Work 1 Minute After Waking Up. It'll Change Your Life.

Summary

The speaker discusses the pitfalls of both elaborate and non-existent morning routines. He shares his experience of following an extensive morning routine and later shifting to immediate work upon waking, inspired by successful entrepreneurs. While this increased productivity, it led to burnout. He proposes a balanced approach: 'wake up and flow,' diving into high-priority work within 90 seconds of waking, leveraging natural high flow proneness, followed by recovery routines later. This method aims to enhance productivity while avoiding burnout.

Takeaways

• 🛌 Morning routines can often be counterproductive, leading to late starts or skipped activities due to oversleeping.
• 🌞 Successful individuals often prioritize starting work immediately upon waking, rather than adhering to elaborate morning routines.
• 💡 The goal of a morning routine should be to enhance productivity by increasing 'flow proneness', or the likelihood of entering a state of flow.
• 🚀 Activities like cold showers, meditation, and journaling are part of morning routines because they boost flow proneness and productivity.
• 🧠 Flow proneness is naturally high immediately after waking due to low cognitive load and brainwave patterns similar to those of flow states.
• ❌ Overly complex morning routines can detract from the prime flow time that occurs right after waking.
• 🔄 Flow isn't binary; it has a cycle with distinct phases, including a recovery phase that is crucial to avoid burnout.
• 🔄 The 'wake up and flow' approach suggests diving into high-priority work within 90 seconds of waking to leverage natural flow proneness.
• 📝 Preparing tasks in detail the night before can help streamline the transition from waking to working, minimizing the time spent figuring out what to do.
• 🧘‍♂️ After the initial high-priority work period, engaging in recovery activities like yoga or meditation can recharge and boost flow proneness for the rest of the day.
• 📈 The optimal morning routine balances immediate work with recovery to harness natural flow states and avoid burnout, leading to a more productive day.

Q & A

What is the common issue with morning routines that Ryan Doris addresses in the script?

The common issue is that people either have an overly complicated morning routine that delays actual work until late morning, or they have no routine at all, leading to a rushed and stressed start to the day.

Who is Ryan Doris and what is his professional focus?

Ryan Doris is the co-founder and CEO of the Flow Research Collective with Stephen Cutler. They help professionals use science-based behavioral change to access Flow State.

What is the main purpose of a morning routine according to the script?

The main purpose of a morning routine is to boost flow proneness, which in turn increases productivity by making it more likely for individuals to experience a flow state during the day.

What is 'flow proneness' as mentioned in the script?

Flow proneness refers to an individual's tendency to experience a flow state, a peak state of consciousness where work feels effortless and productivity is high.

Why did Ryan Doris decide to change his morning routine?

Ryan Doris changed his morning routine after observing successful individuals like Tech Titans and startup founders who did not focus on elaborate morning routines but instead started working immediately upon waking up.

What is the 'wake up and flow' approach that Ryan Doris suggests?

The 'wake up and flow' approach involves diving into the highest priority work within 90 seconds of waking up, while still in a semi-asleep state, to leverage the natural flow proneness of the brain upon waking.

What are the four distinct phases of the flow cycle mentioned in the script?

The script does not explicitly list the four phases of the flow cycle but implies that there is a recovery phase which is important for avoiding burnout and allowing for the experience of flow again.

Why is it important to prepare the task the night before according to the script?

Preparing the task the night before is important to ensure that there is no wasted time in the morning figuring out what to work on, allowing for a seamless transition into the task and the harnessing of the 'wake up and flow' state.

What is the inverted morning routine suggested by Ryan Doris?

The inverted morning routine involves working on high-priority tasks first upon waking and then engaging in activities that make one feel good, such as yoga, meditation, or other recovery practices, later in the day.

What are the two tips Ryan Doris provides for implementing the new routine?

The two tips are to prepare in advance by setting up the task in detail the night before, and to allocate enough time for a long flow block, aiming for one to three hours of dedicated high-priority work.

What is the potential downside of the 'wake up and flow' approach if not balanced properly?

The potential downside is burnout, as the script mentions that focusing solely on work in the morning without proper recovery can lead to tiredness and frazzledness, similar to what was observed in some successful entrepreneurs.

