167. Unlock Your Mental Focus: Boosting Productivity and Clarity

Speaker: 00:00:03

How often does a job that should only

take an hour end up taking four hours.

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: 00:00:08

Do you often have trouble focusing,

staying energized and motivated, or

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: 00:00:12

maybe you just even have difficulty

sitting down and getting your work done?

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: 00:00:17

Well, I don't know about you, but

I hate it when a task that I have

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: 00:00:21

ends up dragging out for half of

the day when really it should have

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: 00:00:24

been done in a fraction of the time.

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: 00:00:27

So if you're anything like me, Then you're

probably interested in learning how to

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: 00:00:32

improve your mental focus and clarity

while increasing your productivity, which

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: 00:00:36

means that you are in the right place.

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: 00:00:38

My friend, because on today's episode,

we will talk about my favorite practices

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: 00:00:43

to finish a task in a timely manner.

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: 00:00:45

Stop procrastinating, my favorite

supplements and foods for mental

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: 00:00:50

performance and what Parkinson's law is.

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: 00:00:54

And much more.

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: 00:00:56

This is the elemental Eben podcast.

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: 00:00:58

And I'm your host, Evan Roberts.

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: 00:01:00

But more importantly, I am just

someone who really truly cares

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: 00:01:04

about both your health and mine,

especially as someone who has dealt

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: 00:01:09

with gut issues growing up as a kid.

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: 00:01:11

So it's my goal with this podcast

to break down health topics from a

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holistic and simplified approach.

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: 00:01:16

So that everyone can understand

these different health topics and

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: 00:01:20

more importantly, walk away from

these episodes with knowledge that

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: 00:01:24

you can actually apply to your life.

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: 00:01:26

Now today's episode isn't

I guess specifically.

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You know, in the direction of health,

but it definitely is in my opinion,

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in the realm of wellness, because our

ability to be productive and to get

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things done throughout our day and make

the most of not just our days, but our

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life and actually amount to something.

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Plays a huge role in our wellness, our

mental health, and also just feeling

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like we're being productive and doing

something with our lives, which can have

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a huge benefit for our mental health.

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So truthfully the productivity portion of

our lives and how well we can accomplish a

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task and really make something of our day.

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In my opinion is super beneficial

for our mental health, as well

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as just our overall wellbeing.

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Now I personally, over the years have

definitely had my, um, Spouts of.

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Procrastination and

difficulty getting tasks done.

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And, you know, even to this day, it's

still something that occurs regularly.

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Uh, but now the difference is that I

have tools in my tool belt that I can

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actively apply to all of these different

tasks to help get them done in a timely

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manner and feel that I am not wasting

time, but rather getting the tasks done

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that I need to get done right away in

a timely manner so that I can then go

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ahead and enjoy the rest of my day.

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So.

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On this podcast, I'm going to go

ahead and share a few of these tips

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and tricks that I've discovered.

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And the very first one starts off with,

if you want to have a good day or, you

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know, just be a top performer in your day.

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That means you need to start the

night before everything that.

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You know, basically having a good

day literally starts the night

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before you have to get amazing sleep.

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That's what I mean by having a good

night, you have to have amazing

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sleep to be a top performer.

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I don't know about you, but if you've

ever had like five hours of sleep or

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maybe even less, which is not a good idea.

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You definitely feel it throughout

the entirety of your day, right?

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Like you're just not mentally as sharp.

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It's harder for you to recall, recall

certain memories or names or just.

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Whatever you need to, you know,

random information that you

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might need to call on as well.

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Your energy levels are probably going

to be really, really low for that day.

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So truthfully.

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If you want to have a really good

day and be completely just mentally

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on top of it and just crushing it

throughout the entirety of your day,

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then you have to get incredible sleep.

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And if you were not taking precautions to

make sure that you are setting yourself

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up for a good eight hours of sleep.

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In your bed, right?

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Like actually in bed getting a full

eight, then you really need to focus

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there on other podcast episodes.

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I've even spoken about how.

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If you go a certain amount

of time without sleep.

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So sleep deprivation, you can

actually have the mental abilities of

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someone who is slightly intoxicated.

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So of course, none of us want to be,

you know, trying to get through all

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of these different tasks at a slightly

intoxicated cognitive level, right.

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We want to be at the top performance so

that we can really show up as our best

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self in every single thing that we do.

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And that all starts with.

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Our sleep.

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So if you are not getting

good sleep, start there.

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And if you're curious on how to

improve your sleep, go ahead and

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check out some of the other episodes

that I've done on this show, where I

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dive a little bit deeper into sleep.

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Now number two is going to be about

morning rituals, which is a question

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or a topic that tons of people are

debating or have been debating.

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Um, in recent months I would say.

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And really the question is to morning

ritual or not, or to not morning ritual.

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And in my opinion, I think.

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It really just depends on you.

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Um, there is a benefit in having a

morning ritual, but I think a morning

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ritual can also become a detrimental.

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So if you have a morning ritual

that takes you like two or two and

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a half hours every single morning.

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That morning ritual is probably way too

long and needs to be shortened down,

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or maybe just thrown out altogether.

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Um, morning rituals can in a way become

a form of procrastination as well.

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So instead of actually being something

that sets us up for a good day, it can

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actually be something that is, you know,

setting us up for a shortened bad day and

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a day that just feels like it doesn't have

enough time in the day for us to get all

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the tasks done that we need to get done.

