Goals work for me and my brain. I get a ton of dopamine from pursuing a goal. I’ve had big and small goals in my life, both personal and professional. When I was in graduate school, I set out to pursue three personal goals for myself: 1) Get a dog, 2) Obtain enough camping gear…
You didn’t think I would write a post about a morning routine without following up about a bedtime routine, did you? I wouldn’t leave you hanging like that. Dr. Huberman wouldn’t leave us hanging like that either. No matter how good your morning routine is, it’s going to be hard to feel energized and motivated…
I live for peaceful mornings. The quiet time before the rest of the world wakes up is magical. Whether it’s a walk with my dog, a gooey sunny-side-up egg with toast, a hot cup of coffee, feeding the chickens, or a quick yoga session in the backyard, I cherish the tiny moments of joy that…
You’ve established your skeleton and you’ve cut down on distractions. You’ve closed down your email and said no to chores, with boundaries strong like a fortress. Now it’s time to start building those focus muscles! Sometimes I get too excited when it comes to structure and planning. On Sunday, I’ll plan out my whole week.…
You’ve established your skeleton: you’re getting at least 7 hours of sleep, drinking water regularly, eating nutritious meals, and moving your body in ways that feel good. You’re ready to start making progress on that manuscript. You sit down at your computer. You’ve got your water, your gum, your blanket, your tea, your coffee, your…
I don’t know about you, but I really struggle with focusing on boring tasks. Interesting things like that new Netflix special, my lover, or a new project? You can’t tear me away from it. But bringing that once-was-new-but-now-is-old project across the finish line? All the editing, formatting, the nit-picky grammar? My eyelids are getting heavy…
Many of us use our phones as a conduit for human connection. If you think about why you love your phone, what comes to mind? My answer always is: My phone helps me keep in touch with family and friends. And for that reason alone, my phone truly is invaluable to me. I really can’t…
Did you try tracking your time? Did you surprise yourself in the amount of work you were actually doing? Was it more or less than what you expected? Call me crazy, but I am utterly confident–UTTERLY (haha, I just like saying that word sometimes)–that four hours of deep work is the most that we can…
Take up a hobby. The relief and excitement and fulfillment of having something to focus on that does not include sitting in front of a computer and working for all the fame and fortune that academia can provide is well worth it. Taking time for yourself for nothing but pure fun might feel like a…
Does time seem to slip away from you? You get to the end of a busy day, and you know you did stuff, but you can’t quite say what exactly it was that you accomplished? Perhaps you feel busy, but not productive? “I’ve been working 80-hour weeks,” you complain-brag to your friends. (By the way, 80 hours…
