A short self-experiment.

You'll take a mood survey. Then, you'll do a fun activity. Then, you'll take the mood survey again. Then, you'll receive your results - did your mood change?

Any questions? Feel free to email elizabeth@ericker.com.

About 1 mins for the pre-test, 2 mins for the intervention, 1 min for the post-test = 4 mins total

This neurohack leads to a measurable boost in mood for over 80% of participants.

Because there's a test before and after, it allows you to discover whether this works for you *right now*.

Try it many times - and under different circumstances - to see when it works best for you!

Mood exists in a feedback loop with other mental abilities, such as emotional self-regulation, certain aspects of executive function, learning and memory, and creativity. Improving mood can help boost those other mental abilities. You can learn more about neurohacking and mental performance in the book Smarter Tomorrow (ericker.com/the-book).

Mood's effect on creativity is naunced:
-Short video clip: https://bit.ly/3o6e10Y.
-A scholarly summary: https://bit.ly/3g51QgF.
-Enhancement of divergent thinking (eg brainstorming, new idea generation): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpr.12093 

Mood interacts with other aspects of cognition and mental performance:
-Scholarly overview: https://bit.ly/3HfVKFZ
-Positive mood can be helpful in learning new rules or noticing patterns: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610387441 
-Positive mood can be helpful in navigating spaces: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280581315_Situated_navigational_working_memory_the_role_of_positive_mood

Mood assessment you'll be using: The MFA (Momentary Feelings Assessment) is from p. 88 of Smarter Tomorrow. It is based on findings from the positive psychology literature and neuropsych assessments such as the PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule).

If your mood score improves, you'll know your mood was boosted this time. To know whether this booster is a good fit for you long-term, you'll want to repeat the self-experiment multiple times.

For more on how to run a good self-experiment, check out chapter 4, "Nuts & Bolts" in the book "Smarter Tomorrow" by Elizabeth R. Ricker: ericker.com/the-book.