Don’t have a morning routine. Do this instead.
I used to have a morning routine of 3 hours.
I'd meditate, read, take a cold shower, take a short walk to get sunlight, journal... and so on.
But one thing bothered me about it.
When I got to work, it was at least 10 am.
Recently I realized I'm someone who's not biologically a morning person. So I should go to sleep later. And thus wake up later.
I started to wake up at 9 am. And that's what I still do.
But... now if I took 3 hours with my morning routine, it'd be bloody noon before I start working.
What is the point of a morning routine in the first place?
Should you have any routine? If so, what kind?
We don't want your routine to ruin your productivity.
I'm going to talk through this today with this Letter.
What is the point of a morning routine in the first place?
It is to maximize your productivity.
Well... for some it's self-care. But most see that as a way to be more productive later in the day.
I thought the morning routines were the way to go.
But then I watched a piece of Alex Hormozi's content. He said rich people do what's required. That they're more flexible with their time to get the outcome they want. But also, nearly none of them have morning routines.
Yes, you read that correctly.
And I mean... you can imagine it.
Let's take Elon Musk. Do you think Elon Musk would be taking a cold shower every morning? What about meditating and getting sunlight to his eyes? What about doing grounding?
Hell no, right?
What about Mark Zuckerberg?
What about Jeff Bezos?
No, no and no.
None of them have dedicated morning routines like that. They just get to work.
Maybe they pick up a coffee or something. But none of them takes 3 hours for their routine.
So why should you?
Now, let's talk more about why exactly some recommend taking time for self-care in the morning.
Self-care in the morning
The point of this is, that you'll be more focused at work. That you'll, again, be more productive.
But the funny thing is... we'd actually be more productive by just working WITHOUT the morning routine.
Let me explain.
This all comes down to flow proneness.
Flow proneness
What does it mean?
It means our tendency to experience a flow state.
(Flow state is the most productive, efficient and happy state we can be in.)
What does a morning routine do?
It increases our flow proneness.
The entire point of a morning routine is to make you experience flow more easily (to be more productive).
But... the mind-blowing thing is... that flow proneness is naturally highest in the morning.
Why? Because:
1) Your cognitive load is low.
You haven't got much information from the outside world. Your mind isn't as occupied - so it's easier to enter the flow state.
2) Once waking, your brainwaves are close to flow.
They aren't far from the Theta or Delta brainwave states. (They're the brainwaves that occur when sleeping - or when you're about to fall asleep.)
Because of these 2 reasons, it's easier to immediately get into a flow state.
By having a morning routine, you're missing out on the best productivity time in your day.
So... wake up and never do self-care?
Nah, this isn't the way the way to go either.
I love cold showers (well I hate them, but I take them anyway), meditation and walks in nature.
But I don't do them in the mornings anymore.
First, I work. Then I do self-care after the most important tasks.
And I'd argue, that you have a better time taking care of yourself later on. When you know you have got the most important stuff out of the way.
By working immediately after waking, you'll move the fastest towards your goals. And you'll save time.
But recovery is a key part of being able to access the flow state.
It is demanding for our brains.
That is why, you must take time to recover and do non-work-related tasks.
Whether it's meditation, cold showers or going to the gym.
This is crucial - if you don't want to burn out.
(Read more on activities that can recover you here.)
What does my morning look like now?
As mentioned earlier, I used to wake up and start a long morning routine.
Now, I write down my dreams and get to work.
(Learn how to remember dreams and analyze them here.)
Right now, it's 8:29 am December 16, 2023.
I woke up around 50 minutes ago. I jumped immediately to my computer to finish writing today's issue.
I've not checked my phone.
I've not checked my social media.
I've not checked has someone sent me a message.
My cognitive load is low. And my brainwaves are close to what they were during sleep.
Once I have written this for you, I'll do the morning essentials. Such as brushing my teeth and eating breakfast.
Then I continue work, as coffee does give me a boost of focus I want to take advantage of. And as it's still only a few hours after I woke up. So I still have much less cognitive load - compared to me at 5 pm.
Now, what should your mornings look like?
What should your morning look like?
Now, I know, you might be thinking "Hugo, I can't work on my personal projects for hours in the morning. I must go to work, take care of my kids... and so on."
Yes, I know it might be more difficult for you than for me. However, I bet you can still make time for it.
Not for a few hours perhaps. But for an hour? For 45 minutes? Work the amount you can in the morning.
But, I'd say do not sacrifice sleep. If you're tired in the afternoon - you can't do work then anymore.
Waking early doesn't equal sacrificing sleep. You just must go to bed in time. Not at 1 am.
Sleep is complicated. Just like we humans are.
We all also have different biological clocks. Meaning, I might naturally wake up at 7.30 am - and you might at 5 am.
So if you don't naturally wake up super early, don't force yourself to do that. (If you can work in the afternoon or evenings.)
Pay attention to what time you naturally wake up. You can measure this more easily during the weekend.
Go to sleep when you feel tired. And don't set an alarm. See when will you wake up. :)
(Learn more on sleep - and how to sleep better here.)
Summary and a last important tip
We want to do both:
1) Access the morning flow state - and
2) Recover later in the day.
This way we take advantage of the low cognitive load in the morning. And also the naturally high flow proneness.
But you also get to get the zen state in the afternoon, or evening, by recovering.
And do not skip the recovery. Please. It's crucial.
But before you click off this Letter, there's 1 crucial thing you must do.
You must plan what you'll do in the morning the evening before.
You don't want to waste your precious flow state figuring this out.
I rank my tasks on importance the evening before. Then I know what to do - and I don't need to start guessing in the morning.
You want to enable yourself to wake up during work.
Last words
I hope you've understood my point here. This was a little more complicated Newsletter.
A little update from my end:
I have now finished high school. (Although I'm still waiting to get the final confirmation on this.)
I get to write and put more time into these Letters again, woohoo.
YouTube videos will be coming soon too. I just needed to find a way to make them more sustainable.
I realized I couldn't do a 30-minute video every week.
And as I'm brainstorming how to make everything even more sustainable, I need your help.
What do you want to learn through this Newsletter?
Is it stuff like today's issue? Anything to do with creativity? Or would you like to learn photography or editing tips?
Please let me know in my DMs @hugoraphy.
I'm thinking I could write more about photography itself. But I know not all of you are photographers.
Some weeks I could of course write on photography - and other weeks about something else.
But please let me know. Just answer "I'd like to see photography" if you want to do so.
If not, please answer "Please keep it as it is".
Feel free to answer with a longer answer too.
I thank you for your time.
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Till next weekend my friends (yes, even though it's close to Christmas),
Hugo