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So in terms of a morning ritual, I would

say, ideally, you don't want to go over

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an hour for your morning ritual that way.

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You know, you can get a lot done

within that hour and just really be.

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Really on top of everything that

you're doing for your morning ritual.

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So it can be very timed.

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Um, but provide a lot of benefit.

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So for example, for myself, I do

have a morning ritual, which I

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haven't really been doing recently.

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And that's totally fine.

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Life has gotten super busy for me.

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Uh, work has just been crazy.

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I've been getting up super early, so.

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While I would love to

have a morning ritual.

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I understand that the first thing I

mentioned on the show was get good sleep.

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That is really the most

important thing here.

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So I have been prioritizing that more than

my morning ritual, but nonetheless, when I

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did have a morning ritual or if I do have

some time in the morning, um, the things

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that I do still do as a morning ritual.

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Is first off, I do love to read.

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Some kind of.

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Text in the morning, right?

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Uh, typically it's a.

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I don't know, uh, health, or I

guess you could say quote unquote,

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like a self-help type book.

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Um, I love the Ryan holiday,

um, stoic philosophy type

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books as well in the morning.

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And so if I have the time, I'll

do like 10 pages of reading in the

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morning if I don't have the time, but

I still want to do a little reading.

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I'll literally just read a page or two.

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And that's still something that I

feel is beneficial, uh, specifically

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with, you know, these Ryan holiday,

like stoic philosophy texts.

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Um, there's a lot of benefit in few words.

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Uh, so that's always a great book to read,

even if you don't have a ton of time.

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And then the second thing is meditation.

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Meditation is huge.

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Back in the day.

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I literally was doing 30

minutes every morning.

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Um, I obviously don't have

that much time right now.

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So, uh, when I do meditate, it

typically is only about five

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or 10 minutes in the morning.

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But it is so important that I make

sure that, that if, if anything,

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that one is included over all of the

others, because personally meditation

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is truly a time for you to quiet the

mind and just sort everything out.

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Right.

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And it also helps you

to, uh, become more of a.

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Single pointed focused person, because

you have a lot of mental chatter

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and your ability to sift through

all of that and let it go and focus

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on the task at hand, which during

meditation is just being present.

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It really helps you throughout the day in

whenever you're going through a task and

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you've got all these different things in

your mind, and you're thinking all these

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crazy thoughts and whatnot, it helps

you to really sit through those and just

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focus on the thing that is most important.

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Um, meditation is one of my favorite

practices and I hope you give it a try.

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If you aren't already trying it out.

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And then last but not least is

doing some exercise in the morning.

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So exercise is one of the best ways

to really just flip your brain on.

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And it really does.

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Yeah, like it might drain your body a

little bit physically, but man, does it

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just kick the brain on like nothing else?

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It truly is like, almost

like a drug in that sense.

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So if I have a ton of work to do, or I

just know that, you know, I'm going to

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have a good four hour block of a ton

of things that I need to get through.

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Sometimes I actually like to

just do a pretty quick, but

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rigorous workout right before it.

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Um, and that typically

tends to kick my brain on.

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So.

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In the morning when I was doing my

morning rituals, sometimes I would just

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go for a walk, which even that would

help to turn on the brain and kind of

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get things moving, but actually doing

something like a jog in the morning.

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And it really doesn't have to be

a long jog, like 10 or 15 minutes

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jogging can be absolutely sufficient.

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And that right there would be enough

to really get the brain going and

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get me ready and prepped to do

some work, uh, for that morning.

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So.

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If you are interested in doing a

morning ritual, those are three

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practices that I would highly recommend.

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If you're going to do any practices, of

course you can add or take away whatever

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you like and whatever works best for you.

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But once again, we really don't want

to have this morning ritual take up

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more than about an hour of our morning,

because after that point, it really

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does just start to eat in our, into

our day and take away from time that

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we could be putting towards the actual

tasks that we're trying to accomplish.

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And, uh, you know, the morning ritual.

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Joel was supposed to prep us for that.

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Not take away from it.

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So the morning ritual totally up to you.

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If you have the time

for it, then go for it.

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But if you see that it is eating

into your morning and it's really

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just taking time away from your

day, then feel free to absolutely.

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Get rid of it.

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It's not something that

is absolutely necessary.

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Uh, number three is going to

be the Pomodoro technique.

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And Parkinson's law.

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These two things have been game changer

for me in terms of being productive.

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Uh, first off, starting

with Parkinson's law.

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If you haven't heard of this before.

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Um, here is a treat for you.

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I absolutely love this.

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So Parkinson's law pretty much

states that a task will take up

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the amount of time that it's given.

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So how often have you.

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You know, Had like two things

to do for the entire day.

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And for some reason, those two

tasks take literally the entire day.

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Right?

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I mean, it could be like, Just super

simple, like cleaning up the house and

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ordering a couple of things online.

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And you know, if you really

were pressed for time, you could

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probably accomplish those in.

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Literally like an hour and a half,

maybe it's not perfect, but you could

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get it done in an hour and a half.

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But if you have the entire day, it's

like, you're looking through the

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different drawers going through stuff,

taking your time, moseying around

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and just, you know, really like.

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Just eaten up the time of the day.

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Right.

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And so truly, I believe when you

have a task, if you don't give it

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a set time limit, it is going to

take up more time than it needs to.

