Dumb Little Man | Tips for Life

Definitely not a good way to start your day.

Sound familiar?

If it does, then make sure to check out the best 7 tips that will help you boost the quality of your sleep, overnight.

1. Have a Sleep Journal

Any good old notebook will do the trick. Inside you’ll log the time you went to sleep, the time you woke up and the total sleep time.

Keep that notebook close to your bed since this is the last thing you want to do before you fall asleep and the first thing you want to do when you wake up. With a sleep journal you’ll be able to do two things:

1. You’ll get a clear cut view of what’s your average bedtime, wake up time and your sleep length.
2. With the help of the intel in your sleep journal it’ll be much easier to develop a healthy sleeping schedule.

They say you can’t manage what you don’t measure. The same holds true for sleep.

2. Go to Sleep Early

This is one of those obvious tips that no-one seems to follow.

Our bodies are geared to hit the hay as soon as the sun sets. A good rule of thumb is to go to sleep before midnight, where 10pm is seen as a sweet spot for most.

And I bet you've heard this before … one hour of sleep before midnight is worth more than two hours after midnight.

3. Eliminate Distractions

There are 3 types of distractions you need to get rid of to get a good night’s sleep. They are:

1. Distractions for the Mind - internet, TV, Xbox, smartphone, etc. Shut that stuff down at least 1 hour before bedtime so that your mind can zone out.
2. Distractions for the Eyes - kill all sources of bright light. This includes modems, routers, smartphones and yes, even the moon. Switch off the tech stuff and roll out the blinds to block the moon rays. Wear a sleep mask if you have to.
3. Distractions for the Ears - kill the noise with some soft foam ear plugs.

4. Be Physically Active

Any kind of physical deed that will get your heart rate up will do a great deal of good when it comes to upping the quality of your sleep.

Do what you love the most - it could be parkour, soccer, weight lifting or even a light afternoon stroll in the park.

But make sure you’re not doing hard-core physical stuff right before bedtime.

5. Have Clean Bed Linen

If your bed feels, smells and looks like an Alien nest, then it’s time for you to bust out some clean bed linen.

This is one of the best things you can do to boost the quality of your sleep.

Change bed linen once a week and if you can, change the pillowcase daily.

6. Avoid Coffee and Other Stimulants

Try not to drink coffee, red bull, green tea and stuff like that at least six hours before bedtime.

Even if you can fall asleep with no trouble after drinking two cups of coffee right before you head out to bed, don’t do it.

Caffeine and other stimulants, right before bedtime, will mess with your melatonin production and your deep sleep.

7. Deep Breathing

While in bed trying to fall asleep, focus on taking deep, long breaths.

Inhale slowly, exhale slowly. Deep breathing will keep your mind in the now and away from future worries and past regrets. I know this may sound like some new-age fluff, but deep breathing really works.

These 7 Tips Are Just For Starters

In the end, if you want to sleep like a log every night, you’ll have to take good care of your health.

The 7 tips I talk about here are just the beginning. A sound diet and a smart workout plan will go a long way to make your sleep bulletproof.

That's what I've discovered.

I’m quite confident that you’d prefer a prettier picture for your future. So jump on board and start by getting a good, solid night’s sleep. You’ll want to begin by making some simple changes to your daily and bedtime routines.

1. Stick to a sleep schedule
   This may not make sense, but it works. Go to bed and rise at roughly the same time every day, including weekends. You might be cursing at the thought of foregoing your Sunday-morning sleep-in but truth be told, too much time in bed can actually disrupt sleep.
   
   So even if you’ve had a rough night, get up and on with your day.
   


2. Establish and follow a bedtime ritual
   We are creatures of habit. Our sequences give us familiarity and get us doing the predictable. So set up a routine that you can easily do with guaranteed consistency.
   I love to take my bath, light candles, drink a cup of Relax tea and drift off to a meditation. I don’t stress that I don’t hear the entire track because I know that on some subliminal level, my soul is sensing the words and the deep relaxation and healing is taking place.
   


3. Don’t eat or drink excessively before bedtime
   Nighttime is for sleep. It’s the time for your body to recuperate from your busy day and restore your health and energy. If you introduce more work such as digestion, you jeopardize the quality of your sleep as well as the actual digestion. Don’t be surprised if you wake up with gas or heartburn! Or if you feel flat and groggy — let your body do what it needs to at night, sleep.
   
   Drinking excessively before bed will result in you waking up and running, or perhaps stumbling, to the bathroom throughout your sleep time.


