Ask HN: What do you do to jump start your brain in the morning?
Mornings are by far the most challenging time for me to be productive. I sit at my desk fighting through my brain fog trying to find something I can focus on.
If I'm "lucky" something has gone wrong that needs my immediate attention [1], the small kick of adrenaline is usually enough to get my brain to wake up and I can continue being productive. By this I mean, solve problems, implement solutions, do the non-routine part of my job that I enjoy.
But having stuff break is not a sustainable method of waking up. If everything runs smoothly it can take an hour or two before the fogs clear. Even walking the dogs in the Scandinavian winter wakes me up sufficiently. I do of course use this time in some manners, read HN/reddit/blogs, write emails, meetings.. But I don't do any "real work", at least it feels that way.
So finally my to question
What do you do to jump start your brain in the morning?
[1] Bosses boss-boss decided that 24/7 oncall is too expensive so 8-17 it is.
I know this can sound like a sort of edgy teenager thing to say, but I just prefer the night. From about 9pm onwards, my mind is absolutely buzzing with energy. Most of my learning, throughout my whole life, has taken place at night. I feel like my brain doesn't work properly until at least lunchtime, so wherever I can, I arrange to do easy stuff in the morning. Responding to emails, any light admin, nothing that needs too much focus.
I consider myself a morning person however I find that unless I explicitly ignore messages/emails/etc. until some time block I schedule in, or practice Pomodoro, that nothing really ever feels like it gets done. I just feel "busy" at the end of the day which quite honestly, is not fulfilling. I'd much rather be productive than busy.
Miss those times!
I’ve found that the best thing I can do to consistently be ‘on’ right at 4 is to set my bedtime, not my awake time. I’m always in bed at 8 whether I think I’ll need 8 hours of sleep or not - this has allowed me to more consistently get something done right away outside of whenever the baby’s got me busy.
For everyone else, train your body to sleep and wake at the same times. I'm a bit out of whack right now, but my best routine was when I could barely keep my eyes open at XPM at night and wake up on my own at XAM in the morning. It was like clockwork. I could tell you what time it was by my internal clock. Also helpful was going to sleep AND waking up in the dark. Sunlight streaming into your sleeping area is also like an alarm clock.
Don't do things which will mess with your sleep. If you're going to drink alcohol, don't do it during the week. I stopped eating after 6. Disconnected from screens an hour before sleep time. I was also on a sort of keto diet (loads of veggies, small portions of organ meat and fish, fat from coconut oil.
I have never experienced such mental clarity than I did during this time. It seemed like a switch got flipped one day about 3 weeks into this routine. I had this persistent feeling like I had drank 2 cups of coffee, but without the weird jittery feeling.
Plus, since I'm not eating after 8 and I still eat breakfast (with other kid) at 8, I'm in this sort of accidental intermittent fasting mode. I wonder how much that is contributing.
I find my body gets into a natural rythm. And 8 hours of solid sleep makes my mornings so much more productive.
Love how customisable the notification settings are now, that's an Apple win
I had my day split for 8 hours sleep, 8 hours work, 8 hours with the baby. This allowed both my wife and I to get 8 hours of sleep every day once my son was on formula.
I was sleeping better and my work was more focused, and the boy (and my marriage) is still alive and happy. It worked so well, that it took me months for my body to shift away from that schedule when we moved on to more "normal" hours.
Hummingbirds literally zoom over to check me out. I did make a hummingbird feeder hat to wear during the pandemic though it's nowhere as cool as this dude's: https://cdn.trendhunterstatic.com/thumbs/double-feeder-hummi...
Then after yoga and a little meditation with the breath app from my apple watch I walk the dog, make a banana protein smoothie for breakfast and have a coffee while doing a few rounds of Duolingo. Then jump into morning calls.
Agree with Dr. Dshiv that having a full glass of water is great too!
I figured out a few factors that affect my performance in the morning:
- Schedule: I sleep 11pm to 7am every day, including weekends.
- Drink 2-3 glasses of water right after waking up.
- Have a clear plan for the first thing I should do in the morning.
About the latter one:
I think about solutions to the most challenging programming/architecture problem I had during the day while falling asleep in the evening. Then the first thing that pops up in my mind the moment I wake up is the ideas I had dozing off. I grab a cup of coffee and start working right away.
Been using this technique for years.
- Light to medium exercise in the morning. I try to hit the sweetspot where I come home from the gym tired, but not exhausted. A shower, breakfast and coffee jolt me back up and get me in the zone.
- Doing short mindfulness meditation immediately before work. It's nice on its own, but I think the real value is in creating negative space between pre-work chores and work.
I just do the things that don't need strong focus for the first couple of hours. Clear out emails, etc. I'm lucky now that I can schedule my time mostly. In jobs where I didn't have a choice, I found mornings quite awful.
Night owls often have more sustained stamina once they get going. Morning people who are bright and perky when they get up, also crash and burn pretty fast. They're sprinters, night owls are marathon runners...
