Loading Zone
You’re operating in the
Loading Zone most days.
You’ve mastered some solid behaviours that are congruent with your Human Operating System ( hOS). However, there are some behaviours that you’ve adopted that may be stifling your performance.
Below are some additional micro-habits that you may want to consider that will further power-up your performance in the digitally-demanding world we now live and work in.
Air navigation experts use a rule of thumb called the ‘1 in 60 rule’. It suggests that for every 1 degree a plane veers off its course, it misses its planned destination by 1 mile for every 60 miles that you fly.
What I think this rule also shows is that even small adjustments (1-degree turns are miniscule) can yield big differences further down the track. The same is true with your digital habits: making small, seemingly insignificant changes can have huge implications over time.
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Three Micro-Habits to Power-Up Your Performance
Delayed caffeine
Before you skip over this micro-habit and scoff at the idea of avoiding drinking coffee immediately upon waking up, let me ask you a quick question. Do you regularly hit an energy slump and find it challenging to focus, typically between 2:30-4pm ( ‘biscuit-o’clock’)? The problem may be how you start your day. Drinking caffeine within the first 90-minutes of waking may be the reason why you hit an energy slump and feel powered down in the afternoon, around ‘biscuit-o’clock’. Caffeine blocks a receptor called adenosine, which builds up in your bloodstream as the day progresses. It’s what makes us feel sleepy. If we have a coffee as soon as we wake up the caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors but it doesn’t clear away the molecule altogether. This is why many of us hit an energy slump and find it more challenging to focus in the afternoon. If you delay your morning coffee by an hour and a half you’re more likely to avoid the afternoon slump.
Out of sight, out of mind
The research is compelling when it comes to your phone being a source of distraction: just seeing your phone can be a mental brain drain. Research from the University of Texas at Austin confirmed that when you’re working with your phone in your line of sight, even if it is on silent and facedown, it reduces your cognitive performance, by an estimated 7-10%.. Put simply, seeing your phone makes you 7-10% dumber! Your phone is literally a brain drain. Can you put your phone in a drawer or in another room, or leave it in your bag, when you need to do deep, focused work?
Morning sunlight
We need to ensure that our eyes are exposed to sunlight soon after waking within 60 minutes. This has two profound biological impacts – it puts us in an alert state and regulates our sleep. Sunlight exposure regulates the release of cortisol and melatonin, which impact our sleep and mood. Sunlight also increases the brain’s release of serotonin, a mood-boosting hormone that can help us feel calm and alert.
Sunlight also sets off a timer of about 16 hours to peak melatonin levels to help you sleep. Two minutes of morning sunlight is a minimum, ten minutes is great, and thirty minutes is fabulous. The photons will still cut through the clouds on an overcast day, so you should try to follow this protocol daily. If you wake up while it’s dark, turn on all the lights in your house and go outside once the sun has risen. Yes, you can get sunlight sitting in your car or through a window in your kitchen, but it’s 50% less effective through a window, because the glass filters out wavelengths that are essential for stimulating the eyes and sending the wake-up signal to your brain. Of course, you should never look directly at the sun and avoid wearing sunglasses in the morning.
