Morning Routines and Strategies (#253)

Dear Tim, I came to your website looking for a postal address to send you an actual hand-written thank you note, but your website/comments directed me here to post a comment on your blog. A little more open than I wanted, but I’ll embrace my anonymity :-).

I saw your TED talk recently about “Fear Planning” and it completely changed my perception of you. Thank you for talking about your major depressive episodes – it puts your whole body of work into a perspective I really needed to hear. I think every member of my immediate family has dealt with major depression in various ways – we’re mostly still all here in assorted versions of functionality. I’ve struggled with depression and once I heard your story, I realized all the “hacking” that you’ve done is a form for you of the “prevent” and “repair” aspects of the template that you presented on the TED stage.

I’m 53 and a woman; I’ve been reading and listening to you since around the time your first book 4-hour Workweek came out. At least buying your books and reading parts of them – some more than others. The thing is, I thought that a lot of your “hacks” work great for you because you’re some super-masculine-macho-over-achiever type (sorry, it was phenomenally sexist of me to think this) that I see all the time around me in tech startups (that’s the area I’ve been working in for 15+ years). Now, I see that you were hacking your way to prevent and repair the frank monkey-brain-horror that major depression can be and the calamity that it can wreak on your life, and the lives of the folks you love and care about, around you.

I’ve never been an athlete; I’ve struggled with building physical routines and disciplines; some of your stuff just didn’t frankly work for me. As you state all the time, you’re a sample of one. But your stuff does rub off. I’ve learned to get myself into a meditative state (Thanks, Headspace!); I’ve read some of the Stoics; I have a personal trainer (because I don’t think I’d do it all on my own); I keep trying! I keep coming around to listen to you even though I didn’t know – or realize – that we share that mental health pre-disposition of major depression. Pre-disposition doesn’t make it a sure thing, but the wolf sure does come up to the gate if you’re not vigilant!

By the way, the best defense that I’ve found for managing myself is monitoring my sleep. I use my Fitbit tracker almost exclusively to track my sleep. It’s not a perfectly accurate indicator, but it is consistent and it does give me some feedback so that I can manage my emotional and mental health state. And not that you need to, but I’ve tracked my periods in an Excel spreadsheet (and graph paper before there was Excel) for years – long before there were apps for it. I could predict it within half a day with my notes and algorithms (it was also tied to my blood donations – over 100 units so far).

So, my thank you is: Thank you for sharing about your mental health on that talk. Perhaps you’ve shared that before and I was just never in a place that I could hear it. However, this time I took it in and it changed how I hear your advice. What works for you isn’t always what works for this 53yo female, but you give me a good direction to focus my efforts. Thanks for your work and thanks for sharing so boldly with the world.

Loved this radio hour! I sometimes feel like I’m only interested in a small part of an interview, so I enjoyed the format. I would love to see one about influential reads. Maybe ones that you learned about for the first time in an interview and later found helpful.

Hey Tim, I really did enjoy this format as I’m sure many others did as well. I was fascinated by Seth Godin’s words on education and teaching kids. I, still a kid, was wondering what are some interesting problems that si could solve to further those skills?

Hey Tim! I’m such a believer in all you have going on. That said–your content and feature interviews skew heavily male. A big miss that sends the wrong message. There are so many incredible females who would be fantastic contributors to your podcast, blog and more. I’ll be waiting…

Tim! This podcast came at a perfect time in my life. I have been struggling to establish and maintain my ideal morning routine. This episode made me realize that the key elements I am missing are: waking up long before 7am and limiting the my decision making by knowing what I will do for exercise and eat for breakfast the night before.

Because I work for myself I will often do too many good things in the morning and then start work after 10am which stresses me out because then I don’t have enough time my day to get my work done. I am trying to find the balance between winning the morning and still starting work by 9am. Recently I have been going for a swim in the ocean almost every morning and it makes a big difference in my day.

I am a huge fan of your work and I think you will be a huge fan of my tea! [Moderator: text removed.] I would love to send you a sample of this delicious, instant, organic tea mix. You can add it to your pu erh tea or to coffee! I am a 28 year old woman/mermaid/entrepreneur. I am behind grateful for the wisdom you gather and share. The tips I have learned from you show and your books help me to be the best version of myself. My mission is to spread wellness, mindfulness and joy through the distribution of [Moderator: product name removed]. My dream is to some day soon be on your pod cast!

Good Episode, enjoyed that.

Since coming across it on this Blog, probably around two years ago, morning routines have become really important to me, and I’m really starting to tighten down on it, and paying more attention. The more seriously I take it, and fine tune it, the better the results.

Now, instead of being something I do occasionally, and get a bit of a boost, I’m just not right without it.

Between that, and experimenting and fine tuning my diet, I’m astounded at how clear headed and steady I can feel, when it all comes together right, for the first two hours of the day.

I’m also starting to take more care over night time routines.

I really need to tighten down on Journaling too. It just works so well when I’m under pressure, but I kind of let it slip when things get easier. Harnessing that sort of power when I’m feeling great anyway, should be able to push me a great deal.

Being as I’m already putting pen to paper, I’ll try the affirmation thing. Heighten ones awareness, conscious or subconscious, of the instances that can lead one to ones goals. Or align the universe to work for you, whatever. I don’t really care, so long as it works.

Thanks for the Blog, Keep doing what you keep doing.

I like transcripts, please. Reading is easier than hearing. Thanks.

Tim! These podcast episodes are outstanding! My favorite quote is the advice Jamie Foxx gave to his 30 year old self which was “it’s going to go fast”. I love that question and would really enjoy hearing more podcast guests try to answer that question. More of that please!

Tim your Force multiplier concept has been a life game-changer for me thank you.

I am working the mofo Force multiplier like nobody’s business.

Actually applying Parkinson’s law has been a top 3 game changer for me.

Jocko made me thinking … it is the ”machines in Zone”, the guys of brisk decisions and manly leadership who always win. Be it chicks, Tim’s attention, praise or fame [compared to unattractiveness of say prudent double trials, zen or non violence ways]. The universal soldiers who get hooked [addiction brings withdrawal shit] on adrenaline, since how else one can survive this risky business than learn to be in a zone and face the fate with utter heroism. Sadly these machines are the ones who spred the mess [damage to the Nature and peoples’ souls] in World. They have orders but [as Primo Levi sais] they are to blame too….

I love this idea of reducing decision fatigue. As a mom of 7 and business owner, I have enough taxing my brain lol! I eat the same thing for breakfast: half decaf (working on it!) coffee with cream and powdered collagen, and a high protein gluten free muffin in a mug with grass fed butter. I also have a tiny wardrobe and outsource shopping (a dreaded activity) to Stitch Fix. I love Scott Adam’s story! I have also seen the power of affirmation in my business success.