Johnah Lehrer, author of How We Decide, with a column in the WSJ on our ability to focus.

The key is strengthening what psychologists call “executive function,” a collection of cognitive skills that allow us to exert control over our thoughts and impulses. When we resist the allure of a sweet treat, or do homework instead of watch television, or concentrate for hours on a difficult problem, we are relying on these lofty mental talents. What we want to do in the moment, and what we want to want, are often very different things. Executive function helps to narrow the gap.

The good news: The executive function can be significantly improved.

In the current issue of Science, Adele Diamond, a neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia, reviews the activities that can reliably boost these essential mental skills.

The list is surprisingly varied, revolving around activities that are both engaging and challenging, such as computer exercises involving short-term memory, tae-kwon-do, yoga and difficult board games. Dr. Diamond also notes that certain school curricula, such as Montessori and Tools for the Mind, have also been shown to consistently increase executive function.

I wish Lehrer touched on Nicolas Carr’s argument—the type of thinking that technology promotes is more towards superficial than deep. Carr eloquently lays out his theory in The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.

Jonah Lehrer is the author of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist.