Smoky Joe's Key Ideas from How to Have a Good Day
by Caroline Webb

You’re constantly moving along a discover-defend axis in your daily life, as your brain scans for threats to defend against and rewards to discover.

• In defensive mode, you become less smart and flexible, as your brain devotes some of its scarce mental energy to respond to a potential “threat”.
• In discovery mode, you’re motivating yourself with rewards: a social sense of belonging or recognition; a personal sense of autonomy, competence, or purpose; or informational rewards that come from learning or experiencing new things

When we are in the discover, we are more likely to have good days.

You are not a mind trapped inside a body. You are a body and your mind is part of it. So if you want to change your mind, start with the body.

• The way you treat your body has a direct, immediate impact on your brain’s performance, affecting both its cognitive and emotional functions. 
• Your brain’s deliberate system performs far better when you’ve had enough sleep, some aerobic exercise, and a few moments of mindfulness.
• Mimicking the physical actions associated with feeling happy, confident, and relaxed appears to tell your brain that you are in fact happy, confident, and relaxed.

Caroline Webb recommends a few hacks to have great days:

1. Single-Tasking: focus on thing at once. Multi-tasking is a myth.
2. Planning Deliberate Downtime: Take care of yourself.
3. Resolving Tensions: The social problems are gonna take a toll on you.
4. Reboot your energy

There is no such thing as multi-tasking:

• Group together similar tasks (e.g., email, calls, and reading), so you’re not constantly switching from one mental mode to another. 
• Decide on the best time of day to tackle each batch of tasks. Create longer blocks of uninterrupted time for your most important work. 
• Minimize interruptions, to help you focus your attention on the task at hand. Which alerts can you switch off? Can you use an app to block access to certain websites? 
• Plan small rewards for good behavior. 

Your brain’s deliberate system needs regular breaks to keep it fully functional. When tired, we are more likely to make poorer decisions.

Allow your brain a chance to step back and consolidate the experience. Plan for breaks between “zones” in your day. Refresh your mind after every ninety minutes.

If you disagree on something:

• Articulate the other person’s perspective as if you truly believe it.
• Identify what you both agree on.
• Isolate the real disagreement; explore how you could both be right.
• Decide what you can do based on what you agree on. 

People are often good but their circumstances can change how they come out.

Get clear on the “true facts”: what you know for sure. Then assume that the other person has good intent, and imagine the circumstances that could be causing his or her behavior.

For a complete and happy day, you need to focus on your energy and reboot it when needed.

Know thyself by identifying where the typical energy highs and lows occur. Plan for the triggers and events around the highs and lows.