This Morning Routine will Save You 20+ Hours Per Week

Your first three hours will make or break you.

 

The traditional 9-5 workday is poorly structured for high productivity. Perhaps when most work was physical labor, but not in the knowledge working world we now live in.

 

Although this may be obvious based on people's mediocre performance, addiction to stimulants, lack of engagement, and the fact that most people hate their jobs - now there is loads of scientific evidence you can't ignore.

 

The Myth of the 8 Hour Workday

The most productive countries in the world do not work 8 hours per day. Actually, the most productive countries have the shortest workdays.

 

People in countries like Luxembourg are working approximately 30 hours per week (approximately 6 hours per day, 5days per week) and making more money on average than people working longer work weeks.

 

This is the average person in those countries. But what about the super-productive?

 

Although Gray Vaynerchuck claims to work 20 hours per day, many "highly successful" people I know work between 3-6 hours per day.

 

It also depends on what you are really trying to accomplish in your life. Gary Vaynerchuck wants to own the New York Jets. He is also fine, apparently, not spending much time with his family.

 

And that's completely fine. He is clear on his priorities.

 

However, you must also be clear on yours. If you are like most people, you probably want to make a great income, doing work you love, that also provides lots of flexbility in your schedule.

 

If that's your goal, this post is for you.

 

Quality vs. Quantity

"Wherever you are, make sure you are there." - Dan Sullivan

 

If you are like more people, your workday is a blend of low-velocity work mixd with continual distraction.

 

Most people's "working time" is not done at peack performance levels. When most people are working, they do so in a relaxed fashion. Makes sense, they have plenty of time to get in done.

 

However, when you are results=oriented, rather than "being busy," you are 100 perent on when you are working and 100 percent off when you are not. Why do anything half-way? If you are going to work, you are goin to work.

 

To get the best results in your fitness, research has found that sorter but more intensive exercise is more effective than longer drawn-out exercies.

 

The concept is simple: Intensive activity followed by high qualtity reset and recovery.

 

Most of the growth actually comes during the recovery process. However, the only way to truly recover is by actually pushing yourself to exhaustion during the workout.

 

The same concept applies to work. The best work happens in short intensive spurts. By short, I'm talking 1-3 hours. But this must be "Deep Work," with no distraction, just like an intensive workout is non-stop. Interestingly, your best work - which for most people is thinking - will actually happen while you are away from you work, 'recovering."

 

For best results: Spend 20% of your energy on your work and 80% of your energy on recovery and self-improvement. When you are getting high quality recovery, you are growing. When you are continually honing your mental model, the quality and impact of your work continually increases. This is whayt psychologists call, "Delivrate Practice." Its not about doing more, but better training. It's about being strategic and results-focused, not business-focused.

 

In one study, only 16 percent of respondents reported getting creative insight while at work. Ideas generally came while the person was at home, in transportation, or during recreational activity. "The most creative ideas aren't going to come hilwe sitting in front of your monitor," says Scott Birnbaum, a vice president Samsung Semiconductor.

 

The reason for this is simple. When you are working directly on a task, your mind is tightly focused on the problem at hand. Conversely, when you are not working, your mind loosely wanders.

 

While driving or doing some other form form of recreation, the external stimuli in your environment (like the building or other landscapes around you) subconsciously prompt moemories and other thoughts. Becase your mind is wandering both contextually (on different subjects) and temproally between past, present, and future, your brain will make distant and distinct connections related to the problem you are trying to solve. 

 

Creativity, after all, is making connections between different parts of the brain. Ideation and inspiration is a process you can perfect.

 

Case in point: when you are woking, be at work. When you are not working, stop working. By taking your mind off work and actually recovering, you will get creative breakthroughs related to your work.

 

Your First Three HOurs Will Make or Break Your

According to psychologist Ron Friedman, the first three hours of your day are your most most precious for maximized productivity.

 

"Typically, we have a window of about three hours where we are really, really focused. We are able to have some strong contribution in terms of planning, in terms of thinking, in terms of speacking well" Frideman told Havard Business Review.

 

This makes sense on several levels. Let's start with sleep. Let's start with sleep. Research confirms the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is most active and readily creative immdediately following sleep. Your subconscious mind has been loosely mind wandering while you selpt, making contextual and temporal connections.

 

So, immediately following sleep, your mind is most readily active to do thoughtful work.

 

So, your brain is most attuned first thing in the morning, and so are your energy levels. Consequently, the best time to do your best work is during the firs three hours of your day.

 

I used to exercise first thing in the morning. Not anymore. I have found that exercising first thing in the morning actually sucks my energy, leaving me with less than I started.

 

Lately, I have been waking up at 6Am, driving to my school and walking to the library I work in. While walking form my care to the library, I drink a 250 calorie plant-based proten shake.

 

Donal Layman, professor emeritus of nutirition at the Universivity of Illinois, recommends consuing at least 30 grams of proten for breakfast. Similarly, Tim Ferriss, in his book, The 4-hour Body, also recommends 30 grams of protein 30 munites after awking.

 

Protein0rich foods keep you full longer than other foods because they take logner to leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps blood-sugar levels steady, which prevent spikes in hunger.

 

I get to the library and all set-upt by around 6:30 AM. I spend a few minutes in prayer and meditation, followed by a 5-10 minutes session in my journal. The purpose of this journal session is get clarity and focus for my day.