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So this leads me to the Pomodoro

technique, which is something I

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really love utilizing, uh, when

I have, you know, just a pretty

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good task list to get through.

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And the Pomodoro technique

is basically this.

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If you have a task, you

got to size it up first.

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So let's say, uh, you got to send

some emails and you're like, okay,

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there's a pretty good amount of emails.

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This is probably gonna

take me like 30 minutes.

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Well, The Pomodoro technique.

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Is where you take a task and you break

it down into this, uh, work sessions.

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So for me, I typically

do a 30 minute session.

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Uh, but some people like to do

like 10 or 15 minute sessions.

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So for the sake of answering

emails, that should take 30 minutes.

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Uh, maybe you break this

down into 15 minute sessions.

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So you pull out a timer

probably on your phone.

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Uh, don't get distracted by pulling

out your phone and then go in

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there, set a timer for 15 minutes.

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And once you hit start.

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You do not get up until

that timer goes off.

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Not even, I mean, if you really, really

have to go pee or something like that,

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go for it, but really you should be

at your desk not touching anything

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that is not related to those emails.

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I don't care if it's something

that's still pretty important.

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Something you have to do later.

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Um, Instagram, whatever, any

distractions you could think of?

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Someone calls you on the phone.

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Uh, whatever it may be, there is

supposed to be zero distractions.

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And for those 15 minutes, you are

absolutely dialed in on your task.

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And then after those 15 minutes, you

take a short little five or 10 minute

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break, and then you come right back

to it for another 15 minutes to.

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Completely in this case,

finish answering all.

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All of these emails.

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Right.

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So hopefully it would just

take those 30 minutes, right.

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Uh, just those two 15 minute sessions.

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Uh, if it's going to take

longer, then that's okay.

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You can just add on a session or

vice versa if you completed it

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faster than 30 minutes, then cool.

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Now you just move on to your next task,

but this is really awesome because

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in a world full of distractions.

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It is so incredibly

easy to be sidetracked.

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So whatever type of session you

want to use, 10, 15, 20, 30 minute

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intervals, whatever it may be,

find which one works best for you.

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And then your little breaks in between.

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Shouldn't be super long.

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Um, five to 10 minutes is usually

where you should pretty much keep that.

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Um, let's say for example,

you're having, um, A task.

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That's going to take you like two hours.

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Okay.

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Well, at the one hour, mark, you can

go ahead and take a longer break.

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You can maybe take a two, a 20

minute or a 30 minute break there

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and just really kind of give yourself

a moment to, to, you know, rest

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and reset and all that good stuff.

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Uh, but this has been extremely, extremely

effective for me in accomplishing tasks

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in a very short amount of time and making

sure that I'm not allowing these tasks to

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eat up more time than they really should.

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So the Pomodoro technique, once again,

that's the technique that I use.

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And then Parkinson's law was the law of a

task taking up the time that it's given.

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So those are incredible.

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And I highly recommend you implement

those into your life as well.

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Now.

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I've had people also mentioned,

and I go through this as well.

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You know, what do you do when

you're just absolutely exhausted.

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Right?

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And you just, you, you can't even

think about doing work, right?

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This is typically like that two

to 3:00 PM time when your eyelids

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feel like they're, you know, a ha.

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You know, fricking a hundred

pounds and nothing you can do.

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Uh, we'll break you out of this

drowsy daydream that you're, you

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know, kind of stuck in, right?

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Well, don't get me wrong.

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This is not a fun place to be.

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It sucks.

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Like the pretty much, the only thing

I want to do in that moment of time

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is lay down and take an app, which.

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Actually is one of the

things that you could do.

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So there's two things here.

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Obviously, if you're at work and you can't

just break away and take a quick little

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cat nap, um, that's totally reasonable.

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Um, and, uh, you know, hopefully

if you're allowed, you can at least

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get up and do a little activity,

which would be the second option.

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Um, but if you have the ability

to just break away for like

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30 minutes from your work.

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Go ahead, set a timer for 30 minutes

and go lay down, go try to take a nap

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because sometimes L short little 15

minute nap, because I don't know if

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: 00:16:28

you're like me, but if I set a timer

for 30 minutes, there's like a good 15

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minutes where I'm not actually asleep.

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Um, and then, so I'm probably only

getting about a 15 minute sleep there.

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Um, but nonetheless, that little

15 minute nap could be exactly

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: 00:16:42

what you need to reset your brain

refresh and come back to your work.

310

: 00:16:46

So if you have the ability

to do so, that is an option.

311

: 00:16:49

The other option would be

to get up and get active.

312

: 00:16:52

So even if it's going out for a

quick little walk, just standing up,

313

: 00:16:56

maybe even doing a little workouts

and pushups, and sit-ups some

314

: 00:16:59

jumping jacks, whatever it may be.

315

: 00:17:01

And this is just going to help activate

once again, the brain we're coming

316

: 00:17:04

back to the exercise process and

really flip that switch back on and.

317

: 00:17:08

And really get you out of

this, um, drowsy daydream.

318

: 00:17:12

That we typically hit around,

you know, two to three o'clock.

319

: 00:17:15

Um, it's it's the worst.

320

: 00:17:16

I hate it.

321

: 00:17:18

Um, but aside from that, There's,

those are pretty much the two best

322

: 00:17:22

things that I have found for me.