Outlines

00:00

🛌 Morning Routine Dilemma and the Power of Flow

The speaker, Ryan Doris, addresses the common struggle with morning routines, where individuals either have an overly complex routine that delays actual work or no routine at all, leading to a rushed and stressed start to the day. He introduces the concept of 'flow proneness,' which is the tendency to enter a flow state, a highly productive and focused mental state. Doris shares his personal experience of an extensive morning routine that he later simplified by observing successful individuals who prioritize work over elaborate routines. He emphasizes that the goal of a morning routine is to enhance productivity by increasing flow proneness and suggests that certain activities like cold showers, meditation, and journaling can boost this tendency. However, he also points out the importance of not wasting the naturally high flow proneness upon waking, which can be counterproductive if one engages in a complex routine instead of diving straight into work.

05:01

🔄 Balancing Productivity and Recovery for Sustainable Success

Doris discusses the potential downside of solely focusing on productivity without incorporating recovery into one's routine. He noticed that while successful entrepreneurs were productive, they also experienced burnout, poor health, and strained relationships due to neglecting recovery. He contrasts this with the biohackers who excel at recovery protocols but often block their natural flow state with elaborate routines. Doris proposes an 'inverted morning routine' that starts with high-priority work immediately upon waking, taking advantage of the natural flow proneness, followed by recovery activities later in the day. He outlines a strategy that includes preparing tasks the night before to ensure a smooth transition into work and emphasizes the importance of a dedicated block of time for high-priority tasks to harness the flow state effectively. Doris concludes with a challenge to implement this new approach, suggesting that it combines the best of both worlds—maximizing productivity while also promoting recovery and sustainability.

Keywords

💡Morning Routine

A morning routine refers to a series of activities or habits that one performs after waking up to start the day. In the video, it is discussed as a potential source of productivity but also as a pitfall if it becomes too complex and delays the start of actual work. The script mentions that some people have elaborate routines that don't necessarily lead to better work performance.

💡Biohacking

Biohacking in this context refers to self-experimentation aimed at optimizing one's physical and mental performance. The script describes how the speaker used to engage in various biohacking practices as part of his morning routine, such as lemon water, yoga, and ice baths, which he later realized might not be the most productive way to start the day.

💡Flow State

Flow State is a psychological term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, describing a state of deep focus and immersion in an activity. The video emphasizes the importance of achieving a flow state for increased productivity. The speaker suggests that morning routines should be designed to facilitate the entry into this state.

💡Flow Proneness

Flow Proneness is the tendency of an individual to experience a flow state. The script explains that certain morning activities can increase one's flow proneness, making it easier to enter a flow state later in the day and thus boosting productivity.

💡Cognitive Load

Cognitive Load refers to the amount of mental effort being used in working memory. The video mentions that upon waking, cognitive load is at its lowest, making it an ideal time to access flow because there is less mental 'clutter' to overcome.

💡Recovery

Recovery in the context of the video refers to the restorative processes the brain undergoes after experiencing a flow state. It is highlighted as essential for avoiding burnout and for preparing the mind to enter flow again. The script contrasts the recovery practices of biohackers with those of high-achieving entrepreneurs.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the main theme of the video, with the speaker exploring different approaches to morning routines and their impact on one's ability to be productive throughout the day. The script suggests that a morning routine should be designed to enhance productivity by increasing flow proneness.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that can result from overworking without adequate recovery time. The video discusses how certain high-achieving individuals may experience burnout due to a lack of recovery time after periods of intense work.

💡Wake Up and Flow

Wake Up and Flow is a concept introduced in the script, suggesting that one should start their highest priority work immediately upon waking to leverage the natural flow proneness of the early morning. The speaker advises diving into work within 90 seconds of waking up to take advantage of this state.

💡Inverted Morning Routine

The Inverted Morning Routine is a strategy proposed in the video where one first tackles high-priority work right after waking and then engages in restorative activities later in the day. This approach is designed to optimize productivity and recovery, avoiding the pitfalls of both elaborate morning routines and no routines at all.

💡Preparation

Preparation is emphasized in the script as a key component of an effective morning routine. The speaker advises setting up the task for the next day in detail the night before to ensure a smooth transition into work upon waking, which is crucial for the 'Wake Up and Flow' approach.

Highlights

Morning routines are often misunderstood and can either be too elaborate or non-existent, leading to low productivity.

Ryan Doris, co-founder and CEO of flow research Collective, uses neuroscience to enhance morning productivity.

Successful individuals often bypass traditional morning routines and start working immediately, which can lead to high productivity.

The concept of 'flow proneness', discovered by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is key to understanding productivity.

Morning routines should aim to increase flow proneness to enhance productivity throughout the day.

