One common thread of successful people seems to be they all have some sort of morning routine. Whether it be exercise, a mindfulness practice, or simply reading a newspaper, every person has something that stimulants their brain. Nobody brags about sleeping in and running out the door to get to work on time, it’s necessary to give our minds a buffer between awakening and concentrating on deep work.
The first experiment I intend to test is waking up early and exercising. I CAN be a morning person if motivated, but I EXCEL at sleeping in. So this is probably the biggest change I could make right away to my daily performance off the bat.
Along with exercising first thing in the morning, this will push back my 1st meal and waking up and meditating. Here are the changes to the day with this experiment:
| Activity | Change | New Habit | Previous |
| Wake Up Early | Yes | 7:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| Exercise | Yes | Run in Morning | None |
| Diet | Yes | Fast until Noon | Breakfast at 8:00 AM |
| Mindfulness | Yes | Meditation Post Exercise | Morning Priming |
| Stimulants | ? | ? | 3 cups of coffee daily |
| Sleep | No | – | 8 hours |
| Social | No | – | No plans for night |
Along with the above I will be interested in gauging and writing about my performance in the following areas:
Weight
Sleep – Quality
Steps vs Mean
More Focused?
More Caffeine? (Cups of coffee)
More Irratible? (Time of headache
More energy?
The stage is set for day 1 of the experiment, let’s hope the hostel mates aren’t raging on this Toosday!
Update: 10:00am
Medellin is in the basin of a mountain region, and holy shit attempting to run up the mountain was one of the most difficult runs of my life. And running down was not much more enjoyable as my quads had to act as emergency brakes each step to ensure I didn’t toppel over down the mountain!
Phew! 4 miles in the books. I sure do miss flat Manhattan & Miami to run in #FlatEarth #BestEarth!
At 9:45 after meditation I am feeling groggy and need the caffeine kick to start up some Spanish lessons.
Update: 10:00pm
Overall the effects of working out in the morning are incredible for your sense of ‘physical self’ and the ability to make health conscious choices all day. Although I did partake in 4 cups of coffee today (normal 2) it was a successful and productive day. I did not take a nap but believe a 20-40 minute siesta would have actually done wonders for my afternoon productivity. This is frowned upon in capitalist culture but I believe it would have made today even more successful.
Tomorrow I will wake up at 7am and exercise at a local gym/park.. It’s a Medellin thing, full gym outside, I’ll try and casually snap a pic when the other bro’s are mid set. Afterwards I will be doing my 1st ever Yoga sesh. Overall not as enduring as a 4 mile mountainous run so let’s compare results.