4. Exercise and stay active
   Exercise, if bottled and sold, would be a billion-dollar industry because it seems to cure almost everything — including sleepless nights. The results are unequivocal; get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes most days of the week and you’ll find yourself deeply engrossed in many, many dreams.
   
   Here’s the point of controversy — when to exercise? Late at night is a definite no-no. But, wait up, that’s when I exercise and I truly sleep like the dead an hour thereafter. Other research indicates early morning exercise is best for guaranteed deep slumber while still additional studies points toward a late-afternoon cardio workout as being the trick to lights out all night.
   
   My suggestion — as always, listen to your infinitely wise body. Try out different times and see what works best for you.
   


5. Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol
   Noon should be your cut off point for taking stimulants — and that includes cola if you haven’t ditched it yet. Caffeine takes much longer to metabolize than you might think — from at least four hours and then some.
   
   While alcohol hangs around in your system for a varying amount of time depending on your body mass, gender and your metabolic rate and tolerance levels, a standard drink will stay in your body for at least one hour.
   
   And what’s the deal with cigarettes? Well, nicotine can cause shallow breathing and sleeplessness. Furthermore, smokers tend to sleep much more lightly than non-smokers. So, you’re easily startled and disturbed.


6. Schedule worry time
   We all worry. At least worry sensibly! If you’re stressing out before you go to bed, a nightmarish period lies ahead. Schedule some “Worry time” instead. Block out a space during your day to confront your concerns by brainstorming solutions on paper or talking to someone. But don’t start that anxiety ticker before bed.


7. Find ways to relax before bed
   Does relaxation come easily to you? If not, identify actions you can take that encourage you to chill out. I practice breathing to a soothing mantra. Perhaps for you it’s taking a warm bath or sipping chamomile tea. However weird or wacky these may appear is unimportant. The goal is to unwind and shed your cares so you can drift off peacefully.


8. Create a sleeping haven
   Experts say you should make your room like a cave — cool, dark and quiet . While “cool” is a subjective experience, the average recommended temperature is between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Apparently, this gentle drop in temperature induces sleep, especially REM sleep where you do most of your dreaming.
   
   It’s also crucial that your mattress and pillows are comfy. Before I changed my mattress I would honestly wake up due to lower back pain every time I rolled over. It was just awful. And if you ask my family members, so was my morning mood!


9. Don’t watch the clock — And turn off that smart phone!
   The glowing haze or staccato tick-tock of a bedside clock will totally blow your night’s rest. Get rid of the distraction by putting it in your dresser drawer or under the bed.
   
   And turn the phone off! At least those beeping Twitter and Facebook notifications. You are unique, magnificent and uber special — but the world will survive without your immediate response. Off!


10. Check your medications
    Ask your doc if any of the meds you are on may be contributing to your insomnia. Particular drugs to take note of include steroids, beta blockers, nasal decongestants, appetite suppressants, and asthma and high blood pressure medications. You can look on the label of over-the-counter drugs to see if they include caffeine or other stimulants such as ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.


11. Your bedroom: For sleep and sex only
    It’s been labeled the “Cardinal Rule of Sleep Hygiene” — your bedroom is there as a place of calm and pleasure. It’s not an office, a gym, a dining room or a movie theater.
    
    And here’s the thing; less sleep equals less sex. Sixty-one percent of Americans report that sleepiness disrupts their sexual relations. So you might want to follow these tips.

With a good night’s sleep, you’ll arise smiling, energized and ready to be an active player in your life. Sounds crazy but it’s true — and simple. Make a few tweaks here and a few tweaks there and before you know it, life will be brighter, your productivity will be fantastic and you might just be the lover you were in your college days!

Here’s how:

1. Get Everything Ready the Night Before
   Perhaps you have great intentions for your morning: you want to get up early, eat a healthy breakfast, hit the gym on the way to work, and arrive in the office with all your papers for that important meeting.
   
   Great in theory; in practice, you might end up hunting for your gym kit, forgetting to take breakfast with you, and dashing off only to double back for those papers.
   
   An easy way to get your morning off to a great start is to put things ready before you go to bed. Sort out those papers. Pack your gym kit into a bag. Put your cereal bowl and box on the kitchen counter. Oh, and, charge the phone and set out the car keys. That way, you can get your day off to a great start.
   


2. Go to Bed Earlier
   If you’re aiming to get up at 6am every day but you’re not in bed till midnight, it’s no surprise that you feel tired and sluggish first thing. Even if your partner or best friend manages on five hours sleep, you might well be different: figure out how much sleep you need, and make sure you’re getting enough.
   