323

: 00:17:24

Uh, in terms of that two to three

o'clock time, um, I will say there are

324

: 00:17:29

some times where I noticed that, uh,

certain foods actually make that two to

325

: 00:17:34

3:00 PM a little bit worse than others.

326

: 00:17:37

If I do have a lighter meal or

something, that's just pretty healthy.

327

: 00:17:41

Uh, for my lunch, it typically

keeps me much more awake.

328

: 00:17:46

Around the two to three phase, then,

uh, if I was to eat something really,

329

: 00:17:50

really heavy or, you know, just something

that was not very healthy, um, that

330

: 00:17:55

will typically actually make me more

tired around that two to 3:00 PM time.

331

: 00:17:59

So anyways, if you deal with this,

give either of those two things, a try

332

: 00:18:03

and just see if they work out for you.

333

: 00:18:06

Now, the other thing that we can do is we

can be very specific with our calendars.

334

: 00:18:12

Or use some kind of a journal

to track our tasks and our time.

335

: 00:18:17

Because really at the end of the day,

if you're not tracking what you need.

336

: 00:18:23

You know your time, as well as the

tasks that you need to get done,

337

: 00:18:27

then eventually they're just going to

get lost, you know, somewhere, some

338

: 00:18:30

way, somehow one or another thing

is going to get lost in the mix.

339

: 00:18:35

If you're trying to keep everything

in your head, especially with all of

340

: 00:18:38

the tasks that we have to accomplish

in our day-to-day lives, which.

341

: 00:18:41

Typically is a lot.

342

: 00:18:43

Um, it's very likely that you're going

to slip on a couple things and you're

343

: 00:18:47

going to forget them, and then it's

going to be three days later and then

344

: 00:18:50

you're going to remember them again.

345

: 00:18:51

So really the best way to avoid

that is to just write it down.

346

: 00:18:55

I don't care if it's in a journal.

347

: 00:18:57

I don't care if it's on a calendar.

348

: 00:18:58

I really do like actually using both,

um, a calendar and a journal sometimes.

349

: 00:19:02

Um, I'll use the journal for more like

small tasks and then the calendar is

350

: 00:19:07

like really big chunks of the day.

351

: 00:19:09

Um, but however you want to use it.

352

: 00:19:11

You have to track.

353

: 00:19:12

It or else it's going to get lost.

354

: 00:19:14

So get used to using a calendar.

355

: 00:19:18

I mean, Google calendar is

literally free or you can just go

356

: 00:19:21

purchase an old school calendar.

357

: 00:19:24

And journals on Amazon are, I

would imagine extremely cheap,

358

: 00:19:28

probably no more than $20 and

probably no less than like $8.

359

: 00:19:32

So.

360

: 00:19:33

Uh, very accessible, very easy to

use, and they can really be super,

361

: 00:19:37

super beneficial in making sure that

you don't forget some of the really

362

: 00:19:40

important things that you have to do.

363

: 00:19:42

Now last, but not least on today's

episode is going to be food and

364

: 00:19:45

supplements because of course,

health wellness got, got to bring

365

: 00:19:49

this in here and, uh, our brain.

366

: 00:19:52

Obviously benefits from the things

that we consume or can be hindered

367

: 00:19:56

by the things that we're consuming.

368

: 00:19:57

So, uh, it's really important for

us to make sure we're consuming

369

: 00:20:01

the correct foods and supplements

when it comes to cognitive health,

370

: 00:20:05

as well as cognitive performance.

371

: 00:20:08

Right.

372

: 00:20:08

So being able to memorize things

easier to really, uh, be more.

373

: 00:20:13

In-tune with the stuff that we're

learning and have our brains just

374

: 00:20:16

turned on so that we're able to really

pick up what everyone's putting down

375

: 00:20:21

and to really be on top of stuff.

376

: 00:20:23

So in terms of general brain

health, Uh, there's a few things

377

: 00:20:28

that I really love to eat.

378

: 00:20:29

Um, of course, once again, it

all comes back to the basics

379

: 00:20:32

of eating whole foods, right?

380

: 00:20:35

The single ingredient foods that you

find in nature, um, you know, fruits,

381

: 00:20:38

vegetables of course are in here as well.

382

: 00:20:40

I'm not really mentioning too many of

them, um, in my list, but I did want to

383

: 00:20:45

just mention that fruits and vegetables

are going to have benefit for the brain,

384

: 00:20:50

especially like dark leafy greens.

385

: 00:20:52

Uh, but in terms of some foods

that I really liked for brain

386

: 00:20:55

health first off is eggs.

387

: 00:20:58

So eggs are in many ways like nature's

multivitamin and they have a ton

388

: 00:21:03

of benefit for our brain health.

389

: 00:21:05

They have things like full eight

and Coleen in them, which are really

390

: 00:21:08

beneficial for our brain health.

391

: 00:21:10

And you got to think about it.

392

: 00:21:11

An egg is literally the

beginning of a life form, right?

393

: 00:21:15

So it has to have some of these

essential nutrients that are

394

: 00:21:18

going to help develop the brain.

395

: 00:21:20

And.

396

: 00:21:20

The spinal cord and all of that,

of, uh, developing, uh, chicken.

397

: 00:21:24

Right?

398

: 00:21:25

So these are literally like

nature's multivitamins.

399

: 00:21:29

I love these for brain health

and I typically eat eggs

400

: 00:21:32

on a pretty normal basis.

401

: 00:21:34

Now another thing would be seafood, right?