For me it's Mondays - I never could get myself to work on Monday. I'd sit in front of my computer and procrastinate until it was time to go home. So I decided to no longer work on Mondays and start my work week on Tuesday. Much better.
Looks like part border collie, but can't really tell.
But I do know that my dog can happily go 1.5-2 hours, especially in cold weather. And trying to keep up with that will wake anyone up.
The must list has things I need to do to avoid increased stress and hassle down the line. Todoist then has my SHOULD list which would add up to the ideal day
From there the day's mostly just a checklist that needs ticking off. Easy mode if I'm feeling a bit naff, ideal list if I'm in a productive mood. It might be that psychology of choice but so far it seems to motivate me enough to know there's an easier option available
As long as the handwritten list gets done I'll be less stressed the next day and find it easier to start tomorrow. Bonus: being a written list you can rip it up when done and release some tension if they were painful tasks :)
I'm not a morning person so I do boring repetitive tasks in the morning while waiting for coffee to kick in - data entry, customer tickets, adminwork, invoices - then switch to code and systems stuff after lunch
- Sleep 10pm to 4:30am every day
- Get out of bed within 10 seconds of the alarm going off (it only gets harder if I don't)
- Drink some water
- 2 mile run
- Drink a cup of coffee while reading something technical for 30 minutes (physical books)
- Work on side/hobby projects for 1 to 2 hours
Running makes me feel good, coffee gives me energy, reading something technical helps push me into the problem solving mindset, and side projects let me work on something I'm passionate about before transitioning to the soul crushing activity we all know as "work".
The minimally cognitive task of sitting up, unscrewing and pouring from the flask is enough to blow away the cobwebs, and the instant reward is enough to encourage me to start.
It doesn't need to be a caffinated drink, but it does seem to make the motivation stronger.
I have my alarm in another room next to the cup of tasty iced coffee so it doesn't even have to be warm.
If I manage to do all/most of the above, my mornings are great
I'm in the same boat. I usually procrastinate until something comes up.
Maybe a way could be to leave stuff from previous day in unfinished state so there's motivation to start the day with it.
I do this, although with an important caveat: the unfinished stuff has to be well documented or trivial so it's easy to jump in. The point is to accomplish something as quickly and easily as possible.
But I already finish up all these tasks during routine family phone calls to my mother and my mother in law. :P
- have something you really want to do after getting up
And I would agree with that sentiment.
For me what worked best are
- running in the morning. I really wanted to do it because I would hate myself if I didn’t follow my fitness regime. Not the best motivation from a psychological health stand point, but it worked.
- do my side projects, reading blog articles, watch coding YouTube and having breakfast at the same time for 1 hour before work every day (instead of late at night). This way I would really look forward to this time and get up early to maximize it. Also helped with going to bed earlier.
Before going through your usual morning routine, start and finish the smallest possible unit of work which still requires you to go through the motions. E.g. if you're a software engineer, find a super small improvement/task/bug, do the work, and open a PR.
After, allow yourself to do whatever you feel like. Might be that you will go back to your present routine, but there is a good chance that you'll be "warmed up" and ready for more work.
I decided to leave my phone outside the bedroom and never taking it (no exceptions) and go to bed regularly at the same time, after a few days by body adapted and I'm having wonderful sleep again, to the point I can remember my dreams again.
All the numbness that I used to have in the mornings is gone, also I don't take any coffee or tea.
Specifically 40 mg Vyvanse at around 6:30. I used to be unable to work until around 11 am after two coffees and 4 cigarettes. The ADHD prescription completely changed that.
Maybe something to consider?
Since the start of the pandemic, my morning have become all about easing in to things. I wake up, read a bit, maybe dick around on duolingo, followed by some light exercise. Then breakfast and work. Before the pandemic, I would wake up, hit the shower, have breakfast on the way to work. The slower morning routine is definitely better for me.
The difference between phone drawing and going over to a dedicated workstation or opening a sketchbook is in the immediacy and casual feel. You can be browsing social media feeds in an idle moment and see a picture you like, download it on the spot and open it to do a little study. ibisPaint is designed for mobile and does a good job of getting out of the way(unlike some of the downported desktop apps that have their UI crammed into a tiny screen). Because it's digital, you have some important comfort features(undo, rulers, layers) which make it less of a tribulation to iterate on your work - you can trace over your photo in a layer, and then go back and try stylizing it in a second layer, or test your ability to recall the image by hiding the original and then showing it again to check. These experiments are easy and have real value - they don't need as much "warm-up time" as a programming problem. And you get to build some art skills.
These days I feel so groggy in the morning that there's just no chance. After 3 cups of coffee I might feel sort of okay and awake by 11am.
1. Wake up ridiculous early. Let’s say 5am (not that ridiculous).
2. Force yourself out of bed with a purpose. If necessary provide external motivation by priming pets or children to demand things of you at this time, be somewhere such a morning run with a group.