   It’s easy to get engrossed in TV, surfing the web or reading a great book in the evenings. If you have trouble remembering to stop and go to bed, try setting a “go to bed” alarm (as well as a “wake up” one!)


3. Don’t Eat a Heavy Meal Before Bed
   Do you ever struggle to sleep because your stomach is gurgling away? If you eat a heavy meal near bedtime, your body will be busy digesting – making it hard for you to drop off.
   
   It’s easy to fix this one: either eat earlier (say, at 7pm instead of 8pm) or have a lighter evening meal. If you find that you’re hungry again before bed time, a light snack like a banana, a bowl of oatmeal or a glass of milk can help you drop off.


4. Write an Action List for Your Day
   It’s hard to get up ready to rock if you’re not feeling inspired about the day ahead. One great way to feel energized about your day is to plan properly: write an action list during the afternoon or evening, so that you know what tasks you’ll be tackling.
   
   This can help you unwind and sleep – you know you’re not going to forget important tasks – and can help you feel mentally prepared for what’s coming up during the following day.


5. Do Something Important First
   When you’re writing your action list, make sure you include something important, not urgent, for the start of the day.
   
   That might mean:
   
   • Spending half an hour working on a personal project (like studying, or writing a novel, or searching for a new job) when you first wake up
   
   
   • Starting off your day with something energizing and good for your physical/mental health (like exercise, mediation, or journaling)
     
   It might only be half an hour, but it can give your whole day a more positive tone.
   


6. Get Up When Your Alarm Goes Off
   One of the worst ways to start your day is by lying in bed, dozing fitfully, hitting “snooze” on your alarm clock. You know that you should be getting up, so you feel guilty and grumpy before you’re even out of bed. The extra sleep doesn’t make you feel any better rested, either.
   
   If you consistently fail to get up when your alarm goes off at 6am, then set it for 6.30am (or whenever you really get out of bed). If you do genuinely want to get up at 6am, then go to bed half an hour earlier. You might also want to try putting your alarm further away – if you have to get out of bed to reach it, you’re already on your feet!

Do you struggle with mornings, or do you bounce out of bed, full of energy? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below...

1. Write
   As a blogger, I’ve found that I’m most prolific and creative early in the morning. But even if you’re not a blogger, writing is a very therapeutic thing to do. We tend to have quite a bit on our minds when we wake up because we’ve been dreaming all night. Putting it all down on paper allows you to clear the mind for a much more productive day ahead. I always come back to what Tony Robbins said about journaling - “A life worth living is a life worth recording.”
   


2. Read
   On the days that I can’t seem to put two words together, I go to my next alternative which is to read. I recommend you don’t read the news or anything serious right when you wake up. Most of what’s on the news is negative. You could spend time reading through the archives here at Dumb Little Man or find books that are uplifting. Whatever you read, make sure it’s somewhat light-hearted or thought provoking. Even if you read for 15 minutes each morning you’ll be amazed at how much that adds up over time. Eventually it will be something you look forward to.
   


3. Listen to Music
   I tend to combine reading and writing with listening to music, but you could just listen to music. I have a morning playlist setup on Spotify that is very soothing. I tend to stay away from anything that is really loud or full of negative lyrics. I think you can more or less listen to anything as long as you find that it calms your nerves.
   


4. Motivational Tapes
   This is something I’ve actually learned from listening to Zig Ziglar. He said that one of the best ways to speed up the flow of serotonin first thing in the morning is to listen to a motivational tape. Having done this more than a handful of times, I can definitely say there’s value in doing this. You start your day off with a bit of inspiration and hope and that mindset permeates the rest of your day.
   


5. Exercise
   If there’s one thing that trumps all of the above for me, it’s a morning surf session. With nothing but waves, a sunrise, and dolphins leaping in the air, this really enables me to start the day off on a high note. All it takes is one good wave. But if you don’t live near an ocean, any form of exercise will do. Go for a walk around your neighborhood even if it’s a short one. Do a search online and you’ll find a number of exercise options that you could do in the comfort of your own home. While I think being outdoors is idea, if you live somewhere where it’s freezing cold it might not be that easy to get outside.


6. Sit Quietly
   This might seem like a strange way to start a productive day. A few years ago when I was diagnosed with IBS the doctor told me to spend 15 minutes in the mornings just relaxing and doing absolutely nothing. This is actually easier said than done because we’re so used to being in motion. But I think you’ll find that slowing down just a little will actually result in a much better day.

The way you start your day can have a big impact on how the rest of it turns out. So pick any one of these ideas and try it for 30 days. I think you’ll be amazed at the dramatic difference it will make in your life.