402

: 00:21:36

Seafood for their omega oils.

403

: 00:21:39

Right?

404

: 00:21:40

So, uh, things like salmon can be

really good, uh, sardines as well.

405

: 00:21:44

They can be very beneficial and

having some Omega's that are really

406

: 00:21:48

beneficial for our brain health.

407

: 00:21:49

Now, if.

408

: 00:21:50

You're a vegan or vegetarian.

409

: 00:21:52

There are other options like algae,

like spirulina and chlorella.

410

: 00:21:56

I love spirulina and chlorella.

411

: 00:21:57

And even on top of that, spirulina

has been shown to benefit your

412

: 00:22:02

mitochondria, which really

benefit your energy production.

413

: 00:22:06

And once again, Energy production is

super high in the brain actually per uh,

414

: 00:22:12

per cell or something along those lines.

415

: 00:22:14

We have a massive amount more, sorry.

416

: 00:22:18

I'm totally butchering this.

417

: 00:22:19

We have a.

418

: 00:22:21

Larger amount of mitochondria based in

our brain than in other parts of our body.

419

: 00:22:27

For example, our heart is another

area that has a large concentration

420

: 00:22:30

of mitochondria, but our brain

is also one that has a very large

421

: 00:22:35

concentration of mitochondria because

it uses a ton of energy, right?

422

: 00:22:39

It only makes sense that a place that

uses a ton of energy is going to need

423

: 00:22:43

those power plants that can crank out

the energy and have the production there.

424

: 00:22:47

So spirulina is really good at benefiting.

425

: 00:22:50

Our mitochondria and promoting

the health of our mitochondria.

426

: 00:22:54

So I love spirulina for a ton of reasons,

but that's definitely one of them.

427

: 00:22:59

And then in terms of food and this one's

going to show up again in supplements.

428

: 00:23:03

Uh, it's the lion's mane mushroom.

429

: 00:23:05

Lion's mane is incredible.

430

: 00:23:07

I I'm going to chat a little bit

more when I get to the supplements

431

: 00:23:11

here, but a lion's mane is one of.

432

: 00:23:14

Uh, it might even be my favorite,

uh, thing to take for cognitive

433

: 00:23:19

performance and brain health.

434

: 00:23:21

There is a research as well as

just, you know, A long, like

435

: 00:23:27

history of usage of lion's mane.

436

: 00:23:31

Uh, specifically in Asia and

China, uh, where it's really

437

: 00:23:35

been shown to help benefit.

438

: 00:23:36

Uh, our brain and our cognitive

performance and, um, our axons and

439

: 00:23:40

dendrites and all that good stuff.

440

: 00:23:42

So.

441

: 00:23:43

A lion's mane is high on the list.

442

: 00:23:45

And on top of that, you can actually

consume lion's mane as a food.

443

: 00:23:48

It's really tasty.

444

: 00:23:50

You can cook it up in a pan, you can kind

of like grill it or saute it like a meat.

445

: 00:23:55

It does typically pull apart

almost like a shredded pork or a

446

: 00:23:58

shredded beef, which is really cool.

447

: 00:24:00

And I've seen some people make really

good, um, uh, lion's mane tacos,

448

: 00:24:04

and it's kind of like almost like

shredded pork or shredded beef.

449

: 00:24:07

Uh, tacos, which is really cool.

450

: 00:24:09

Um, and just a nice way to consume

a really brain healthy food.

451

: 00:24:13

Now.

452

: 00:24:14

In terms of supplements

there's many out there.

453

: 00:24:18

Um, and of course I don't

have all of them listed.

454

: 00:24:21

But a few of the ones that I

typically use for kicking on my

455

: 00:24:26

brain or just promoting brain health.

456

: 00:24:28

Uh, first and foremost, just

got to put it out there.

457

: 00:24:31

Caffeine.

458

: 00:24:32

I mean, Some people don't

work well with caffeine.

459

: 00:24:35

That's totally fine.

460

: 00:24:35

Maybe it's not what works best for you.

461

: 00:24:38

Um, and you know, of

course, a lot of people.

462

: 00:24:40

I might have trouble with their

adrenal glands and things like that.

463

: 00:24:43

So, yeah, coffee, caffeine might

not be the best route for you.

464

: 00:24:46

Um, but you know, if coffee is too

strong, I would recommend trying

465

: 00:24:50

like a macho or a green tea.

466

: 00:24:52

It's going to have lower

levels of caffeine, but it

467

: 00:24:54

is going to have Nene in it.

468

: 00:24:56

Um, so this is going to be beneficial

for turning our brain on and getting

469

: 00:25:00

to work and staying productive.

470

: 00:25:02

Um, this is obviously super

well known and many people do

471

: 00:25:06

consume coffee and caffeine.

472

: 00:25:07

Uh, but it's definitely worth listing.

473

: 00:25:10

Uh, it's a hundred percent.

474

: 00:25:12

One of, one of the ways

that I start my day.

475

: 00:25:15

Uh, but be sure that you are drinking

water before you drink coffee and

476

: 00:25:19

make sure that you are remineralizing

afterwards, because coffee definitely is

477

: 00:25:23

a diuretic and can help strip the body of

much needed hydration as well as minerals.

478

: 00:25:29

So make sure you're staying

up on top of that as well.

479

: 00:25:31

Uh, the next thing would be B vitamins.

