E01 - Why you should avoid using your phone early in the morning

Today you’ll learn about:

• This week’s community challenge

• How does dopamine (motivation) work

• Why do successful people avoid phone in the morning and what do they do instead

• How to put it into action with the habit loop

• Lemio App - the ultimate attention tool

This week’s community challenge

Dopamine - The motivation molecule

Let me first explain to you how dopamine, the brain chemical responsible for motivation works, and why you should avoid your smartphone early in the morning at all costs!

1. The Water Pool Analogy

Dopamine equals motivation and it’s released when we Desire or Crave something. Then it drops because we don’t have that thing yet. Then it increases again in our pursuit to get that thing we want.

Now imagine these ups and downs like waves in a pool of water.

Smaller, less frequent waves maintain a relatively constant baseline.

But if waves are too intense or if they come at a high frequency, then water is spilled from the pool, and it takes time until the water A.K.A. dopamine is refilled to reach the pool baseline again.

Intense waves can come from sex or drugs.

Frequent waves are caused by social media where you get many small dopamine ups and downs in the wink of a swipe.

If you do this first thing in the morning, you will end up spilling water A.K.A. dopamine A.K.A. motivation before you leave your house or even your bed.

2. The Reward Prediction Error

The second problem that comes along with screen time early in the day is related to the “Reward Prediction Error”. This concept says that the dopamine released upon receiving the reward is compared to what we expected.

The expectations that we have in the morning are extremely high since we did not check for updates for the last 6-10 hours when we have been sleeping. Unsurprisingly, the disappointment is also very high when we realize that nothing special happened overnight.

So, we have a big desire A.K.A. dopamine peak followed by a big drop since our reward prediction was massively wrong.

Again: Water spilled, motivation killed!

3. Prime your brain for action - You are not a slave!

When you check email or social media, all you train your brain for is just how to respond. When reacting to everyone else’s demands first thing, you train your brain to be reactive.

Instead, successful people do the opposite. They are proactive and in control of their actions. They train their brain for action and getting things done. The best way to that is by creating a phone free morning routine to set the direction for your brain.

Need some inspiration? Here is what the celebs do:

Robert Downey Jr. - The actor ensures all his most important work is done within the first few hours of waking up, so no checking social media or emails first thing!

Ashley Graham - The model starts her day by setting her intentions for the day, followed by reading a motivational or uplifting excerpt from one of her favorite books.

Orlando Bloom - Begins his day by tracking his sleep quality and then spends precious time with his young daughter. After this, Bloom chants for 20 minutes which is followed by reading Buddhist texts.

Lemmy's Hack to put it into action with the Habit Loop method

• Trigger: Don't touch your phone as long as possible.
  Get a physcial alarm clock.
  Ban your phone from your bedroom.
  Create a do-not-disturb mode for the first 1-2 hours of the day.
  Put a "Phone free mornings" sticker on your bathroom mirror or a note that helps you get motivated, such as "I am successful because I have a morning routine".
  

• Action: Get yourself a 60-minute morning routine that does not require your phone even once. If you need inspiration, here are a few things that successful people do first thing: Stretch, Meditate, Read, Exercise, Sunlight Exposure, Focus Work, Journal, Prioritize Tasks.
  

• Reward: You could reward yourself with a breakfast, coffee, reading the news or even social media after having stood firm. Even better if the reward comes from someone else. So how about you find yourself an accountability buddy who rewards you when you are successful? Could be your partner, your best friend or your favorite work buddy.

Recap:

• Community Challenge: Don’t leave flight mode the first hour of the day!

• Get up and do your morning routine.

• Complete your first and most important work task.

• Train your brain for action instead of response.

• Calm down: Nothing in the world is more important than you, your family, your work, and your goals. Start the day with the things that matter most. There is time for social media later. 😉

• Habit loop method