Hey guys and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast. My name is Angela Shurina, I'm your host, your executive coach 360, and just someone who is very passionate about change, getting better and unlocking and using our full human potential, or as close to it as possible. You know, guys just today I was blogging about this fact that nothing in life is guaranteed. The weight you want to be in, how many healthy days you have as I'm recovering over a little bit of a cold, how many clients you get, how the market will love your idea. Like that is not in your control, but what is in your control is taking another step forward and investing in the things you want to build and achieve, because chances are. The more steps you put in, the more you invest into the future you want. The more exercise you do, the healthier you eat, the more you work on your business, the more you pilot and test your ideas with your ideal customers, the more reps you put in, the better the chances and the closer you're going to get to your desired future state. And whenever I work with my clients every week, I try to ask this question in one form or the other. What are the actions you can focus on this week, so you are much more likely to move towards that desired future that you want, right? So what are the steps you will take this week that will move you forward towards better?
Speaker 1But besides that, today, guys, we are talking about working with your brain, not against it. When you're trying to build new health habits eating, exercise, sleeping or simply being more productive, sometimes more focused, more productive, sometimes more focused, sometimes more creative Working with your brain makes things easier. You know, a while ago I went through the training and I worked in high performance coaching and I got my training at Flow Research Collective one of the trainings and Stephen Kotler, one of the co-founders, researcher of flow states, an amazing, award-winning author. So Stephen Kotler has this phrase biology scales, psychology doesn't. And what he meant there is whenever you are working on anything and that's what every high performance performer does whenever you're trying to work on anything, make sure that you are working respecting the laws of your biology, not working against them and trying to make yourself different.
Speaker 1What do I mean by that? Well, for example, your brain is 2% of your body weight and it takes more than 20% of your energy somewhere about 20% of your energy. It's a very energy-thirsty, hungry organ. And not only that everything in your biology organ, and not only that, everything in your biology, or your survival, your thriving, depends on how much energy your cells produce and how well you distribute it. Without energy, there is no life, and your brain, because of that, is always calculating this ratio of am I getting enough energy for my activities and where can I save more energy so I can use my energy more effectively? Your brain is always thinking okay, this activity that we're about to engage in is it about to bring us the rewards that worth the work?
Your brain I wrote this piece on one of my blogs some time ago about procrastination is all about your brain doing mathematics. What it basically means is when your brain calculates that certain effort doesn't justify, or certain price doesn't justify, the effort that you need to put in, then your brain like no, maybe not. Maybe we'll just stay where we are. Save some energy for something more worthwhile our efforts. So that's another brain biology fact. Your brain is always trying to save it and therefore making things easier, like developing habits, which saves your brain energy, because conscious thought requires more energy than habits. That's why your brain likes creating habits and likes patterns likes repetition. So whenever you want to consistently do something like exercise or eat healthier, when you create habits out of it, it works with the biology of your brain and therefore it will work better than if you just randomly try to do things. Like you know, this meal today and something else tomorrow. I'm going to do exercise today in the morning, tomorrow in the afternoon, the day after, god knows when. It's harder to make habits this way. It's more energy consuming and therefore the whole thing is much less likely to happen, whereas when you make habits, your brain saves energy, very happy to help you to do that. Another thing about biology of your brain, for example, is your brain at 8 pm in the morning is a different kind of brain than your brain at 8 pm at night. There are different neurotransmitters. You, for example, in the morning have more cortisol, which helps to create more energy in yourselves and release it for action, or dopamine, neurotransmitter. On this molecule that your brain creates, there is a lot more of it and it's more active in the first part of the day and therefore it is easier to get yourself do things and it's easier also to focus, because dopamine helps the brain to focus and to learn and go and get stuff. And then in the second part of the day you have more Things like serotonin, which looses up your control cognitive control, your focus but also your internal inner critic, which makes creativity easier. Then we also have such thing that Mythos Taroni, an author, neuroscientist, researcher.
Speaker 1She authored the book Hyper-Efficient Optimize your Brain to Transform the Way you Work, and the book is all about how to use your brain's biology in order to optimize your work and be more productive in the right kind of hours that you choose for the right kind of work. So in her book she writes about this fact that work. So in her book she writes about this fact that, for example, your brain accumulates cognitive fatigue. What it means is the more work you do, the later it is in the day. Also, the more distracted your day is, switching between tasks, the more fatigue your brain accumulates, and it accumulates more and more of it towards the end of the day and it literally becomes a lot harder to do any kind of work. Plus the neurochemistry, plus the less cortisol which releases more energy for action, all of these things come together in your biology to make it less likely that you're going to be efficient and sharp and focused late at night, and so when you decide to schedule a bout of work late at night, you are fighting your biology.