480

: 00:25:33

So B vitamins typically are very

beneficial for our energy levels.

481

: 00:25:38

Um, so B vitamins are something

that I might take in the morning.

482

: 00:25:42

Uh, if I'm taking like a multivitamin,

those will usually have them in there.

483

: 00:25:45

Um, but I have tried just

a, like B vitamin complex.

484

: 00:25:50

Uh, and that has been very

beneficial in yeah, just overall

485

: 00:25:53

promoting, um, energy levels.

486

: 00:25:55

So maybe that can help combat the two to

3:00 PM slump that a lot of us go through.

487

: 00:26:01

Um, but that might be something

you want to look into.

488

: 00:26:04

And then I had already mentioned

spirulina, but once again, spirulina,

489

: 00:26:08

truly incredible for the brain.

490

: 00:26:10

It's not going to be something that's

just going to kick your brain on right

491

: 00:26:13

away and give you a ton of energy.

492

: 00:26:15

But in terms of the long-term,

uh, spirulina is going to be very

493

: 00:26:19

beneficial for your brain, for the

mitochondria all throughout your body.

494

: 00:26:24

Um, it's got a ton of

vitamins and minerals as well.

495

: 00:26:27

Um, so it's really just one of

those super foods in my opinion.

496

: 00:26:31

And, um, You know, I, I haven't, I

didn't mention, I forgot to mention

497

: 00:26:34

this earlier, but the one spirulina that

I personally use is from energy bits,

498

: 00:26:39

they have the best quality spirulina

that I've ever come across personally.

499

: 00:26:45

Um, and I've tried a lot of spirulina,

like at least 10 to 15 different brands.

500

: 00:26:50

And it is hands down.

501

: 00:26:51

My absolute favorite one.

502

: 00:26:53

Um, so if you are going to try a

spirulina, I highly recommend energy bits.

503

: 00:26:57

I always have them linked in

the description of the show and

504

: 00:27:00

you get a 20% discount just for

being a listener to the show.

505

: 00:27:03

So it's obviously, um, A good idea

to go ahead and give that one a try.

506

: 00:27:08

Uh, and just see what you think.

507

: 00:27:10

But definitely spirulina

is a top supplement for me.

508

: 00:27:14

It's one that I take

literally every single day.

509

: 00:27:17

Um, and then the next thing would

be methylene blue with nicotine.

510

: 00:27:23

So this is a, this is a, uh,

kind of a controversial one.

511

: 00:27:28

Um, but I have taken methylene

blue with nicotine in the past.

512

: 00:27:33

And, um, I think I actually recently

ran out of it, but I use a brand called.

513

: 00:27:39

Toko scriptions I want to

say is what it's called.

514

: 00:27:42

Um, but anyways, methylene

blue, once again, is going to

515

: 00:27:45

help benefit our mitochondria.

516

: 00:27:47

So here we are, again, mitochondria,

super high concentration in our brain.

517

: 00:27:53

And by taking methylene blue, we're

going to be helping to support those

518

: 00:27:56

mitochondria with their energy production.

519

: 00:27:59

Now the reason I have the one that is

with nicotine, because you can just

520

: 00:28:04

take the one that has methylene blue.

521

: 00:28:06

That's absolutely something you can do.

522

: 00:28:08

But the one with nicotine.

523

: 00:28:11

And I really don't take this very

often, but when I am in a pinch

524

: 00:28:15

and I really need my brain to be

on and focused and ready to go.

525

: 00:28:21

This is my go-to a hundred percent.

526

: 00:28:23

It is.

527

: 00:28:24

It is one of the things that.

528

: 00:28:26

You know, a lot of these supplements are

beneficial, kind of long-term aside from

529

: 00:28:30

like caffeine, for example, but methylene

blue with a nicotine is something you're

530

: 00:28:35

going to feel in like 10 minutes and

your brain is going to be kicked on.

531

: 00:28:40

Now for me, nicotine is,

um, it's very strong.

532

: 00:28:45

Like I feel the effects very heavily,

so I take the smallest dose possible.

533

: 00:28:50

And I drink a lot of water with it,

um, to kind of help buffer that.

534

: 00:28:53

But nonetheless, I can't lie.

535

: 00:28:55

It is truly one of the things that

just absolutely kicks your brain on.

536

: 00:29:00

And on top of that, I think it's much

better than some of the alternatives

537

: 00:29:04

because, um, as someone who's

been in college, you see a lot of

538

: 00:29:08

people who spend some really like

late nights studying, using, uh,

539

: 00:29:12

things that they probably shouldn't.

540

: 00:29:13

One of them definitely being Ritalin.

541

: 00:29:15

And, uh, yeah, I would.

542

: 00:29:18

Highly recommend this over that for sure.

543

: 00:29:20

Um, this is definitely going to be a

much better option and, uh, something

544

: 00:29:24

that is also going to provide some

value because the methylene blue is

545

: 00:29:27

really good for your mitochondria.

546

: 00:29:29

And then last but not least in terms

of supplements, I am going to have

547

: 00:29:33

to include my lion's mane once again.

548

: 00:29:35

I literally love, love, love,

love, love lines, Maine.

549

: 00:29:40

It is my.

550

: 00:29:42

Possibly my favorite medicinal

mushroom to take, although I

551

: 00:29:45

really do love all of them.

552

: 00:29:47

Uh, but lion's mane was the

one mushroom that I took for.

