Tip: The problem diary

Want to know the secret to success in any field? Become atuned to spotting and noting down problems and frustrations. If you notice the problem, without any additional effort, your mind will find a way to solve it sometime in the future if it deems it worth the thought.

How does your mind automatically do this? If the problem is motivating enough, you won't be able to let go of it. All of a sudden, your mind begins to make connections where you wouldn't previously have seen them.

Have you ever learnt a new fact and then it's come up in a totally unrelated situation later in the day? This is simlar to how your mind will start to make useful patterns and connections when you train yourself to keep noticing problems.

A trick to developing your problem-noticing muscle is to start a problem diary.

• Get a fresh small notebook or use your phone (anything that you can keep with you at all times).

• Every time you notice anything that doesn't work as it should, note it down.

Do this for a week and then review the problems you have observed.

Go further

• Observe novel ways people solve problems for themselves too i.e. how your grandma sticks all her passwords on post-it notes around the computer screen to alleviate the problem of being unable to remember so many unique passwords.