Speaker 1It's kind of like trying to swim upstream instead of with the flow. You probably experienced that if you swim in the wild, in the river, or maybe you caught a current while swimming in the sea or the ocean and it's so freaking much harder to swim against the current, you're extending so much more energy and not getting somewhere far, whereas if you swim with the current, you're not extending that much work, you flow easily and you're getting a lot further, a lot faster. So that's the idea we're talking about today how to use your brain's biology, and we're going to talk about how to use it to build better habits or to be more productive in the work that you choose to do. We're going to learn a few simple basic principles how to organize your work and building certain habits in order to swim with the stream, downstream, with the flow, extending less energy and getting more results.
Speaker 1We often think that high performers are people with this immense amount of discipline and willpower and they can just willpower through anything, willpower and willpower through anything, and they're just this. I don't know superheroic humans who can do anything and everything because, for whichever reason, they have a lot of reserve again of that discipline and willpower and energy. Whereas, working with some of the top performers in the business and in the fitness arena, and also listening to a lot of high performance psychologists who worked with the best of the best, I know that high performers actually, yes, they do have the discipline, the willpower and the energy and they prioritize things like training and hard work in their life, but they also are super freaking smart about when, when they do what. They will do their best to schedule their training, their most prioritized activities, in the times when they know they are at their best, whether that's cognitively or physically. So let's also get smarter about when you schedule the things that matter and how you build your habits and when and how you do your work. So you swim with the current, not against it, and so the things that you want to do are easier for you and require less energy, less willpower. They fatigue you less because you're smart about when and how you do them and how you do them. So let's start with a little bit about circadian rhythm and neurochemistry Again morning surge, your cortisol peaks.
Speaker 1It means that you're going to have more energy for action. Also, your brain is not going to be that fatigued and anything that requires discipline and willpower is going to be easier. Your dopamine sensitivity is higher, you get more dopamine, and so it is easy again to get motivated, to get after things. It is easier for you to stay in focus, to learn things, to be smarter about, to make smarter decisions in life, to strategize, to do anything that requires again intense focus, like writing, for example. Strategize to do anything that requires again intense focus, like writing, for example, writing proposals, writing strategies.
Speaker 1Midday deep, your cognitive capacities tank. You don't have that much energy as well. That's why they call it midday slump, and so that is a period when it is much better to do lighter work, like admin or maybe, I don't know cleaning the house, answering your emails. That's why smart systems at workplace these days give people reminders that hey, it is morning, do the work, the most important work, the work that requires the most focus, the most brainpower, so to speak, and then in the middle of the day you can answer emails and do other maintenance work right, and then in the later afternoon you get a little bit of rebound of energy, but then also not to the same extent, and then also not that much dopamine, but more serotonin, which is more for helping you relax, feel looser. So that's where you can be more creative. That is a good time to schedule any brainstorming session with your team, somewhere around maybe 4 pm. Really amazing to spend this last hour of your workday for something more creative, which is also lighter than deep focused work.
Speaker 1And evening is for winding down. Melatonin starts rising you know this fall asleep hormone or molecule in your brain and your capacity for deep focus decreases. So pushing harder there will actually might result in you not getting the rest you need and then the next morning, tomorrow, you're not going to be as sharp and as focused. So keep that in mind. And then also keep in mind that cognitive fatigue accumulates. And the more you jump between tasks, the more your tasks switch, the more of that cognitive fatigue accumulates faster, right, also keep that in mind. So at night you are not that motivated. You don't have that much energy, that willpower, you don't have capacity to make your best decisions. So try to delay. Remove anything cognitively demanding, anything that requires your discipline, your willpower, your complex thinking. Night is not for that. So the more you can organize things to be on autopilot at night, the better you're going to be, the more you're going to be fulfilled with your decisions.
So let's get practical and talk about habits First. Let's start with, for example, healthy eating right. That provides us with energy, that keeps us healthy and energetic and also looking good and feeling proud of ourselves. So healthy eating Instead of, for example, fighting your late night cravings with pure willpower, knowing this fact that your willpower and discipline at its lowest at night, structure your environment. Prepare healthy snacks, keep your fridge healthy and ice cream outside of your house. Use your laziness at night that, for example, you're not going to want to go to the store. Also, remove all the delivery apps from your phone. So at night, it's super hard for you to get that I don't know snack ice cream or takeout delivery. Create additional friction for the unhealthy stuff and make it super easy Like have some again cut pineapples or protein foods ready to go. Have something ready for when that craving hits you and For exercise, for example, morning and late-ish afternoon are the easiest, biologically, for you to exercise.
Speaker 1So schedule your workouts then and, knowing that your brain loves saving energy on habits, the more consistent you keep the time of your exercise, the stuff that you do, especially at the beginning, trying to build habits. The more habitual, the same you can make it at first actually will help you, your brain, to build habits faster. A and stick with it Because, again, habits help you to save energy that's why brain loves them so much and also remove friction, knowing that your brain loves saving energy. Decide in advance what kind of workouts you will do. Maybe sign up for some online program or a class. Make stuff as easy as possible. Keep your shoes in the same place, keep your clothing really simple so you don't have to think at all, and do it at the same time. And the morning seems to be the best because also, you have the most willpower, cognitive capacity and the most get up and go in you from dopamine to cortisol giving you energy.