553

: 00:29:52

I think it was, it might've

been 60 days straight.

554

: 00:29:56

I just really was wanting to see if I

could see any effects with lion's mane.

555

: 00:30:01

And so for 60 days I just took it and

took it and took it every single day.

556

: 00:30:05

And sure enough.

557

: 00:30:07

It was a noticeable difference for me.

558

: 00:30:09

I literally was able to recall.

559

: 00:30:13

You know, facts, information, names,

all these different things, much easier.

560

: 00:30:17

It just felt effortless.

561

: 00:30:18

Like it was always at the tip of

my tongue, you know, I never had to

562

: 00:30:21

go searching or thinking about, you

know, oh man, do I remember that?

563

: 00:30:25

And it was awesome because it was

during while I was in college and

564

: 00:30:28

it was definitely a huge benefit.

565

: 00:30:30

Now, what was wild was.

566

: 00:30:33

After I stopped taking lion's mane.

567

: 00:30:35

I actually noticed that, you know,

my mind wasn't working as well,

568

: 00:30:39

which come to find out later.

569

: 00:30:41

Uh, there are some studies

that show lion's mane is

570

: 00:30:45

effective when you're taking it.

571

: 00:30:47

But once you stop taking it, you do

have a decline, um, of the benefits

572

: 00:30:52

that lion's mane was providing.

573

: 00:30:54

So lion's mane is one of those

things that if you want to continue

574

: 00:30:57

receiving benefits from it, you

have to continue taking it, which.

575

: 00:31:00

Eh, it's kind of a bummer, but

honestly it was really beneficial and

576

: 00:31:05

it's one of my favorite mushrooms.

577

: 00:31:06

Um, I really, really felt

a difference with it.

578

: 00:31:09

So it's something that

I still regularly take.

579

: 00:31:12

Um, there's multiple ways of taking it.

580

: 00:31:14

Like I mentioned, you can cook a cook

lion's mane or honestly, um, I think

581

: 00:31:20

an easier way of getting it is through

maybe like a tincture or a powder.

582

: 00:31:24

If you are getting a tincture or powder,

typically you want to get something

583

: 00:31:27

that is dual extracted, which means

that it has both the Alcohol and the

584

: 00:31:31

hot water extraction, um, because

certain components of the lion's mane

585

: 00:31:35

are extracted only through alcohol and

then some are only through hot water.

586

: 00:31:39

So.

587

: 00:31:40

It is important to have the two of those.

588

: 00:31:42

Of course you want a reputable brand.

589

: 00:31:45

Um, if you're looking for a tincture

or a powdered form, typically

590

: 00:31:49

someone like four Sigmatic or rainbow

mushrooms, that's R a I N B O no.

591

: 00:31:56

W at the end.

592

: 00:31:57

Um, try to think own mushrooms

as well as a pretty good brand.

593

: 00:32:02

From what I can tell, that's

literally just O M I've seen

594

: 00:32:05

them at a whole foods a lot.

595

: 00:32:08

And, uh, personally, my favorite

is going to be in the mix

596

: 00:32:13

powder drink from Organifi.

597

: 00:32:15

Uh, so that one is called pure and it's

got both lion's mane as well as a gut.

598

: 00:32:21

Uh, beneficial.

599

: 00:32:23

Sorry.

600

: 00:32:24

I'm like super tongue tied here.

601

: 00:32:25

Uh, gut promoting

properties in there as well.

602

: 00:32:29

They have like apple cider vinegar.

603

: 00:32:30

They have prebiotics as well.

604

: 00:32:32

So you're kind of getting a gut

and brain boost at the same time.

605

: 00:32:36

Uh, once again, though, one of my big

reasons for taking it is the lion's mane

606

: 00:32:40

and it's just a really enjoyable way to

take lion's mane because not gonna lie.

607

: 00:32:45

A lot of these powders

and tinctures are not.

608

: 00:32:47

Going to be very tasty at all.

609

: 00:32:49

Um, so they're not really the

most enjoyable way of consuming.

610

: 00:32:52

Lion's mane still absolutely

effective and really beneficial.

611

: 00:32:56

But Hey, if I can take something that

tastes good and has benefit, that's

612

: 00:33:00

usually the route that I'm going to go.

613

: 00:33:02

And on top of that, Organifi is

a super, super repeatable brand.

614

: 00:33:06

Um, they view they do third-party testing

for glyphosate to make sure there is.

615

: 00:33:11

Truly no glyphosate on any of their

products are a hundred percent organic

616

: 00:33:14

and they really just do all the work

that I would hope a company would do in

617

: 00:33:19

providing a really high quality product.

618

: 00:33:21

So.

619

: 00:33:22

If you want trout lines main,

uh, from Organify go ahead

620

: 00:33:25

and check out the pure blend.

621

: 00:33:27

It's a juice blend and a as well have that

linked in the description and you get a, I

622

: 00:33:32

believe it's a 15% discount with that one.

623

: 00:33:35

So feel free to check

that out, but those are.

624

: 00:33:39

You know, a few ways in

which you can get lines mean.

625

: 00:33:40

I've tried all of them

and I like all of them.

626

: 00:33:43

So, um, truthfully, I don't

care which route you go.

627

: 00:33:46

I think those are all very

re like great brands to use.

628

: 00:33:50

Um, once again, I'll just

name those off that's own O M

629

: 00:33:53

mushrooms, rainbow mushrooms.

