Last Minute
If you do end up over-committing, and you think you won’t be able to stick to what you’ve agreed to, then let people know as far in advance as possible.
Let’s say you’ve said you’ll help your friend John to move his stuff to a new apartment one Saturday … and you’ve also agreed to take on overtime that week to help out in the office. You might realize that you’re going to be exhausted by Saturday, and that the last thing you’ll want to do is to help John.

Don’t put off a decision until Saturday morning, then cry off. Instead, let John know in advance. You might want to change your commitment (“I can help in the afternoon, but not in the morning”) rather than backing out completely.

Don’t Be Disorganized
Sometimes, people have great intentions, but live in such a state of confusion and disorganization that there’s no hope of them ever following through.
Mistakes do happen – but it’s hugely embarrassing to forget completely about a commitment that you’ve made, only to get a phone call asking if your colleagues (or fellow volunteers) should continue waiting for you before they start the meeting.

Make sure your diary or calendar system is easy and intuitive for you to use, and that it flags up reminders at appropriate points. When you make new commitments, ensure you record them somewhere: don’t rely on your memory alone.

Don’t Be Late
It might seem like a small thing, but being punctual shows your respect for other people’s time.
If you constantly seem to be running late, then look at what’s going wrong. Are you over-optimistic about travel times, only to get stuck in traffic? Are you prone to getting wrapped up in your work, to the point where you always leave late? Are you simply so busy that it seems impossible to keep on top of everything? Do other meetings always overrun, with a knock-on effect?

When possible, arrive early for meetings, appointments, and similar. Take a book with you, so you’ve got something to read if you have to wait around. If you find that meetings keep overrunning, then build in extra buffer time between one meeting and the next.

Like I said before, none of us are perfect – we’ve all over-committed at times, or just plain forgotten to do something that we’d agreed to. And sometimes emergencies crop up. But if you make a sincere, consistent effort to do what you’ve said you’ll do, you’ll find that you’re seen as someone reliable and trustworthy – the sort of person who bosses love to promote and who clients love to work with.

If you’ve got any tips to share on this, just leave a comment below.

Written on 5/7/2012 by Ali Luke. Ali is a writer of fiction and non-fiction and a writing coach. She blogs about writing on her site, Aliventures.com, and has a free ebook "How to Find Time For Your Writing" available when you join her writing newsletter here.

Photo Credit: ~twon~

14 Action Inducing Lessons from Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was a man of action. Over his lifetime, his curiosity and passion fueled a diverse range of interests. He was a writer (often using a pseudonym), publisher, diplomat, inventor and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

His inventions included the lightning rod, bifocals and the Franklin stove. Franklin was responsible for establishing the first public library, organizing fire fighters in Philadelphia, was one of the early supporters of mutual insurance and crossed the Atlantic eight times. Self-development was a constant endeavor throughout his incredible life.

Benjamin Franklin was clearly a man who knew how to get things done.

14 Action Inducing Lessons

Less Talk, More Action

“Well done is better than well said.”

Talk is cheap. Talking about a project won't get it completed. We all know people who constantly talk about the things they are going to do but rarely ever take that first step. Eventually people begin to question their credibility. Taking action and seeing the task through to completion is the only way to get the job done.

Don’t Procrastinate

“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.”

This is probably one of the first quotes I remember hearing as a teenager. With an impressive list of achievements to his credit, Benjamin Franklin was not a man hung up on procrastination. He was a man with clear measurable goals who worked hard to turn his vision into reality. What are you putting off till tomorrow that could make a difference in your life today?

Be Prepared

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

You need a plan to accomplish your goals. Charging in without giving any thought to the end result and how to achieve it, is a sure way to fall flat on your face. Think like a boy scout. Have a realistic plan of attack and a systematic approach for getting where you need to be.

Don’t Fight Change

“When you're finished changing, you're finished.”

Whilst many of us don’t like change, others thrive on it. Either way change is inevitable. The stronger we fight against it, the more time and energy it consumes. Give up the fight. Focus on proactively making positive changes, instead of having change merely thrust upon you. Wherever possible, try to view change as a positive instead of a negative.

Get Moving

“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.”

