How many of you wake up each morning, grab your phone, and check texts, emails, and the internet? Yup, me too! I know how bad it is bad for me, yet I keep doing it. Why? Will this time be different? Will I stop? I hope so.

What we are doing when we grab our cell phone first thing every morning is the equivalent of choosing junk food for breakfast versus healthy food – for the brain, that is. When we first wake up we are in a theta alpha state which means we’re highly suggestible. Feeding our brain junk food is a quick dopamine fix that’s unfortunately rewiring our brain to be distracted. 

So what’s a better choice? Apparently the first three hours after we wake up are the most critical time for success. Here are some other options: meditation, prayer, reading, journaling, adding a block-distraction app to our computer, or use a focus-boosting soundtrack like Brain.fm (which I listened to this morning)! When we start our day with health food for our brain, we capitalize on our willpower, we get more done in less time, and therefore we will presumably be more successful. So it’s up to us—”donuts” or “fresh fruit”? It’s our choice.

With Gratitude,
Beth
PS Brain.fm was very cool!