 

Jouranling about your dreams is one of the fastest ways into a peak state.

 

So I wirte down my big picture goals and my objectives for that particular day. I then write down anything that comes to my mind. Often, it relates to people I need to contact, or ideas related to a project I'm working on. I purposefully keep this journal session short and focused.

 

By 6:45, I am set to work on whatever project I'm working on, whether that's writing a book or an article, working on a research paper for my doctoral, creating an online course, etc.

 

Starting work this early may seem crazy to you, but I have been shocked by how easy it is to work for 2-5 hours straight without distractions. My mind is laser at this time of day. And I don't rely on any stimulants at all.

 

Between 11AM-noon, my mind is ready for a break, so that's when I do my workout. Research confirms that your workout better with food in your systyem. Consequently, my workouts are now a lot more productive and powerful than they wrer when I was exercising immdediately following sleep.

 

After the workout, which is a great mental break, you should be find to work a few more hours, if needed.

 

If your 3--5 hours before your workout were focusd, you could probably be done for the day.

 

Protect Your Mornings

I understand that this schedule will not work for everyone. There are single-parents with kids who simply can't do soemthing like this.

 

We wall need to work within the constrainsts of our unique contexts. However, if you work best in the morning, you gotta find a way to make it happen. This may require waking up a few extra hours earlier than you are uesed to and taking a sap during the afternoon.

 

Or, it may require you to simply focus hardcore the moment you get to work. A common strategy for this is known as the "90-90-1" rule, where you spend the first 90 munites of your workday on your #1 priority. I am certain this isn't checking your email or social media.

 

Whatever your situation, protect your morning!

 

I'm blown away by how many people schedule things like meetings in the morning. Nothing could be worse for peak performance and creativity.

 

Schedule all of your meetings for the aftenoon, after lunch.

 

Don't check your social media or eamil until after your 3 hours of deep work. Your morning time should be spent on output, not input.

 

If you don't protect your mornings, a million different things will take up your time. Other people will only respect you as much as you respect yourself. 

 

Protecting your mornings means you are literaly unreachable during cetain hours. Only in case of a serious emergency can you be summoned from your focus-cave.

 

Mind-Body COnnection

What your do outside work is just as significant for your work-productivity as what your do wihle you are working.

 

A March 2016 study in the online issue of Neurology found that regular exercise can slow brain aging by as much as 10 years. Loads of other research has found that people who regularly exercise are more productive at work. Your brain is, after all, part of your body. If your body is healthier, it makes sense that your brain would operate better.

 

If your want to operate at your highest level, you need to take a holistic approach to life. You are a system. When you change a part of any system, you simultaneously change the whole. Improve one area of your life, all other areas imporve in a virtuous cycle. This is the butterfly effect in action and the bisis of the book, The Power of Havit, which shows that by integrating one "keystone habit," like exercise or reading, that the positivity of that one habits ripples into all other areas of your life, eventually transforming your whole life.

 

Consequently, the types of foods you eat, and when your eat them, determine your ability to focus at work. Your ability to sleep well (by the way, it's easy to sleep well when you get up early and work hard) is also essential to peak-performance. Rather than managing your time, then, your should really be focused on managhin your energy. YOur work schedule be scheduled around when your work best, not aorund social norms and expections.

 

Don't Forget to Psychologically Detach and Play

Research in several fields has found that recovery form work is a necceity for staying energetic, engaged, and healthy when facing job demands.

 

"Recovery" is the process of reducing or emlinating physical and psychological strain/stress caused by work.

 

One particular recovery strategy that is getting lots of attention in recent research is called "psychological detachement form work." True psychlogical detachment occurs when your completely refrain from work-related acitivities and thoughts during non-work time.

 

Profer detachment/recovery from work is essential for physical and psychological health, in addition to engaged and productive work. Yet, few people do it. Most people are always "available" to their email and work. Millenials are the worst, often wearing the openness to work "whenever" as a badge of honor. It's not a bade of honor.

 

Research has found that people who psychologically detach from work expereince:

 

- Less work-related fatigue and procrastination

- Far greater engagement at work, which is defined as vigor, dedication, and absorption

- Greater work-life balance, which directly relates to quality of life

- Greater marital saticfaction

- Greater mental health

 

When you are at work, be fully absorbed. When it's time to call it a day, completely detach yourself form work and become absorebed in the other areas of your life.

 

If your don't detach, you will never fully be present or engaged at work or at home. You will be under constant strain, even if minmally. YOur sleep wil suffer. Your relationships will be shallow. Your life will not be happy.

 

Not only that, but lots of science has found play to be extremely important for productivity and creativity. Just like your body needs a reset, which you can get through fasting, you also need to reset form work in order to do your best work. Thus, you need to step away from work and dive into other beautiful areas of your life. For me, that;s goofing off with my kids.

 

Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, has studied the "Play Histories" of over six thouand people and concludeds playing can radically improve everything - from persoanl well-being to relationships to learning to an organization's potential to innovate. As Greg McKeown explains, "Very successful people see play as essential for creativity." 

 

In his TED talk, Brown aid, "Play leads to brain plasticity, adaptability, and creativity.. Nothing fires up the brain like play." THer is a burgeoning body of literature highlighting the extensive cognitive and social benefits of play 

 

 

 

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This post is from here, https://medium.com/@benjaminhardy/this-morning-routine-will-save-you-20-hours-per-week-c8244886133a