These early rising juggernauts, these unstoppable agents of productivity, they see things differently. They see these early hours as their chance to lay claim to their share of the day. They rise with purpose, act with determination, and achieve ruthlessly.
The world is in awe of these special people, so let's take a look at what pops them out of bed like a toaster strudel and what gets them up, sometimes before the alarm!

1. Appointment With Waking
   The harsh truth about the human body is that we're creatures of habit. In some ways this can be extremely inconvenient when trying to take on new things. However, if we allow ourselves to live within the rules of our body's natural cycle, which is a 24-hour circadian rhythm, we will be pleased with the body's functionality.
   
   This means that when you find a waking hour that will work best for you each day of the week, you should stick to it. This will allow your body to want to support you in your endeavor of waking up, and rise you out of bed feeling fresh as a daisy.
   


2. The King and The Pauper Way Of Eating
   The way our bodies function optimally is if we eat like a king in the morning and a pauper in the evening. This means that it's best to eat heavier, bigger portions in the morning because these meals will give us high energy throughout the day and then burn off.
   
   Eating like a pauper, meaning small light meals, in the evening allows us to go to sleep on an empty stomach. If your body is functioning normally, and you don't have stomach ulcers, going to sleep on a mostly empty stomach will allow you to sleep better. This nightly fast allows your body to take it's focus away from digestion and put it towards repair and rejuvenation of the body's cells.
   


3. Living With Purpose
   Young children will do anything to avoid going to sleep at night. These same children are also the ones that can't wait to get out of bed first thing in the world. The simple reason for this non-lazy behavior is that they don't want to miss a thing.
   
   As adults we may need more persuasion than 'not wanting to miss a thing'. This is why we take extra steps in creating fun, life changing goals, and scheduling specific ways of how we'll get a step closer to these goals during this coming day. What we all need is not necessary a cause we're willing to die for, but at least a cause we're willing to LIVE for.


4. Plan Your Day
   We can say we're going to live with purpose, but unless we plan, we can tell ourselves that we'll start living with purpose next week, or the week after that. Planning is one of the fundamental ways to maximize your mind to achieve your goals, and as such it plays a critical role in allowing us to have an awesome day, everyday. We need not do more than take 15 minutes the night before to succinctly organize the next days schedule.
   
   A schedule complete with waking time, most important things of the day, eating and recreational allowances. Having a tight schedule allows me to live out my day with definitive purpose, while getting more done, having more fun, and not wasting precious moments of my life.
   
   
   

   “Happy people plan actions, they don't plan results” - Dennis Wholey

   
   


5. The Water Hack
   A bit of water before bed and half a liter as soon as you get up. The water before bed will serve in the rejuvenation process we mentioned above. While you sleep all your cells will fill up with this fresh water and create an over all well being within your body.
   
   The water in the morning does two things. One is it provides your first dose of water to get your mind and body going. Another function, as told to me by my endocrinology teacher (a very qualified person to say this), is that a dose of water in the morning triggers a cascade of physiological functions that engages your digestive system and causes you to excrete feces. You'll feel nice and light first thing in the morning!


6. Work That Body
   In number 1 above I mentioned that our bodies adapt around a 24-hour circadian rhythm. This works for sleep, eating, exercise, and many other bodily functions. We're a pretty efficient physiological machine when you think about it. This is why getting a dose of exercise is optimal in the morning. It gets the blood flowing and stimulates you to function on a higher level.
   
   
   

   "Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness." - Edward Stanley

   
   
   Once you're used to this routine, your body will prepare by providing you with high energy before you start to work out. As you can see, if you wake up with this high energy, you're going to just pop out of bed.
   


7. Have 'Me' Time
   No morning is completely satisfying unless you've scheduled in some 'Me' time. Whether you enjoy meditating to clear you mind and give you laser sharp focus, or reading to gain some new knowledge about the world, make sure you schedule in this time.
   
   There may very a variety of things you enjoy doing, so this will be custom tailored to the individual. The point is that when you have something you REALLY enjoy doing right when you get up, you won't be able to wait until that alarm goes off till you jump out of bed and get to it!

See, that's all it takes! :)

Isn’t it time to say enough is enough?

Allow me to share with you the things that I have found to be most powerful when it comes to regaining your control over the night. The following points have worked wonders for me (certainly some more than others, or for different periods of time), and I trust they’ll be of benefit to you.