There’s a reason we use the expression, movers and shakers. Movers are the ones who take action, the people who get things done, while the immovable are sitting around scratching their heads wondering how others could possibly be so successful. Which group do you want to belong to?

Avoid Busywork

“Never confuse motion with action.”

We are always running around doing things. We rush from one meeting or event to the next, sometimes without achieving a great deal. At the end of the day, how much of our busywork are we proud of? How much of that running around improves anyone’s life (including ours) for the better? Make your motion mean something.

Give Yourself Permission to Make Mistakes

“Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.”

If we fear making mistakes, we become scared to try new things. Fear leaves us nestled in our comfort zone. Staying in your comfort zone rarely leads to greatness. Taking risks and giving yourself permission to make mistakes, will ultimately lead you to whatever your version of success may be.

Act Quickly on Opportunities

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.”

Opportunities are everywhere. The trick is being quick enough and smart enough to seize them when they arise. Instead of jumping to the conclusion that something won’t work or can’t be done, allow yourself the freedom to ask what if?

Continue to Grow

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”

We all have vices of some description. The key is to keep them under control or preferably eradicate them entirely. Be kind to those around you, whether they are neighbors, family, co-workers or friends. Never accept that you have finished growing as a person.

Keep Going

“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”

Have you ever looked at a successful entrepreneur or business person and thought how lucky they are? Most of the time, luck has nothing to do with it. Hard work and sacrifice on the other hand have everything to do with it. Successful people deal with failure. They tackle their demons head on. They pick themselves up and keep going.

Know Yourself

“There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self.”

Understanding ourselves is not easy. Sometimes we just don’t want to see ourselves for who we really are. It’s much easier to hold onto a romanticized version of ourselves or to simply view ourselves through other people’s eyes. Start by being brutally honest with yourself. Follow through with understanding, compassion and acceptance.

Don’t Self-Sabotage

“Who had deceived thee so often as thyself?”

We spend so much time worrying about other people hurting us, yet fail to comprehend the damage we inflict on ourselves. If you are using negative self-talk, lying to yourself or indulging in addictive behavior you are self-sabotaging. Life can dish up enough challenges without us adding to the mix. Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself like you would a best friend.

Don’t Give Up

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”

Achieving our goals can be downright exhausting. There will be days when you want to give up. There will be times when your energy levels flatline and you wonder why you bother getting out of bed. Yet you push forward, day after day because you believe in yourself and you have the determination and strength to back up that belief.

Wise Up

“Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.”

Benjamin was definitely onto something with this one. Who hasn’t had the thought - I wish I could know then, what I know now? Unfortunately there is no time machine; there is no going back. The key is to wise up as early as you can to start forging a life of purpose, achievement and happiness.

Written on 4/29/2012 by Thea Easterby. Thea Easterby is a freelance writer, blogger and keen traveller. Her blog www.writechangegrow.com offers inspiring tips on writing, career change and personal development.

Photo Credit: andrewmalone

You've Got One Change Left. What Do You Do?

Something extraordinary happened while you slept last night. Your world has changed forever, because today you woke up being able to make just one more change before you die. You get to make a single change before you buy the farm, pop your clogs and kick the bucket. One last thing you can implement. One last thing you can transform. One last thing you can make a difference to.

And everything else must stay the same for the rest of your life. Exactly as it is right now.

How will you react knowing that you only have a single change left to make in your life? How comfortable are you knowing that everything else will remain the same? What will you do?

You might experience some of this:

With your expectations of being able to make changes big and small for the rest of your life dashed, the level of dopamine in your brain will drop sharply. Dive-bombing dopamine hurts like hell (even matching sensations of physical pain) and can lead you into a downward spiral that's tough to climb out of.

Your brain will scramble for a solution to what's happened, trying to help you find a way through by matching the circumstances it finds itself in with something it's already learned. It'll come up with ideas both sane and crazy, but as you have no frame of reference it feels hard to know what the "right" thing to do might be.

The new territory you're in gives you ample room for second-guessing yourself. Do you make a change right now, today? Do you fix yourself up financially or fix up your health? Do you store up your change for a rainy day, or do you use it to help someone you love today? Your brain will be keen for you not to screw up, and for every idea or course of action you come up with it can find any number of counter arguments. Pretty soon you're in analysis paralysis.

