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Mental Sharpness Routine

Mental Sharpness Routine

Intro icon Mental Sharpness Routine - Intro

Mental sharpness is essential to get the most of each day 

You are better off working at full speed for a short period of time rather than sluggishly progressing through a sixteen hour day.

Here’s a routine with key habits to improve your mental sharpness.

Habits

Morning

Breathing Exercises

DESCRIPTION - Breathing exercises such as box breathing can make you focused alert and best equipped to deal with your daily tasks. Spend time doing breathing exercises everyday to keep you mind as sharp as possible.

ACTION - Spend time doing breathing exercises everyday.

4X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Morning

Vitamin B12

DESCRIPTION - Vitamin B12 and its coenzyme methylcobalamin are known to speed up learning, increase sleep quality, and regenerate damaged nerves and axons. Take this supplement to perform best mentally.

ACTION - Take this vitamin as a supplement and eat fish, oysters and tuna.

3X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Morning

Wake up right away in the morning

DESCRIPTION - Don’t hit the snooze button on your alarm. Doing so messes with your cortisol awakening response and your circadian rhythm. This ruins your mental alertness for the day. When your alarm goes off, it’s time to get up and get ready for the day.

ACTION - When the alarm sounds, get out of bed immediately and enjoy the rush.

5X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Morning

Consume Healthy Fats

DESCRIPTION - Eating the right amount of fat is important. Too much fat will mess up your circadian rhythm and too little will reduce your fasting glucose levels. This decreases your cognitive abilities for the day. Mono and polyunsaturated fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids from fish, reduce the risk of chronic diseases. The WHO recommends eating 250-500 mg of omega-3 fatty acids every day.

ACTION - Eat 3 to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables and avoid excessive sugar and unhealthy fats.

5X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Morning

Walk outside

DESCRIPTION - Moderate exercise improves your mood. When your mood is improved your creative thinking abilities also improve. Just the simple fact of being outside improves your creativity and cognition. Try to go for a walk every day to keep your mind at it’s best.

ACTION - Go for a 30-60 minute walk three or four times per week.

5X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Morning

20+ minutes in the sun

DESCRIPTION - Sunlight is responsible for an increase of serotonin, a calming, mood-boosting neurotransmitter. It also keeps you mentally awake and reduces your chances of depression. Go outside or use a sun lamp for 15 minutes per day to be as sharp as possible.

ACTION - Get at least 15 minutes of sunlight per day before 10am.

6X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Morning

Evening

Declutter

DESCRIPTION - The cleanliness and decoration of your workspace are crucial to your productivity. Clearing junk away and adding a few decorations leads to increased attention to detail, information processing and management, and organization. Clean your workspace and choose inspiring decorations to keep you mentally focused and in a good mood while working.

ACTION - Clean and decorate your workspace to improve your focus and mood.

3X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Evening

Sleep between 6-8 hours per night

DESCRIPTION - You’re not as sharp, alert, or focused when you do not get enough good sleep. Keep your bedroom cool and clear from distractions, to improve your sleep quality. Ensure you are getting 6-8 hours of sleep be at fully alert for the upcoming day.

ACTION - Make sure you get 6 to 8 hours of sleep a day.

7X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Evening

Any Time of Day

Listening to Jazz Music

DESCRIPTION - For some people, listening to music increases their productivity. Many tasks have characteristics which lead to decreased attention span and music fixes this issue. Listen to jazz or classical music to improve your productivity. Listening to the same song on repeat can actually greatly improve your focus.

ACTION - Choose your favorite jazz or classical music and listen to it to focus.

5X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Any

Hydrate

DESCRIPTION - Drinking enough water keeps your body in tune and decreases your risk of heart disease. It also improves your ability to think clearly and act quickly. Drink 2-3 liters of water each day to keep your mind focused.

ACTION - Drink at least 2 a 3 liters of water per day.

7X / WEEK

Best Time of Day: Any

Core Habits icon Why Core Habits are Important for Mental Sharpness

Sources list icon

Sources

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  3.  "Music -- an aid to productivity - Gwern.net." https://www.gwern.net/docs/music-distraction/1972-fox.pdf. Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.
  4.  "Breathwalk: Breathing Your Way to a ... - Amazon.com." https://www.amazon.com/Breathwalk-Breathing-Your-Revitalized-Spirit/dp/0767904931. Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.
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  6.  "Morningness-eveningness, habitual sleep-wake variables and ...." 5 May. 2010, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20450953. Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.
  7.  "Why Water Is Key for Anti-Aging - Heart MD Institute." 29 Aug. 2015, https://heartmdinstitute.com/health-and-wellness/water-important-anti-aging/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.
  8.  "Influence of diet on the gut microbiome and implications for human health" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28388917. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.
  9.  "Interim Summary of Conclusions and Dietary Recommendations." http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/docs/Fats%20and%20Fatty%20Acids%20Summary.pdf. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.
  10.  "Exercise enhances creativity independently of mood." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1332529/.
  11.  "Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning through Immersion in Natural Settings." 12 Dec. 2012, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0051474.
  12.  "Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21075236.
  13.  "What Are the Benefits of Sunlight? - Healthline." https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/benefits-sunlight. Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.
  14.  "Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) - Symptoms and causes ...." 25 Oct. 2017, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364651. Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.
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Category

 Happiness  Confidence  Stress  AntiAging  Productivity  Focus  Creativity  Memory  Sharpness  Motivation
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