Your Brain Is Different In The Morning. Here's How You Can Use It To Your Advantage.

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Our brains are weird. I mean, interesting. They control everything we do because they control everything we think. But in the morning, if you’re beave enough to wake up early, something’s different. They aren’t the same and they leave themselves vulnerable. That’s when we attack.

Just kidding.

Or am I?

The Pre-Frontal Cortex is the part of your brain responsible for the active work you do. It’s the part where you do the ‘rational’ thinking. It’s your decision-making, levitating potato. It’s your inner Neo facing Morpheus as he holds out two pills to choose from. It makes the decisions.

At the same time (and this is important), it controls your emotions. Specifically, worrying. This is the nagging part of your brain reminding you to do your taxes, that your printer is out of ink, and that you need to get through your emails from yesterday. It’s annoying. And worse, it distracts you when you’re trying to create or make huge productivity gains.

It’s the random thought generator that flicks on when you’re in the middle of doing something you enjoy.

But,

It switches off, too.

Early morning, when you wake up, the pre-frontal cortex doesn’t start working. It’s still on snooze. This is why if you had a horrible night before, you don’t remember it as soon as you wake up. It takes a bit of time before the sadness hits you again. Same with happiness.

Your emotions take a back seat, for a time. The technical term is ‘Transient Hypofrontality’.

And that gives you an opportunity.

When your brain isn’t nagging you, you have time to do important work. Creative work. It gives you space so you can access your Flow State.

This is why so many people credit their works of art to waking up before dawn. Not only is no one else awake, but the nagging part of their brain isn’t up yet! This is what makes them (and now you) superhuman in your output.

And it feels soooo good.

Intense exercise, meditation, and substances are other ways to get to the same place, making space for Flow. I finally understand why all the musicians I know like to smoke certain things. And it’s well understood that 70’s and 80’s music was created under the influence of some funky stuff.

But now that you know this — you can put away the mushrooms.

Just wake up earlier and get to work. It’s the most creative time of the day for this reason. Don’t waste it on social media or scrolling through your phone. Join the top 0.1% and work on yourself in the morning, while everyone else (including part of your brain) is asleep.

Question for you to ponder:

Harry

P.S. If this helped you make more progress, share it with a friend. If not, share it with an enemy.