5.Play. Take time to play. Make time to play. Play cards. Play video games. Play board games. Play Ring Around Rosie. Play tug of war. It doesn’t matter what you play. Just play! It is good for your spirit and good for your brain. It gives your brain a chance to think strategically, and keeps it working.

6.Learn something new. This one might seem obvious. Yes, we capitalize on our brain’s great potential when we put it to work learning new things. You may have a specific topic for work or leisure that you want to learn more about. That’s great. Go learn it. If you don’t have a subject in mind right now, try learning a new word each day. There is a strong correlation between working vocabulary and intelligence. When we have new words in our vocabulary, our minds can think in new ways with greater nuances between ideas. Put your mind to work learning. It is one of best ways to re-energize your brain.

7.Write to be read. I am a big proponent of writing in a journal to capture ideas and thoughts. There is certainly great value in writing for yourself. I continue to find that my brain is greatly stimulated by writing to be read. Writing this article (and at least one per week) is one example and writing in my blog is another example. There are several situations and audiences for which I write each week. There are many benefits to me in doing this. The greatest isn’t visibility or marketing; greatest is what it does to expand my brain’s capacity. Find ways to write to be read – in your church newsletter, by writing things for your kids to read, by capturing stories of your childhood (see number 3 above), starting your own blog or whatever – just write to be read.

8.Exercise. We all know that exercise is important for your physical health. Our brain is a part of that body, so increasing our blood flow brings more oxygen to brain – oxygen that is fuel for that beautiful brain. When I exercise I get fresh ideas. When I exercise I feel better physically and mentally. Just add “improving my brain” to list of great reasons to exercise.

This is a short but powerful list. I encourage you to apply at least one of these approaches starting today. Look at your to do list and your calendar. Put it on your list in ink.

Your brain will thank you in form of new ideas, greater stamina, more passion for your tasks and in so many more ways.

Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on “Unleashing Your Potential” go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

5.Ask questions. Projects can be complex. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to know more about any of things mentioned above.

6.Communicate. Asking questions is communicating, but so is giving updates. Checking in with others. Coordinating schedules. If you are a project leader importance of communication can’t be overstated. If you are any team member other than leader, communication is just as important. You can’t leave it to leader. Check in with others. Get their input. Find out when pieces you will need will be completed. Update people on your progress. Communicate!

7.Break it down. Take big project steps and break them down into definable tasks that you can get your hands around. By breaking tasks down work won’t feel so daunting, you will find interdependencies and you will be able to stay on track much more successfully. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Break down overall project, and your individual steps into bite sized pieces.

8.Look at past. If a version of this project has been done in past, look for lessons learned to improve your results this time. Think too about other projects you have been involved in. Even if project was smaller or larger and goals were very different, there are likely lessons you learned that you can apply – things you did well that you would want to repeat… and things you could have done better that you can correct on this project.

9.Look to future. Take a little time to document best practices and ideas that work for you during project. Whether this is a formal task for everyone on project, or just your own notes to help you to continuously improve, investing a little time now will make your contributions to all future projects more valuable and efficient.

There are many more ways you can contribute to great project success. Take these nine ideas as a starting point – as a checklist of things you can do, regardless of role you play. Taking action on these ideas will help you feel more confident and successful in your role on project team, and will help project’s goals be reached much more successfully.

Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on “Unleashing Your Potential” go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.