Strategies for boosting mental performance, from the Harvard Mental Health Letter

In this era of multitasking, people who want to remain mentally fit and focused sometimes end up feeling fragmented and stressed out instead. The May 2010 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter offers simple techniques that you can try at home or at work to focus better and think more productively. Much of the advice is included in The Winner's Brain: Eight Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success (Da Capo Press), a new book from Harvard Health Publications written by psychologist Jeff Brown and neuroscientist Mark Fenske. Their techniques draw from the psychotherapy approaches of cognitive behavioral therapy and positive psychology.

Here is a sampling of their strategies for staying mentally sharp: