5 Morning Habits That Will Skyrocket Your Productivity

You know, most people have never been taught the art of indulging in productivity porn, and that's why they're never going to escape the rat race. But we're here to fix that. Here are five morning habits that will skyrocket your productivity. Welcome to alux.com, the place where future billionaires come to get inspired.

Number one: Wake up at the same hour every single day. This is pretty basic, but waking up at the same hour every single day will dictate your energy levels throughout the day. We've learned this from Dr. Andrew Huberman himself, so pay attention.

First, waking up at the same hour every day can help to boost productivity by regulating your body's circadian rhythm. For those who are not neuroscientists, there's this internal biological process responsible for regulating sleep-wake cycles. This process is controlled by a small region of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN, which uses environmental cues such as light and temperature to help regulate the timing of sleep.

When you maintain a consistent sleep schedule, the SCN is able to better predict when it's time for sleep and wakefulness. This helps to regulate the release of certain hormones, such as melatonin, that will promote your sleep. In addition, it also helps to regulate the body's temperature, which plays a role in the sleep-wake cycle too. When the body's temperature drops, it signals to the brain that it's time to sleep.

So, by maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, you're helping to regulate these internal processes, which can improve the quality of your sleep and make you feel more alert and productive during the day. It also helps to set the body's internal clock, which regulates the timing of various bodily functions such as digestion, metabolism, and hormone release. As you can see, there are multiple benefits to waking up every morning at the same hour. In fact, going to bed at the same hour also helps.

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All right, on to number two on our list: Create a 30-minute routine. The next step after waking up at the same hour you woke up yesterday is to create a 30-minute morning routine. Now, this can include whatever fits your style, but we've got some general tips to get you going.

The first rule of thumb here is don’t spend time on your phone for the first 30 minutes after you wake up, and there's a simple reason for this. Your phone is a distraction you don't want to have, and besides that, scrolling through social media and reading negative news articles can cause you to feel stressed, and it might have an impact on your motivation for the day. Allow your mind some time to wake up and stay away from your phone in the morning as much as possible.

Next up, try to get some natural sunlight on your face in the first hour after waking up. This is another great tip Dr. Andrew Huberman offered up in a podcast with Jocko Willink. First off, exposure to sunlight in the morning modulates the timing of what's called the cortisol pulse. You want that cortisol pulse to happen as early as possible in your day because it'll cause you to be more alert and focused.

That's why sleeping and waking in a dark room with your curtains blocking the sunlight is kind of a bad idea. You'll have a much harder time waking up and getting things going. Next, drink a glass of water instead of getting high on caffeine. Drinking water first thing in the morning will help to rehydrate your body and will flush out all the toxins that your body has accumulated throughout the night.

Now, you could choose to drink a cold glass of water which will help to boost your metabolism, or you could drink a warm glass of water if you want to stimulate the digestive system and improve bowel movements. Another tip we can offer up here is to add some vitamins in there in order to boost that spike of energy. Additionally, it's generally recommended to avoid drinking coffee for the first 90 minutes after waking up because you also have a phenomenon called the afternoon crash.

There's a scientific reason behind this, so pay attention. A lot of people are unaware about this: Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that builds up in the brain over the course of the day and plays a role in promoting sleep. As adenosine levels rise, it signals to the body that there's time to wind down and go to sleep.

Caffeine, the main active ingredient in coffee, works by blocking the action of adenosine. So this is why caffeine is often used as a stimulant to help people stay awake and alert. However, this could also lead to a phenomenon known as the afternoon crash or caffeine crash. The afternoon crash refers to the feeling of fatigue or drowsiness that occurs several hours after consuming caffeine.

This happens because while caffeine blocks the action of adenosine, it doesn't actually remove the adenosine from the brain. So as a result, when the effects of the caffeine begin to wear off, the adenosine that has built up in the brain during the day is able to bind to its receptors, leading to feelings of fatigue and drowsiness. And look, don't fool yourself into thinking that drinking another cup of coffee will solve the problem.

Consuming caffeine later in the day, especially in the afternoon or evening, can also interfere with sleep and make it harder to fall asleep at night. It's recommended to avoid consuming caffeine after 2 PM or to limit your intake to small amounts to avoid any interference with your sleep schedule. So yeah, if you've ever felt sleepy at the office around two to three o'clock in the afternoon, this is the primary reason why.

Now we've got one more tip for those who want to act bravely in the morning, and that's to take a cold shower. When you take a cold shower, that cold water causes the blood vessels in your skin to constrict, which sends more blood to your vital organs. This increase in blood flow can help you to wake up your body and increase alertness. Cold water can also stimulate the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline hormones that are associated with the fight-or-flight response and can also increase alertness and energy levels.

Additionally, taking a cold shower can also help to increase circulation and oxygenation to the brain, which can help to improve mental clarity and focus. Now before you get too excited by these benefits and jump into the icy cold shower, there are some important tips you should be aware of. First up, it's important to note that taking a cold shower might not be suitable for everyone, especially people with certain medical conditions.

It's also not recommended to take a cold shower immediately after waking up, as the body needs to warm up gradually. It's always better to start with lukewarm water and gradually decrease the temperature until you reach a comfortable level.

Number three: Accomplish your first win of the day. Now this can be something big or a simple task such as making your bed. William H. McRaven, a retired U.S. Navy four-star Admiral, once famously said, "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed." If you make your bed in the morning, you'll accomplish the first task of your day, which will make you feel a sense of pride and encourage you to do another task and another and another.

And by the end of the day, your first task will have turned into many. Besides that, making your bed first thing in the morning will remind you that the small things in life really matter. And if you're not able to do the small things right, well, you're not going to be able to do the big stuff either. We encourage you to watch his speech, as it serves as a great source of inspiration and knowledge.

Jordan Peterson also emphasized the importance of making your bed in his lectures and in his book "10 Rules for Life," so it might be a good idea to make this a habit.

Number four: Body and mind maintenance. "Mansana in corpore sano." A healthy mind needs a healthy body, and a healthy body needs a healthy mind. Mornings are the best moments of the day to take care of your mind and body maintenance. As far as taking care of your body goes, we suggest you practice the following: Yoga and stretching.

Practicing yoga and stretching in general helps you to improve focus and concentration by training the mind to be present in the moment and reducing distractions. That's because physical movements and deep breathing exercises will stimulate the circulation of blood and oxygen throughout the body, which can lead to increased energy levels and an improved mood. And besides that, you could also choose to go for a run or even go to the gym—your choice.

Now, as far as mind maintenance goes, we suggest you practice meditation. A lot of people like to include a short meditation session in the morning, and for a good reason. There are tremendous benefits to practicing meditation, such as enabling you to start the day with a clear mind and reducing stress and anxiety in case you're going to have a busy day.

To help improve focus and concentration, to increase feelings of well-being and positivity, and to help you establish a consistent net positive daily practice, it's important to note that meditation can be done at any time in a way that works for you, and it's not necessarily only going to happen in the morning.

And actually, meditation is something that we've written an entire course about on our website, so you can check that out too. If you're watching productivity gurus, you know by now that meditation is a practice that all of them include in their daily habits. You could also keep a morning journal.

Besides acting as a great way to boost your productivity and ease your mind, journaling can be a powerful tool for managing stress, anxiety, and depression. Writing about difficult emotions and experiences can help to process and make sense of them, which can lead to a reduction in negative feelings. It’s a great way to enhance your mood and a great setup for a positive and productive day.

Keep in mind that you can adopt any healthy habits you find interesting here, so get creative with your routine and design it in a way that suits you best.

And finally, number five: Eat the damn frog first. Eating the frog first is a productivity technique that suggests starting your day by tackling the most difficult task on your to-do list first thing in the morning. Now the idea here is that by completing the most challenging task, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment and motivation to continue with the rest of your tasks for the day.

This can help you to avoid procrastination as well as increase productivity and focus. Once the difficult task is completed, you can move on to the rest of your work with a clear mind, knowing that the most challenging part of your day is already over with.

And what's cool about taking this approach is that you'll also eliminate the context in which you're not able to tackle the most important tasks, which will spare you a lot of unnecessary trouble and work. We actually made a video to explain this subject in depth, so be sure to check that one out after this. Some massive knowledge bombs were dropped.

And that's all for today. Alexa, how does your daily morning routine look like? Make sure to share your productivity tips with us in the comments section below and enrich the community while you do. We're dying to know how you guys get productive on a daily basis. And while you're at it, tell us which point on this list you struggle the most with. It could act as a source of inspiration for future videos.

And if you found this video helpful, don't forget to tip us with a like for the YouTube algorithm. Thanks for watching, and as always, we'll see you back here again tomorrow.