3 brain boosters for you

Greetings friends. 

3 brain boosters for you this week. 

🧠 “Hot Spots” vs “Not Spots”

Google’s “Executive Productivity Advisor” (yes that’s her real title) shared 10 productivity tips for returning to the office. 

My favorite is “hot spots” vs “not spots.”

Our brains love associations. We can use this to our advantage, by declaring “hot spots” for certain tasks.

(I always meditate on my cushion in my bedroom. Or I do my creative writing at the coffee shop. Reply to emails at work.)

Even better are places we NEVER do certain things, aka “not spots”.

(No tv or phone in the bedroom. No work emails on Saturdays). 

Check out the full list here.

☕ Delay Caffeine

Ever get that afternoon crash? 

Most people drink caffeine first thing in the morning to wake up (no shame, I used to do this too). 

But this causes the afternoon crash. 

Easy fix: just delay caffeine by 1 to 2 hours after waking. (trust me, you'll be glad you switched)

It’s actually crazy how caffeine works. 

All caffeine really does is trick our brains by blocking the molecule that tells us we’re tired. 

It's called adenosine and it's our “sleepy” molecule. (more adenosine builds up throughout the day = more sleepy). 

But when we first wake up, our adenosine levels are LOWEST.

So when consuming caffeine (adenosine blocker) too early, we're essentially “blocking” sleepiness that isn’t there yet. This causes the afternoon crash when the caffeine wears off. (booo)

PLUS, an added benefit of delaying is a wayyy smoother caffeine buzz (no jittery feeling). 

I made this change 9 months ago and it’s been a complete game-changer! 

Here’s Dr. Andrew Huberman’s 2-min explanation.

🤔 Burnout vs Boreout

Everyone knows burnout. 

But less popular, and equally harmful, is boreout. Aka the feeling of “daily sameness” of your job. 

Burnout = overstimulated

Boreout = understimulated 

Psychologist Steve Savels says “With boreout, you get stuck in your ‘comfort zone’ for too long, until your personal development comes to a halt.”

Yuck.

I hope no one is experiencing burnout or boreout… But if curious, check out this article to learn more.

Much Love,

Mitchell 

Ps. I can’t stop watching this 🎵