10 Ways To Improve Your Sleep And Take Back Control

1. Increase your Vitamin D levels
   I wanted to start with this point because I suspect it may be one of the less obvious techniques to resting easier. You’ve probably heard a lot about Vitamin D lately – a lack of it is being linked to an increasing number of health complaints, the reason for which is the fact that nearly every cell in your body has Vitamin D receptor sites. This means that it can affect every cell dysfunction in your body, as well as every hormone.
   
   One hormone that is crucial to good sleep is melatonin. Melatonin should be released as you wind down for bed – think of it like your body’s natural ‘off-ramp’. Well, with insufficient Vitamin D in your body, you make it virtually impossible to produce adequate melatonin. You can increase Vitamin D by exposing yourself to a little early morning sun (bright light sparks melatonin production) each day, by eating foods high in it (although it’s tough to get enough through diet), or by discussing a supplement with your health practitioner.
   


2. Cut back on the stimulants
   Common sense, right? And yet how often do we find ourselves reaching for the (extra) cup of coffee far later in the day than we know we should? Couple that with a little more sugar than would be considered ideal, or perhaps even something as potently disruptive as an energy drink, and you know you’re setting yourself up for another vicious cycle of poor sleep and a sluggish next-day start.
   
   It takes at least 4 hours for half of the caffeine in your system to be metabolized, another 4 for half of that, and so on. So you can see how drinking coffee late in the day can disrupt sleep. My recommendation is to cut the caffeine and stimulants after 2pm. Be strict on this, and it will pay off for you!
   


3. Have some tryptophan for dinner
   There are certain foods that will help to improve your chances of sleeping well. When your Mom told you to drink a glass of warm milk before bed, she was on the money – that works for many people (although not a good idea if you have dairy issues!). The reason dairy works is that it contains tryptophan – a natural sleep agent also found in oats, bananas, turkey, and almonds.
   
   Aside from foods high in tryptophan, many health experts advocate foods high in complex carbohydrates (oats, bananas, root veggies, wild or brown rice) as being helpful for sleep. The only catch is that this may not be a great idea if fat loss also a goal for you.


4. Avoid eating or drinking alcohol closer than 2 hours to bedtime
   This is practical advice that a lot of us know makes sense – yet for some reason it can be a tough one to follow through on. Often we associate downtime (TV time!) with snacking, and this can go on right up until bedtime. Logically it makes sense that if your body is focused on digesting food or alcohol, it cannot simultaneously wind down and enter a state of deep sleep.
   
   The process of digestion may also inhibit the release of growth hormone, an important hormone for deep sleep as well as for building lean muscle and burning fat. Proteins and healthy carbohydrates (such as root vegetables, brown or wild rice) tend to leave the stomach faster than what fats will do.
   


5. Relax your senses
   There’s nothing like bright lights and pumping noise to help you get a great night’s sleep, is there?! Not! It stands to reason that overloading your brain with ‘daytime images and noise’ is not really a great recipe for rest. Let me be clear – watching television and using the computer right up until bedtime is a sure-fire recipe for night-time twitching. If you must watch your shows, try to choose comedies over dramas or violence- those will excite your nervous system more. Ideally, turn off the technology an hour or so before bed and enjoy some conversation or reading.
   


6. Set the bedroom mood
   I’m not talking about any hanky panky, although if that gets you nodding off then by all means! What I meant though, was creating an environment for sound sleep. A pitch black room is optimal for melatonin production, and even that red light on your alarm clock can be disruptive without you realizing it. Either get technology out of the bedroom, or wear a sleep mask. I’d suggest doing both. It’s also important to consider the temperature of your room, and making sure you’re comfortable (if you hate your pillow, invest in a new one rather than ‘making do’). If noise is an issue you may need to use earplugs.


7. Still your mind
   A busy mind may keep you focused and productive during the day, but you’re not doing anyone any favors by running your to-do list while in bed – not least yourself. One of my favorite tricks for quieting the mind is to jot down 10 things I’m grateful for before bed. Another technique, which I also learned from my mentor Charles Poliquin, is to write down one thing you learned for the day, one kind thing you did for someone else, and another kind thing that somebody did for you. It’s very effective.


8. Drown out your thoughts
   Try using a sleep or relaxation track like this free one over at pzizz.com. Pzizz offers a full system, but you can grab a free 15-minute sample of their sleep or energizing track and download it to your iPod. This worked very well for me for about a month steadily, and after that I continued to use it off and on. There are many equally great sleep tracks out there on the internet, so do a search and try several of them – if writing your grateful list doesn’t work then listening to sleep audios may just drown out that busy mind!


