How to Think More Effectively

Name: How to Think More Effectively
Author: The School of Life

The School of Life

Upgrade your thinking by overcoming mental traps, generating sharper ideas, and turning clearer judgement into creative, productive action.

20 min6 Chapters

Listen to the intro

1:18

Personal Growth & Self-Help

Psychology

Education & Creativity

Outline

What's it about?

How to Think More Effectively (2020) examines the habits and conditions that help the mind produce clearer, more original, and more useful ideas. It introduces several forms of thinking, including strategic, independent, empathetic, philosophical, and sceptical thought, while showing how rest, boredom, writing, and reflection can improve intellectual performance.

Key ideas

Clear, original and useful ideas depend on the habits and conditions in which the mind works, not only on raw intelligence.
Thinking comes in several forms: strategic, independent, empathetic, philosophical and sceptical, and each one serves a different purpose.
Rest and boredom are not wasted time, because they can improve the quality of your thinking.
Writing and reflection help you sharpen vague thoughts into clearer judgement.
Overcoming mental traps and turning clearer judgement into action is how better thinking becomes productive.

About the author

The School of Life is an international educational organisation that creates books, films, classes, and programmes about emotional intelligence, work, relationships, culture, and self-knowledge. It was founded in London and is known for presenting ideas from philosophy and psychology in a practical and accessible form.

Questions people ask

What is How to Think More Effectively about?

It looks at the habits and conditions that help the mind produce clearer, more original and more useful ideas. It also introduces several forms of thinking, from strategic to sceptical.

Who is How to Think More Effectively for?

It suits anyone who wants to think more clearly and creatively, whether in study, work or daily decisions. It sits in the personal growth, psychology and productivity space.

How long is the Durar summary of How to Think More Effectively?

The Durar summary takes about 15 minutes to read or listen to, in English or Arabic. It covers the book's main forms of thinking and the habits that improve them.