Activities like cold showers, meditation, and journaling boost flow proneness by enhancing focus, self-regulation, and goal clarity.

Upon waking, flow proneness is naturally high due to low cognitive load and brain waves similar to those of sleep.

Elaborate morning routines can hinder the natural flow state that occurs immediately after waking.

Successful entrepreneurs often neglect recovery, leading to burnout despite high productivity.

Flow has a cycle with four phases, including a recovery phase that is crucial for maintaining productivity.

An 'inverted morning routine' of working first and then recovering is suggested for optimal productivity and flow.

The 'wake up and flow' protocol involves starting high-priority work within 90 seconds of waking up to harness natural flow proneness.

After the initial work period, one can engage in activities that support recovery and further boost flow proneness.

Preparation the night before is crucial to ensure a smooth transition into work upon waking.

Allocating one to three hours for dedicated high-priority work in the morning can set a strong start to the day.

A challenge is issued to implement the 'wake up and flow' approach to experience the benefits of enhanced morning productivity.

Transcripts

your morning routine probably sucks

maybe you've Fallen prey to the morning

routine dilemma where you either have a

sprawling routine loaded with biohacks

and optimized to the nth degree but you

don't really start doing any actual work

until 10 or 11 A.M or you don't have a

routine instead you wake up press snooze

pick up your phone scroll for way too

long see that it's almost 8 30 or 9

o'clock and are now in a rush stressed

to get the day started you know you

should be doing a morning routine and

maybe sometimes you do but most of the

time you skip it because you went to bed

later than you wanted which means you

wake up later than you want then you

have this kind of persistent nagging

guilt about the fact that you're not

doing your meditation or your journaling

or whatever it is so I'll show you how

to avoid these mistakes and how to use

Neuroscience to make your mornings as

productive as possible now my name is

Ryan Doris I'm the co-founder and CEO of

flow research Collective with Stephen

Cutler where we help professionals use

science-based behavioral change to

access Flow State

what is the point of a morning routine

in the first place because it's a topic

that's both constantly talked about and

persistently misunderstood now when

growing up in Ireland I had a comically

excessive morning routine I did whatever

young biohacker does lemon water yoga

journaling exercise affirmations

mushroom coffee ice baths sunlight

sticking my feet on the wet Irish grass

for grounding it would take forever so

long in fact that I wouldn't start work

until just before lunch and then years

later after doing this routine for a

long time I moved to LA and met Tech

Titans and famous startup Founders and

billionaires who ran circles around me

from a productivity and results

standpoint and guess what I noticed none

of these folks cared about their morning

routines or talked about their morning

routines for example you don't hear Elon

saying that he's had a bad day running

SpaceX Tesla and Twitter because he

forgot to foam roll his glutes or didn't

do red light therapy that morning

instead these folks just wake up and get

to work they just get it done so this

blew my mind I decided that I would test

what I was seeing with all these

successful folks in the states here and

I decided I'd start just waking up and

working and following their approach and

at first it felt really weird my morning

routine was supposed to give me an edge

so I was nervous I'd stumble into work

and perform poorly kind of in a groggy

zombiely-like state but right away I

realized that the billionaires were on

to something in fact it worked

shockingly well I could just wake up and

get to work and slip straight into a

flow state a peak State of Consciousness

where the work I was doing felt

effortless productivity surged and hours

went by in what felt like minutes and it

turns out it's due to what's called flow

croneness which was discovered by

psychologist mihai chick sent me high in

the 1970s now flow proneness is simply

our tendency to experience Flow State

and that's when the dots connected for

me because a morning routine is meant to

heighten your productivity that's the

point of a morning routine but how does

a morning routine do this well it does

this by increasing your flow proneness

case in point cold showers boost

dopamine by up to 250 percent for two

hours afterwards which plays a key role

in Focus which is key for flow

meditation helps Drive attention into

the present moment and improve

self-regulation both being key for flow

journaling helps to clarify goals clear

goals are a trigger for flow so all

these routines and many others share a

common theme which is that they boost

flow promos they make us more likely to

get in the flow later on in the day

which then boosts our productivity so

really the unspoken purpose of a morning

routine is to boost flow pronus but

here's the wild thing as soon as you

wake up in the morning when you would

normally be doing your morning routine

if you're a biohacker your flow pronus

is naturally and organically highest and

that's for two reasons the first is that

your cognitive load is low think of it

like a ram in a computer cognitive load

is lowest upon waking up because we

haven't yet loaded anything into our