9. Have a morning workout
   We are designed to be at our most active and energized first thing in the morning. As a former insomniac I know how tough it can be to get motivated to get going after a horribly restless night. Your eyes feel like they’re full of sandpaper, and your head is pounding. Every muscle feels weak and exhausted. Oddly though, you seem to come alive by night-time. This is a classic sign of a reverse cortisol curve – your circadian rhythms are back to front! Rather than supporting the perpetuation of this situation (try saying that 3 times fast!) you can fight back by reminding your body when energy should be ‘up’. Try working out in the morning – even for 10 minutes – and your body will thank you for it. Creating an ideal circadian rhythm will help you to wind down naturally at night, and wake up feeling fresh in the morning.


10. If all else fails, seek professional help
    If you’ve tried all of these steps and you still struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep, consider getting professional help. To paraphrase sleep expert and author William Dement, “even 2 or more nights of poor quality sleep is a serious issue and demands treatment”! Don’t do what I did, and determinedly push through for weeks, months or years on end, thinking that you can manage or that you will get over it.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, remember that most people find that it’s the combination of several sleep techniques rather than just one thing which gets them through – so if there’s something on this list that you’ve never tried or perhaps forgotten about, then give it a go. It’s worth a try!

Do you have any favorite sleep techniques that you’d be willing to share? Bring it in the comments – as weird and wacky as you’d like!

If your morning goes well, the rest of the day is probably going to be a success too: once you begin to build momentum, it’s easy to keep going. So here’s how to start your morning as you mean to go on:

1. Get Up On Time
   I won’t say “get up early” – because we’re not all morning people. Getting up on time means setting your alarm early enough that you don’t feel rushed right at the start of your day. Often, just getting out of bed ten or fifteen minutes earlier transforms a stressed, harried morning into a much more relaxed one.
   
   The best way I’ve found to get up on time is to go to bed on time. Yes, it’s obvious – but it’s surprising how often we seem to forget it! Many people need more sleep: are you one of them?


2. Eat a Healthy Breakfast
   We all know that it’s important to eat breakfast, though many of us don’t – or if we do, we eat all the wrong things. If you’re trying to lose weight (and a staggering two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese), then eating breakfast will help you do so.
   
   Even if your weight isn’t a concern, you still need to give your brain some fuel first thing in the morning ... so eat a healthy breakfast that’ll give you the energy you need for your work. Good options are wholegrain cereals with skim milk, wholewheat toast with eggs, or oatmeal.


3. Plan Your Day
   When you arrive in the office (or, if you work from home, when you sit down at your desk) – resist the temptation to check your emails. Unless you work in tech support, it’s very unlikely that anyone needs a reply at 8.30am.
   
   Instead, spend just five minutes planning out your day. What major projects do you want to make progress on? This is what you should work on for at least the first hour of the day. What small but urgent tasks need to be done today? Batch these together and knock them out in a bunch – or get them done during those “gaps” in the day, like when you’re waiting for someone to phone you back.


4. Minimize Interruptions
   When you’re working on something that’s mission-critical – like that mail-out to new customers – do you really want to keep stopping to deal with trivia? Let your calls go to voice-mail, leave your email program closed, and shut your office door.
   
   It takes several minutes to refocus on what you’re doing after an interruption, so you’re wasting a lot of time if you’re constantly stopping to deal with people’s queries.


5. Stay On Track
   Productivity can become a positive spiral if you stay focused: the more work you get through, the more energized you’ll feel. You’ll be encouraged to keep achieving and to keep doing meaningful work (rather than busy work or low-value tasks).
   
   To stay on track, learn to recognize and control your impulses. Don’t give in to distractions like Twitter, Facebook and other socializing websites – save these for your lunch break or for after work. If you find yourself losing focus on a task, take a five minute break from your computer – then get straight back to it. In many cases, mono-tasking is more effective than multi-tasking.

Do you find that your day goes better if your morning starts well? How do you make sure you get your day off to a great start?

1. More “Me” Time
   While my fiancé is hitting the snooze button repeatedly, I’m taking a leisurely shower, tidying up around the house, and catching up on last night’s Daily Show. When you wake up early, without phone calls, emails, or family members, the time is yours to spend as you please, whether you meditate, exercise, read, or simply watch that television show your spouse hates. Many parents of young children find that the early-morning hours provide their only chance to enjoy a cup of coffee or relax alone before the day begins.


2. Regular Workouts
   People’s motivation to exercise is high first thing in the morning. Many report that they are more likely to stick to a morning workout routine than to an afternoon or evening one, since distractions have a way of derailing later plans to get to the gym. Also, although it hasn’t been proven, some exercise physiologists believe that exercising in the morning on an empty stomach forces the body to burn stored fat, instead of other calories.
   