Speaker 1So schedule it then, not I don't know, all over the place and having to drive to the gym, drive to the gym to a different part of the city. The harder you make it and the more brain will resist that, because your brain does not like to spend additional energy. Now to productivity block mornings for focus, guard that slot like gold and then put maintenance work in that midday slump your emails or you know, doing stuff that is not as meaningful is not that important. And then for later afternoon, again somewhere around 4 to 5 pm, do the creative stuff. 4 to 5 pm do the creative stuff. Schedule your play and tinker time like Google does. That allows Google to stay one of the most innovative companies for decades, right?
Speaker 1And then, when we're talking about procrastination, your brain loves easier stuff, and knowing that easier stuff, and knowing that, try to make every hard and big task, try to break it down into smaller and smaller parts and every part reward yourself in a small way, like a little dance, a little bit of a break, which will make the reward seem larger compared to the work you need to put in, which will help you to get over the hump and get started. And then other neurotransmitters, like dopamine, will kick in and you're going to feel like finishing actually what you want to do instead of resisting the starting part Very often, again procrastination is your brain doing the mathematics. And so when you say part, very often again procrastination is your brain doing the mathematics. And so when you say, oh, I need to do this hard report for three hours, it's a lot of work and very often the payout is not guaranteed or uncertain and your brain has a hard time calculating how much effort you're actually going to extend for the unknowable outcome. So break it down into smaller steps, make them very clear, make them feel manageable and doable and do a little again celebration maybe a sip of your favorite drink, a little bit of music, a little bit of, I don't know, watching favorite YouTube videos, whatever that is. So make a little bit of reward for every step taken and then, one small step at a time, working with your brain's energy-saving mechanism, you're going to make it.
The closing thought. Guys, your brain is a biological machine. It's your living, evolving survival system and you need to work with it survival system. And you need to work with it, not against it, if you want to consistently deliver higher performance. Again, remember this fact that your brain as a biological machine functioning on a 24-hour cycle. Your brain has this biological loss that it's a base, has this biological loss that it's a base, and your brain at 8 am is not the same brain at 8 pm after going through the whole day of stuff that you know sometimes gets you from one place to another a lot of interruptions, focused work and unfocused challenges. So all of that plus the brain chemistry is different, literally different neurochemicals are released in different amounts at different times at different parts of the day, just because you are a living organism on this planet that has certain laws of physics and cyclical nature. So remember that and start this.
Speaker 1What I learned from Anlor of the Conf, who you listened to on our previous podcast start this self-anthropology exercise when, for a day, just notice how your energy fluctuates and make note of it. For example, in the morning, I feel like doing this kind of work like everything seems to be so much easier and I'm so much more driven and ambitious and motivated. Maybe do the heavy lifting then, right, and then go through the day and see where you feel physically for different activities better, where you want to exercise more, where you want to communicate with other people more, where you don't feel that well and might be a good idea to work on some email or some other easier task. Notice when you do your best work and also notice the environments, the people who drain your energy, who give you energy. Become, for a day or a couple of days or maybe a whole week, this self-anthropologist that just notices things without judgment and like ah, when I do this, it gets easier, when I do this, it is easier when I work with these people. It is easier when I work in front of my window open with a lot of light which also affects your productivity, by the way then I can do more things and better. When I go for afternoon walks, my later afternoon also gets more productive.
Notice, these things become self-anthropologists for a day, maybe an entire week, and it might feel like a waste of time. But it's one of those investments that when you do it and you realize when you're productive, when you are most effective, when you are more of a high performer, when you figure that out and then start optimizing your day and your life more and more towards that, you're going to start achieving a lot more with seemingly less energy invested, with seemingly less effort, and you might have your biggest chance to deliver your best work. And that's it for today, guys, it's all about working with your brain, working with your biology, not against it, swimming down the stream, down the current, with the flow, instead of swimming upstream, exerting so much more energy and very often getting nowhere. So are you working with your biology or against it? Pick up the book Hyper-Efficient.
Speaker 1We are hoping to get Misha Staroni on this podcast as well. We also did book review on this podcast before, so I'm going to link this podcast in the show notes, going through different parts of the book and giving you the takeaways how you can align your brain circle with your work so you deliver more and better with less effort. So check out the show notes and don't forget, guys, to share this podcast episode with the person who might be struggling more, that they need to achieve the results that they want, or maybe they are in a very important stage of their life or career and they really need to get this extra edge so that this podcast might be the edge. Share this with them. Let's make the world better. Thank you, guys, for your attention. Thank you for your energy, your willingness to learn and grow, and till next time, the world better. Thank you, guys, for your attention. Thank you for your energy, your willingness to learn and grow, and till next time, keep learning, keep growing and stay wired for change.