Early in life we learn amazingly fast, but as we transition into adulthood our cognitive development plateaus

Which is a hardware change and you recommend software solutions. The solutions are generally good - they are just general good habits for developing in any field - but it seems to me the answer to this kind of change lies more in nootropics or anti-aging supplements, so chemical / hardware. L-theanine + coffee(in) are always a good start for cracking a tough problem.

(BTW does anyone know what is the closest, in most jurisdictions legal, and mostly safe equivalent to ephedrine? I tried that when I was in the Netherlands when it was still legal and it gave a really big cognitive boost. Reduced appetite and more energy to work out was also a nice bonus. I would occasionally want to use a legal and safer "light version" of that. The last I heard was geranium oil and green coffee beans.)