   A study published in the November 2006 issue of the journal SLEEP found that exercising in the morning led to better sleep at night. The researchers theorized that the morning activity helped to properly align the body’s circadian rhythms. Test subjects who postponed exercise until the evening actually had a more difficult time falling asleep.


3. An Easier Commute
   In some cities, the difference between a breezy, quick commute and total gridlock can be as little as fifteen minutes. Getting up early to beat traffic makes commuting not only more relaxing and peaceful, but also safer. Stressed driving, either because of traffic conditions or because the driver is running late, can lead to aggressive behavior, speeding, and poor decision making, increasing the chance of accidents. For those who rely on public transportation to get to work, getting up early can mean the difference between grabbing a seat on a nearly empty train or bus and cramming in next to strangers, holding on to the strap for dear life.
   


4. The Benefit of Breakfast
   When you sleep in and hurry out the door, breakfast is often one of the first parts of the morning routine to go, and many people who sleep in very late end up skipping breakfast altogether and waiting until lunchtime to eat. Yet countless studies have demonstrated the positive effects of eating a healthy breakfast: people who do so tend to feel fuller, make better food choices throughout the day, and be a healthier weight than non–breakfast eaters. Waking up early gives us the benefit of time and energy to put together a healthy breakfast, instead of grabbing fast food or forgoing the meal entirely.
   


5. Family Matters
   When you have time in the morning to tidy up the house, start prepping for dinner, or do errands, you can use the extra evening hours to relax and have fun with your partner, your kids, or your friends. Most people would probably rather spend their evenings enjoying a movie or eating a leisurely family dinner than doing housework. Getting your chores done at the beginning of the day makes those activities more possible.


6. High Productivity
   In 2007, Yahoo! Finance surveyed twenty CEOs and high-powered executives at companies like Pepsi, Motorola, Avaya, and Xerox. One thing that all of them had in common was that they were all awake before 6 a.m. They used that time to get ahead on email, exercise, read the paper, or take care of family chores. All of the survey respondents said that getting up early was absolutely essential to their productivity.


7. A Brainpower Boost
   There’s also some evidence that our brains are at their peak performance in the morning hours. In a study conducted at the University of North Texas, college students who reported getting up early had higher GPAs than students who slept in regularly.


8. Less Stress
   When you get up early, you set a relaxed and comfortable pace for the whole day. Between getting yourself ready for work, getting your kids ready for school, commuting to work, and doing all the other things that have to happen before 9 a.m., things can get pretty stressful. Reducing stress has a big effect on health, since stress can result in headaches, stomach aches, hair loss, high blood pressure, and anxiety and can exacerbate other chronic ailments. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that stress-related conditions cost American businesses about $300 million every year. When you build extra time into your morning routine, you don’t feel like you’re rushing everywhere.

The biggest benefit of being a morning person is that the world operates on your schedule. Night owls may love sleeping till noon, but it’s a fact that most of life happens during the daytime, and if you’re not awake and ready, opportunity can pass you by. Waking up early isn’t the easiest thing to do, and even those of us who enjoy being early birds occasionally have days when we’re tempted to hit the snooze button (again). But it’s nice to know that once we’re out of bed, the world is ours for a few brief, shining moments … at least, until everyone else wakes up.

So here is how I did it, step-by-step.

HOW TO QUIT CAFFEINE
Before you really make the choice to quit an addiction, you must first understand the reasoning. If you are simply doing it because DLM said it works, you are going to fail.

In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks enjoy great popularity; caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily. - Wikipedia

So we already get a glimpse into the fact that caffeine messes with you. Are there any naysayers? My personal choice to quit was because I hated the constant need for a pick-me-up. I wasn't twitching each time I passed a Starbucks or anything crazy like that, however, I honestly felt a major energy drain as the hours passed by each day. Grabbing some coffee was always the quick fix. In my opinion, any time you need to consume something as a quick fix, you have a problem.

So, let's wean ourselves off. These steps will get you off coffee, Mountain Dew, or any caffeine-laden drink that you are hooked on.

• Reasons: What are the reasons? I explained mine but really what are the reasons you want to quit? Are your teeth brown as bark, do you have coffee breath? Your reasons are personal so don't rely on me to tell you what to do and why.


• The count: As a baseline, you have to identify how much caffeine you are drinking today. Is it 9 Mountain Dews, a pot of coffee, or 16 Cokes? This baseline count will be your indicator of improvement.


