Zakaria Moeed

Attention Is Trainable

2026-06-18T00:00:00Z

Attention is often treated like a moral trait: some people have it, some people do not. That framing is too flat. Attention behaves more like a trainable capacity.

The useful question is not "am I focused?" but "what conditions make focus easier to repeat?" Sleep, movement, light, friction, environment, and task size all change the cost of attention.

The fitness analogy helps. You would not judge a training block by one hard set. You would look at load, recovery, progression, and consistency. Attention deserves the same patience.

Practice Notes

Start with shorter blocks than ambition wants.
Remove one repeated distraction instead of redesigning life overnight.
Track the conditions around good work, not only the output.
Let recovery count as part of the system.

First Principles for Useful Tools

2026-05-07T00:00:00Z

A useful tool should reduce the number of things a person has to hold in working memory. It should make the next meaningful action visible without turning the interface into a lecture.

That principle leads to a few practical habits:

Prefer clear defaults over option sprawl.
Keep state visible where decisions are made.
Make the common path fast without hiding the advanced path.
Treat empty states as part of the product, not a leftover corner.

Quiet tools can still have personality. They just earn attention before asking for it.

Your Brain Gets Stronger Kind of Like Your Muscles

2026-04-18T00:00:00Z

Hey, did you know your brain actually changes physically when you learn something new?

I’m learning about this right now in neuroscience, and honestly it’s one of those topics that makes you look at everything a little differently. The concept is called neuroplasticity, which basically means your brain can build stronger connections between neurons the more you use them.

The first thing I thought of was the gym.

Everyone knows you don’t get stronger after one workout. You get stronger because you keep showing up, stressing your muscles, recovering, and repeating the process. Your brain works in a surprisingly similar way. Every time you practice something, whether it’s learning an equation, speaking another language, or perfecting your squat form, those neural connections get used again and again until they become more efficient.

It’s kind of reassuring because it means being bad at something doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll always be bad at it. Sometimes your brain just hasn’t done enough reps yet.

One thing I also found really cool is that this doesn’t stop when you’re a kid. Your brain keeps changing throughout your entire life. It might happen a bit more slowly as you get older, but it’s still adapting.

I think this has huge implications for people recovering from injuries or strokes. If the brain can reorganize itself, then rehabilitation isn’t just about waiting to heal. It’s about helping the brain build new pathways.

I’m also starting to think differently about studying. Instead of hoping information magically sticks, maybe I just need to give my brain enough quality reps.

Just thought I’d share because I think it’s pretty motivating to know your brain is literally adapting every time you put the work in.

Forgetting Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

2026-04-18T00:00:00Z

Hey, did you know your brain is actually supposed to forget things?

I always thought forgetting meant I hadn’t studied well enough. Now I’m learning that forgetting is actually part of how the brain works.

Your brain is constantly deciding what’s important enough to keep and what can probably be thrown away. If it remembered every tiny detail from every day, life would get pretty overwhelming. Imagine remembering every conversation you’ve ever overheard or every random Instagram Reel you’ve watched.

Instead, the brain tries to hold onto the things that keep coming back. That’s why repetition works so well.

It also explains why I can somehow remember football statistics from years ago but completely forget where I left my keys five minutes ago.

Another thing that surprised me is that memories aren’t stored like videos on your phone. Every time you remember something, your brain sort of rebuilds it. That’s one reason eyewitness accounts aren’t always perfect.

This also made me think about fitness. Nobody expects to build muscle after one workout. You repeat the same movements over weeks and months until your body adapts. Learning seems to work the same way. One study session isn’t usually enough. Your brain needs repeated exposure before it decides something is worth keeping.

I can definitely see this becoming useful in education. If we understand how memory actually works, maybe schools can spend less time making students memorize information and more time helping them remember it properly.

Just thought I’d share because it made me feel a little better about forgetting things. At least now I have neuroscience to blame.

Your Brain Is Working Harder Than You Think

2026-02-18T00:00:00Z

Hey, did you know your brain only makes up about two percent of your body weight but uses around twenty percent of your body’s energy?

I’m learning about this right now, and I honestly didn’t expect the brain to be this expensive to run.

Even when you’re sitting in a lecture looking like you’re doing absolutely nothing, your brain is incredibly busy. Neurons are constantly sending electrical signals, releasing chemicals, and communicating with each other.

The funny part is that most of that energy isn’t even going toward solving difficult problems. A lot of it is just keeping everything running so your brain is ready whenever you need it.

It also made me think about sleep differently. Before university I mostly thought sleep was just time when nothing happened. Turns out your brain is doing loads of work while you’re asleep, especially helping organize and strengthen memories from the day.

As someone who’s pretty into fitness, I also found it interesting that exercise helps the brain too. Better cardiovascular fitness means better blood flow, which means your brain gets more of the oxygen and nutrients it needs. So going for a run or lifting weights isn’t just good for your body. It’s probably helping your brain as well.

Sadly, I don’t think studying burns enough calories to skip leg day.

I think understanding this connection between exercise, sleep, nutrition, and brain function is going to become more important over the next few years. It’s easy to think of them as separate things, but they’re all connected.

Just thought I’d share because I definitely have a lot more respect for what’s going on inside my head while I’m trying to survive second year neuroscience.