3. After the priming event do not go back to bed. Instead get ready for the day by showering, getting dressed, eating breakfast. Personally I put these on hold as I am already thinking about writing, a software enhancement, or where I last left off on some new game.
4. Start your daily routine whether that is driving to work or logging in from a home office.
5. Become engaged in the priorities of the day.
The trick is to have purpose and remain constantly engaged with drugs like caffeine. You will get drowsy as mind fades from purpose into a relaxed steady state, but by that point you are well out of early morning. At that point you can have caffeine if you need it.
Remain engaged for the rest of the day. You will become tired by early evening unless you are the kind of person that needs very little sleep. I tend to get by on 4.5 to 5.5 hours myself.
The worst thing you can do in this process is consume alcohol.
My insomnia tends to correlate with me drinking during the week.
I suck at sticking to routine, but this has worked out pretty well so far.
Another thing to consider are carbohydrates as in potatoes for me. If you read too much "eat vegetables, eat protein" articles it may be that you do not eat enough carbohydrates. No carbs, no energy. For instance eating just a salad, means no carbs for you at that meal but also vegetables will kill your appetite for your next meal. Best is to eat vegs and carbs.
Also protein takes a lot of energy to digest, less energy for you.
Carbs = energy, no brain fog
Protein = slow to digest -> slow transit -> less energy absorbed in the guts -> more brain fog
Vegs = less energy, more brain fog
When I wake up, my brain is immediately on — feels like a light bulb.
I think this is partially because my life is otherwise not very stimulating (due to COVID and dead-of-winter) but also because I go to bed early.
Every night asleep between 10-1030. Wake up around 530. Last meal was at 6pm (and no snacks after). No caffeine so my default is the same state I enjoy all day.
Morning run after I drop the older kid off at school, sometimes defer to lunch (depends on how icy it is outside). This is every week day. Settle down for work shortly after that. Work through most of the day, breaking up as I need. Sometimes will catch up in the evening after kids are in bed but I try not to as it can lead to burnout
I feel I get sufficient rest while giving decent inputs to my brain, so it doesn’t have that morning grog.
Isn’t that biological ? I’m not a morning person and I do generally have a hard time to get up… except if it’s my 4yo calling from its bedroom. When it happens, I feel like i’m waked by an instant shoot of adrenaline.
Let me say again that I force myself to do this. I’m not perfect at it, but I notice that the days I’m more negative I just don’t want to do anything work related.
Other than that I try to have a morning ritual. I have some Mates with cookies which makes me do a bathroom stop before leaving and I try to just accept the day after that.
The viciousness starts at 6.
I make some half-hearted attempt to hit bed before 23, but I will give up and steal some time for myself, and so bed is more likely at 0 or 1, and takes about 30 minutes of podcast before I doze off, and then the viciousness starts again.
I have to get up, no matter what. Rain, snow, hail, thunderstorm. The dog needs a walk. Walk 3 miles every morning without staring at your phone. (Pooch needs to play fetch.) Actually be present.
If coffee is your thing, don't drink Starbucks or other chain junk. The buzz you get from nice, high-quality beans is so much more gentle than the hyper-caffeinated over extracted coffee shop junk. It doesn't have to be espresso either. A nice V60 filter costs <£10 and a bag of speciality beans can cost the same and last a couple of weeks.
Or, sometimes, I make some tea (don't drink coffee) and I play something for 30 min, like on PS or World of Tanks, Warships, anything that will get my concentration and blood higher than usual.
I am also not a morning person, my productivity is at peak from 14:00 - 19:00, not from 08:00 - 13:00. :)
For the dark scandinavian mornings, I sometimes use 5 min in front of a cheap therapy lamp.
First whatever feels good. Then on my back for side-to-side head rolls, arms over head, legs lifts, sit-ups, bridges. Then side planks, and finally on stomach for push-ups, planks and some yoga positions. Every day is different.
I think the resulting brain/cell oxygenation from rhythmic slow deep breathing is why it works.
An app/a bunch of apps to engage you in the morning might be what you need.
This totally kicks my ass. No need for tea, coffee or other uppers... I stay satiated until lunch.
I think Sudoku, Wordle, most mental puzzles, have a similar value.
My brain feels amazing after them. The trick is having the motivation to do them. I guess any type of exercise will do.
1. drink ~500 milliliters of water immediately after waking up
2. 10 minutes on the vibration plate
3. basic stretching
4. contrast shower
5. 30 minutes seating meditation round 1
6. 10 minutes walking meditation
7. 30 minutes seating meditation round 2
8. breakfast
Even a couple of exercises warm up my brain a lot more than random browsing.
I find that regular exercise help a lot in general.
Somebody has yet to learn that amphetamine is the powerhouse of the cell
Also make sure you don’t have sleep apnea. But still, amphetamine(s)