As the new year is getting under steam, you may be sliding into some New Year’s resolutions, or you may have already given up on them. I’m not judging you either way. What follow are some good brain techniques to keep you on form and in top shape as a speaker in 2025 – and without much stress. In fact, some of these good-for-brain activities are practically guaranteed to bring a smile to your face right away.  Enjoy!

First off, don’t obsess about happiness. A recent study showed something which you might have already suspected:  those of us who keep close track of how happy we are, fretting about minor moments and changes in our happiness barometer, tend to be less happy than folks who are able to simply be there in the moment enjoying themselves. So let go of the score card, don’t compare yourself to others, and just savor that cup of coffee or that sunset.

Second, do take those prebiotics. I’ll be the first to confess that I’m not sure what’s on the list, but if you can find some prebiotics, they are good for your brain health. The basic link is apparently inflammation, which is bad for the brain and the rest of your body and is reduced by prebiotics.  So I’m not a doctor, and this is not medical advice, but you might want to have a look at increasing your prebiotic intake.

Third, if you want to shed a bad habit, try habit substitution. As we all know, losing a bad habit is difficult. Some people struggle for many years to stop smoking, for example, and may never kick the habit. But the research shows that substituting a good, preferable habit for a bad one is the trick most likely to succeed, because we are all creatures of habit in one form or another. So do a mini crossword puzzle, for example, instead of eating that extra piece of cake, and by the time you are done you will have mastered the urge and be able to resist it.

Fourth, if you are the scattered-brain type, try fidgeting (but not on stage!). That’s right, apparently tapping your foot, or a pencil, or fiddling with your hair, is a reasonably effective way of increasing your ability to concentrate if your mind starts to wander.Research on folks with ADHD finds that it helps these people concentrate better for longer. So go fiddle — while you’re in the green room getting ready to speak.

Finally, eat chocolate at least once a week. This is my particular favorite, and one I’m happy to bump up to a New Year’s Resolution. In fact, I may make “Eat More Chocolate” my slogan for 2025. Eating chocolate once a week (or more) is a good way to increase your brain health, period. We’ve long known that chocolate is good for cardiovascular health, but now we’ve learned that it also helps with cognition. Good for speakers; good for everyone. Roughly 1,000 lucky participants were given chocolate and the following battery of tests and they did better on all of them:  the Global Composite score, Visual-Spatial Memory and Organization, Working Memory, Scanning and Tracking, Abstract Reasoning, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. And that’s the best news I’ve read so far this year.