Where you are is just about as risky and as dangerous as it gets; make a wrong decision and the rest of your life will be irrevocably screwed. Your Amygdala - one of the oldest parts of your brain that gives you strong emotional signals to go towards (that tasty berry on that bush) or away from something (that snarling sabre-toothed tiger) - will be screaming at you to run for cover.

With nobody else in the world affected by this just-one-change-left event it's hard to see how others can help you; they're simply not in the same situation as you and can't possibly understand. The levels of oxytocin in your brain - the neurotransmitter that makes you feel connected to others - drops, making you feel isolated and alone. This can also drop your levels of dopamine further and give you a really strong "run away and hide under the sheets" response.

With all the scrambling and changes in your brain chemistry, energy will be diverted away from the bit of your brain that helps you think clearly and deliberately. Without power to your pre-frontal cortex you won't be able to reason or think clearly, so you're largely at the mercy of the rest of your brain.

Holy mother of a nutcracker. Sounds like a nightmare doesn’t it?
Having a single decision left to make would be nightmarish indeed, but those same reactions in your brain (and a whole heap more) can happen with any choice you make, or even with every choice.

But here's the good news.

You don't have just one more change left. You don't have one more decision to make about your life or your place in the world. You have countless. You can make a decision at any time, and those decisions can be big or small, silly or serious. They can be imbued with what you really value in life; they can honor what's most important to you and they can bring alive what truly matters.

It doesn't matter whether a decision goes your way or amounts to a hill o' beans. You get to make a new choice. Making a decision is the hill o' beans. You have an extraordinary power at your disposal that you wield every single day of your life. The power to make a decision.

Are you embracing it or resisting it? Are you wielding that power with graceful intention or letting your brain call all the shots on your behalf?

Written on 4/16/2012 by Steve Errey. Steve is a superstar confidence coach who helps you build an extraordinary life. He'll promise to help you find your natural confidence so that you can put your dent in the universe. See more of Steve on Twitter and Facebook.

Photo Credit: antonkudris

How to Stay Motivated When the World's Against You

As a blogger, an entrepreneur or even an employee you can tend to feel a lack of motivation when times are rough or your products and services simply don’t get the attention they deserve. It is easy to give up, drown in self-pity or insecurity, which ultimately leads to you giving up or simply not performing in the best way possible.

I have certainly been there and I am sure most of you have too. However, it is in those moments that we can show our real strength and our determination for success. Those moments distinguish the winners from those who will never make it big.

What is it then that we can do to stay motivated when everything seems to be turning against us?

The Mindset
Mindset is everything. I am not the first one to tell you this and I won’t be the last, but the transformation I have experienced in the last months by simply changing my mindset is incredible.

If you stop acting from a mindset of fear and start having trust in the world and in yourself, your entire outlook on life will change. You will feel happier, more balanced, more confident and stronger, which will weave itself into your work and your performance. By believing you will make it and by knowing that there is room for your success in this world no matter the economy or the circumstances, you will deliver your A game and you will be able to push through those moments of doubt and fear.

The People
The people you surround yourself with are crucial. Are they tearing you down? Are they trying to keep you small? Are they affecting your mood in negative ways? Are they limiting your thinking?

No matter how strong you are, not matter your confidence, when you spend too much time with people who have a limited mindset, it will affect you personally and ultimately hinder your performance.

However, if you seek people who share your vision or who have already achieved success far beyond what your situation is right now, you will automatically dream bigger and achieve more. These people will push you to new heights of performance and they will be there to celebrate your successes with you or keep you motivated when things are looking anything but rosy.

The more confident and successful people you surround yourself with, the better your chances for major success.

The Inspiration
Another huge factor in uplifting you is getting inspiration from all kinds of sources. Read books, attend classes, listen to podcasts, find a mastermind group or go to conferences. Inspiration is all around. You just have to find it. No matter the graveness of your situation, no matter your frustration, you can always find someone who has been where you are, but didn’t give up and ended up immensely successful.

By feeding your brain this positive and encouraging information, your thoughts will transform themselves and act as a catalyst for reinforcing you that you can always turn your business around. At the same time, you can learn from these people and find new ways of thinking and approaching whatever it is you’re doing.