conscious mind the less cognitive load

we have the easier it is to access flow

and second upon waking your brain waves

are close to flow the neuroelectrical

signature or brain waves of flow are not

far from Theta or Delta which are the

brain waves of sleep and this makes it

easier to slide out of bed and deep into

a flow state so what does this mean for

your morning routine well since flow

proneness is highest as soon as you wake

up you don't want to cannibalize that

Prime flow time that your biology is

just giving to you with an elaborate

morning routine the biohacker wakes up

and squanders the flow that they could

have with an elaborate routine that

ironically is designed to help them get

into flow later on doesn't make any

sense

whereas the billionaire types wake up

and dive straight into high priority

work immediately and they're rewarded

with flow the productivity from doing

this both moves you towards your goals

immediately and you get into flow doing

it which makes it a win-win or is it

well after trying this wake up and flow

approach for a year while I was getting

tons of work done first thing in the

morning I actually did start to burn out

and I saw this with the the billionaire

types and successful entrepreneurs I was

observing as well I found that while

these Titans were productive the picture

wasn't as pretty they were tired some

were overweight they had lots of bad

relationships and I too started to feel

a little tired a little frazzled and I

missed the calm Clarity Zen state that

came from my previous morning routine

with practices like meditation ice baths

yoga all The Usual Suspects so I

realized that this approach of waking up

and working

all morning wasn't quite right either

and the research reveals why it turns

out flow isn't binary it's not like a

light switch that you can just flick on

and off instead there's a cycle to flow

with four distinct phases so it's more

like a dimmer switch what matters most

here is the recovery phase flow is

expensive for the brain to produce

there's a lot of neurochemistry involved

and because you can expand a lot of

energy effortlessly while in flow it

requires recovery in order to access

flow again and to flow a second time and

so it's no wonder

the billionaire entrepreneur types were

burning out they never took the time to

recover when it comes to recovery the

biohackers crushed it they were doing

amazing they're meticulously optimized

morning routines are really powerful

recovery protocols so we want to avoid

the mistakes on both sides of the

spectrum biohackers block the morning

flow that their biology naturally serves

up to them with these elaborate routines

and the entrepreneurial types don't do

any elaborate routines and they burn out

as a result and based on the research

there's a sweet spot between the

biohackers elaborate carry-on and the

entrepreneurial types no-nonsense

approach there's a few steps to this

first thing that we want to do is

Implement what we call wake up and flow

so instead of the elaborate routine wake

up and dive into your highest priority

work not in an hour not even in 10 or 15

minutes we're talking within 90 seconds

of opening your eyes while you're still

half asleep so that your brain waves are

closer to Theta or Delta it'll be a

struggle at first within 15 minutes or

so you'll be deep in flow and you'll

essentially wake fully up while working

in a flow State and then after we do

this wake up and flow protocol on our

highest priority tasks for one to three

hours you can do everything that makes

you feel great for the rest of the day

the lemon water the stretching the yoga

the red light therapy ice baths whatever

it is think of this as the inverted

morning routine work first recover later

but never skip recovery this is backed

up by research but it's not just

theoretical so this is the perfect blend

of what the biohackers and billionaires

bring to the table and solves the

morning routine dilemma because we

harness the natural period of flow

pronoun as our biology gives us and we

also recover and boost flow pronus for

the rest of the day now just two more

tips that you want to make sure you

implement as you pin this new routine

down the first is to prepare in advance

you need to set the task up the night

before in extreme detail so you don't

waste any time figuring out what to work

on when you wake up so that when we're

half asleep and we're waking up and

going straight to work we can mindlessly

glide right into the task rather than

having to wonder

about what we should work on or how we

should do it or what materials we need

to begin and the second thing is to just

make sure that you allocate enough time

to really have this long flow block aim

for one to three hours of dedicated high

priority work to harness

flow and take advantage of wake up and

flow starting your day strong now I

challenge you to actually do this

tomorrow that means tonight prep the

task prep whatever high priority work

you're going to do first thing in the

morning and untangle the first step of

the first step identify exactly what it

is you need to do to complete that task

and get it all organized nicely so you

can glide right into it and then

tomorrow as soon as you wake up ideally

within 60 to 90 seconds of opening your

eyes drop into the task

and you'll find that you'll drop deep in

the flow very quickly and effortlessly

then ride that wave for two to three

hours and then do your reboot routine to

recover and boost flow pronus back up

for the rest of the day