630

: 00:33:55

There's no w at the end of rainbow.

631

: 00:33:57

Uh, four Sigmatic is

another really good one.

632

: 00:34:00

And then the one that I use is Organifi.

633

: 00:34:03

So those are going to be the main

supplements I would use for like brain

634

: 00:34:07

health and cognitive performance.

635

: 00:34:09

Of course, there's a bunch

of other ones out there like

636

: 00:34:11

Ginko bill Bilboa or whatever.

637

: 00:34:14

Um, yeah, there's a ton out there that

definitely provide benefit and are really

638

: 00:34:19

beneficial, uh, to cognitive performance.

639

: 00:34:22

But.

640

: 00:34:23

These are the ones that I'm currently

using and that I typically use.

641

: 00:34:26

So these are the ones that I'm

just including, but anyways, that's

642

: 00:34:30

going to do it for today's episode.

643

: 00:34:31

Y'all I'm going to do a quick recap,

just so you can reference this part

644

: 00:34:35

of the episode, if ever you need to.

645

: 00:34:37

So once again, starting with a good

night's sleep, that's going to be the

646

: 00:34:41

most important thing here in terms

of having good cognitive performance.

647

: 00:34:45

Number two is going to be, uh, the

choice between a morning ritual or not.

648

: 00:34:49

I think it's very beneficial to have one,

but make sure it's not eating up all of.

649

: 00:34:52

Your day.

650

: 00:34:53

Number three, the Pomodoro

technique and Parkinson's law.

651

: 00:34:57

Remember Parkinson's law says

a task will take up the amount

652

: 00:35:01

of time that you give it.

653

: 00:35:02

So.

654

: 00:35:04

Knowing that it is important for us to

assess each task and understand how much

655

: 00:35:08

time it's going to take and then apply the

Pomodoro method in which we go ahead and.

656

: 00:35:14

Uh, work in little segments.

657

: 00:35:16

I'm taking a short break in

between, but these are completely

658

: 00:35:19

uninterrupted, no distraction work

segments that will help you get your

659

: 00:35:24

tasks done quickly and effectively.

660

: 00:35:28

Uh, and then number four is going

to be, uh, if you're exhausted

661

: 00:35:33

around that two to 3:00 PM phase.

662

: 00:35:35

Uh, you're going to want

to do one of two things.

663

: 00:35:39

A go for a really quick nap and

try to sleep it out real quick.

664

: 00:35:43

Or number two.

665

: 00:35:45

Get, uh, get some exercise, get active,

go for a walk, do some pushups, do some

666

: 00:35:49

sit ups, whatever it takes for you to

wake yourself up and then come back to

667

: 00:35:53

your desk, refreshed and ready to go.

668

: 00:35:55

Uh, next is going to be, to be

very specific with your calendar

669

: 00:35:59

and or journal, because remember

if you're not tracking something,

670

: 00:36:03

eventually it's going to get lost.

671

: 00:36:05

And then last but not least, we have

the foods and supplements, which offer

672

: 00:36:09

the foods where eggs, seafood and

lion's mane mushroom of course, dark

673

: 00:36:14

leafy greens can also be in there.

674

: 00:36:16

They're very beneficial for the brain.

675

: 00:36:18

And last, but not least for supplements,

we have caffeine, B vitamins,

676

: 00:36:23

spirulina, methylene blue with nicotine.

677

: 00:36:26

And lion's mane mushroom.

678

: 00:36:29

All right.

679

: 00:36:29

Y'all that is going to do

it for today's episode.

680

: 00:36:31

Thank you all so much for tuning in.

681

: 00:36:33

I hope you received a ton of benefit

from this episode and walk away

682

: 00:36:36

feeling a little bit more productive.

683

: 00:36:39

Um, please go ahead and try

some of these things out,

684

: 00:36:41

especially that Pomodoro method.

685

: 00:36:43

Uh, with obviously understanding

the Parkinson's law, right.

686

: 00:36:47

Uh, that has been so

beneficial for me personally.

687

: 00:36:50

So feel free to give these a try,

see what you think, and if you

688

: 00:36:53

receive any benefit from them,

then I'm super happy to hear that.

689

: 00:36:57

And please feel free to share it with me.

690

: 00:36:59

If you do find some benefit and also

feel free to share this episode with a

691

: 00:37:04

friend, family, or loved one or anyone who

needs to hear this episode or this show.

692

: 00:37:08

And also, if you haven't already

subscribed, please do so.

693

: 00:37:11

So you don't miss any of these episodes

and leave a rating as well as a review.

694

: 00:37:16

If you have not already.

695

: 00:37:18

I really appreciate that.

696

: 00:37:19

And it also helps people find this show.

697

: 00:37:22

It's a really quick and

easy way for you to.

698

: 00:37:24

I give back to.

699

: 00:37:25

this show.

700

: 00:37:26

And aside from that,

that's going to do it.

701

: 00:37:28

Y'all I hope you had a really great

time listening to this episode.

702

: 00:37:32

I know I had a great time, uh,

researching and talking about it, but.

703

: 00:37:37

Till next time.

704

: 00:37:37

I hope you guys have a beautiful

rest of your day and your week.

705

: 00:37:41

And I will see y'all next Wednesday

as always do everything with good

706

: 00:37:46

intentions and connect your elements.

707

: 00:37:48

Much.

708

: 00:37:48

Love to y'all and peace.