Quite easy – if you’re a gum-chewing, coffee-guzzling daydreamer with incredible self belief...

Short term:
Drink coffee after a task. Boosts your chances of remembering it (also works with chewing gum or doodling while you do it).

Listen to music you like. This increases dopamine levels, in turn thought to improve cognition.

Daydream. Daydreamers do better on tests than their more focussed peers.

Long term:
Exercise. Increases the level of a protein that helps in growing new neurons.

Eat brain-friendly food. Food with Omega-3 fatty acids like fish, as well as B vitamins (think green veg, milk and shellfish), are believed to be good for brains.

Clean your teeth properly. Having no teeth is linked to lesser cognitive abilities.

Really long term:
Stick around. Over subsequent decades, IQ scores have been getting better and better – so, thanks simply to when you were born, you’re probably smarter than your great grandmother.

And a super easy short-term fix...
Studies have shown that just believing you can be cleverer actually makes it come true.