• The Wean: If you are drinking 5 cups of coffee per day, start by replacing 1 cup with a caffeinated tea. Yes, you read that right. I am all for slow transitions and the taste alone is enough of a change in the beginning. I did this for 3 days and then each day after, I replaced another cup of coffee for a cup of caffeinated tea. It took a while, but soon I was drinking all tea.
  
  There are 90 different teas on the market so experiment a little and find something you really like. The key is to find a brand or flavor that comes in decaffeinated and caffeinated varieties. This process will be SO much easier if you actually like the taste of the replacement. You should also be aware of the varying health benefits of tea as you choose a replacement beverage.
  


• The De-Caffeinization: Yes, I made up that word but this is where we really start making some chemical changes. Using the process I mentioned above, start replacing the caffeinated tea with decaf tea. This is why I told you to pick a brand with both varieties. The taste will remain the same, but the caffeine is obviously going to decrease.


• DON'T Change your sleep: During this entire process, it is critical that you don't make changes to your sleep schedule. If you currently take power naps at 1:00, keep doing it. You don't want to replace caffeine with sleep, you want to get rid of the need for a supplement altogether.

As mentioned, this approach can be used with any caffeine drink you are hooked on and it doesn't have to be replaced with tea. Drink water, flavored water, or anything with a 0% caffeine content.

So that is how I did it. Now I will mention the effects:

• I am never groggy. I have the same energy at 1:00PM as I do at 6AM or 4PM. This is THE largest benefit by far.


• I don't have coffee breath and I can actually still taste my toothpaste at 11AM when I brushed at 6.


• Stress and anxiety have plummeted although I took on more assignments at work. I am simply not as edgy.
  


• I am asleep within 5 minutes each night


• My blood pressure is perfect now. It had previously been a little high.


• I don't seem to get as many headaches. In the past, I would get 2-3 headaches per week and take some Advil. Now, it's down to 2 times per month.

So that's my story. I am caffeine-free and yes it was difficult. I think the toughest thing was making the tea and finding a flavor that I liked. However, once I got over those hurdles it was simple and I am glad that I did it. The key is planning.

- Jay

Here’s how to work when you’re tired:

• Be Clear About What You Want to Accomplish
  It’s always a good idea to have a clear goal in mind, but especially when you’re feeling tired or otherwise sub-par. Sit down and think what you need to get done today. If you’re working on a big project, what exactly are you going to get done? The next chapter? That section with the statistics you need to look up? If you’re spring cleaning, don’t just do whatever catches your eye – make a plan.
  
  It’s very easy to start meandering into lots of unrelated tasks, if you don’t have a clear focus on what you want to accomplish. I’m sure you’ve had days where you’ve looked back and wondered where your time went – well, this is how to make sure you spend your time on something worthwhile!
  


• Get Ruthless About Distractions
  Again, this is always good advice – but when you’re tired, it counts double. Stay out of your email, don’t log into Facebook, and don’t keep taking breaks from the task at hand. It’s so easy to get distracted when you’re not focusing well, and it only makes it harder to concentrate.
  
  You know what it’s like to “just check Facebook” and spend the next hour looking at your cousin’s holidays snaps; so every time your attention wanders, direct it straight back to what you’re supposed to be working on.


• Drink Plenty of Water
  Dehydration saps your concentration – so make sure you’re sipping water regularly if you’re tired. Although caffeine can supply a temporary boost of energy, try to go easy on the coffee: you’ll only crash otherwise. (Ditto for sugary sodas.)
  
  I like to keep a bottle of water on my desk, within easy reach: because it’s next to me, it’s easy to remember to drink from it, and because the bottle has a screw cap, there’s no chance I’ll accidentally tip it into my computer’s keyboard!


• Keep Moving Around
  If you’re feeling sleepy, the worst thing to do is to sit down somewhere warm and comfy – you’ll almost certainly nod off! Instead, make sure you move around frequently: get up and stretch, go for a brisk walk, get your body temperature up a bit. This is an especially good idea if you get that mid-afternoon slump: walking around will shake it off.


• Take a Shower
  Getting into a shower will really wake you up when you’re feeling sluggish. If you’re struggling to even get out of bed, head straight for the shower: as soon as you’re under that running water, you’ll feel considerably more alive!
  
  If you work from home, a mid-afternoon shower can be a great pick-me-up when you’re tired. If you’re in an office, splashing your face with cold water can be a good refreshing alternative.


• Perform Easier Tasks
  If you’re feeling really tired but you still need to get some work done, try doing your more routine tasks: things like replying to emails, filing documents, making minor website updates, and so on. Often, your energy will naturally pick back up while you work.

How do you cope when you’re tired and you need to carry on working?