You increase productivity by working with others. You yourself cannot increase productivity by large margin. So peers, the internet, forums, places like this, t

You increase productivity by working with others. You yourself cannot increase productivity by large margin. So peers, the internet, forums, places like this, teachers -- the more you can interact on useful matters, the more productive you will become in general. Thinking skills: You can develop high productivity thinking skills only when you can recognise someone with higher capability (not necessarily a living person; biographies, for example, can supply inspiration). The first step is observation and acceptance. Deep within you must accept - this person can do something better than me. That is the source of motivation -- "I too want to be more skilled at this, like this person". Then you can learn to think more like them, if you're sincere, consistent and determined. A good place to start "thinking about thinking" is Marvin Minsky's book "The society of mind" [1] [1]: http://aurellem.org/society-of-mind/ http://aurellem.org/society-of-mind/