The Goals
When I started my recovery from anorexia after 14 years of struggle, I had many days and weeks of depression, anxiety and complete loss of identity. But I had a goal in mind: I wanted to live. So I pushed through. I ate, not wanting to. I fought against the urge to overexercise. I stopped abusing laxatives. I gained weight, loathing myself, but I did not give up. I knew my goal and I went after it, no matter the measures of discomfort I experienced.

The same is true for wanting to create a successful business and life. You need to have a clear, tangible goal and action plans you can implement. The more precise the goals the better. The more detailed the action plans the more beneficial. I know it is tedious. I know most people would rather spend their time in different ways. But when you don’t know in which direction you want to go, you cannot expect to stay motivated in rough times.

Knowing exactly what you want to achieve will help you along the way and this is the safest way to always stay on track, remain motivated and keep working hard.

The Persistence
Sometimes you simply have to keep pushing through. Yes, bad times suck and they can wear you down, but if you really want to achieve something, you have to persist. By implementing my suggestions, you should believe by now that change is possible, so staying on track should not be too hard. However, if you still feel like giving up, simply don’t. Just keep going. Take one step at a time, but never lose sight of your big goal.

Don’t be fooled. We all have setbacks. We all have times when nothing seems to work and we seem to tread water. Having the right, positive mindset, surrounding yourself with encouraging people, keeping yourself inspired and always knowing your goals will keep you on the right road to major success.

Written on 4/15/2012 by Anne - Sophie Reinhardt . Anne - Sophie Reinhardt is a world traveler, an anorexia survivor, a positive body image advocator, podcaster, blogger, digital entrepreneur, speaker, wife, lover of books, aspiring yogi and social media enthusiast. Her blog, My Intercontinental Life, is focused around living a purposeful, free, healthy and passionate life.

Photo Credit: RLHyde

3 Easy Ways to Improve Your Brain Power

Google "improve brain power" and you'll find all sorts of tips, techniques, books, and games explaining how you could improve your brain power. Most of them involve physical exercise, balanced nutrition and complex mental exercises.

While it would be cool if everyone could incorporate these tips, I highly doubt that after reading such advice you will start jogging for one hour every morning and change your diet to incorporate more fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Some people don't do that even when they are at risk of having a heart attack!

For the lazy crowd looking to give a little boost to the brain functions, is there anything easier? Luckily yes.

Switch the side of your mouse-pad
Yes, it is as simple as that.

By switching the side of your mouse-pad you will force yourself to use your non-dominant hand. This, in turn, will stimulate the neural connections between the right and left hemispheres on your brain. Scientific research confirmed that people that use both hands equally have 10% more nerve fibers joining the two sides of the brain.

Ideally you want to perform as many activities as possible with your non-dominant hand, but some of them might become cumbersome. I tried to brush my teeth using my left hand for one week or so, only to find out that the tartar was building up.

Using the mouse with the opposite hand is something that you can easily integrate into your life. During the first couple of days it will feel weird, and you might need to switch back when using programs that require intense "clicking" sessions. After this adaptation phase however, you'll be navigating the computer just as efficiently with both hands.

Force yourself to remember things
Sometimes you want to remember the name of a song that is playing or the name of an old acquaintance that passed by . It is right there, on the tip of your tongue, but you can't remember it. What would you normally do in such situation? Probably ask some nearby friend for the name, and upon the revelation you will even shout marveled, "Oh yeah! That is it."

The next time this happens force yourself to remember that name. The brain can be stimulated just like your muscles and the more you exercise it the stronger it will get.

Do not limit yourself to remembering names. Are you calling your mother to get the phone number of your uncle? Forget pen and paper - you can memorize it. Try to look at the keyboard of your phone in order to create a mental picture of what the sequence of numbers looks like.

The worse that can happens is that you will need to call your mom again...

Play games that involve some thinking
You don't need to participate in the Mathematical Olympic Games in order to stretch your brain capabilities. Oh no, games and activities as simple as sudoku or crosswords will already have a tangible impact upon your brain performance.

Regularity is very important here, so try to incorporate these games or exercises into your routine. You could bring a crosswords book with you on the daily commute, for instance. Personally I like to play a chess match every day before I start working. It takes around 15 minutes, but it ensures that my brain gets a kick-start every morning.