Forget about getting up insanely early every morning.  How much time we have in the mornings is far less important than how we spend the time we do have.

For example, every day when you get to your desk and sit down to work, play the same song before I start any work.

This is important because it serves as a cue to your brain to go into work mode. This little ritual makes it easier for me you “slide” into work rather than having to wi...

• Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even weekends.
• Getting into bed before you’re truly sleepy is a great way to start worrying, which leads to arousal and difficulty falling asleep.
• Watch out for too much Sleep Hygiene. Don't make going to slee...

Good sleep makes everything better. It’s extremely hard to do cognitively-demanding and creative work when we’re sleep-deprived. 

Low energy, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, irritability, and poor motivation can all come directly from poor sleep, especially consistently poor sleep.

Don't rely on willpower. The smarter way to tackle the morning is to build routines and rituals that pull us out of bed and toward our goals.

Create a pre-work morning routine that’s rewarding and enjoyable. For example: go to your favorite shop and grab a coffee on your way.

In addition to hurting the quality of your sleep, snoozing is detrimental psychologically: it leads to an erosion of self-confidence and the ability to follow through on our own best intentions and goals.

Working for extended periods with full concentration and no distractions, on a single task requires:

• Knowing the day before what exactly you’re going to be working on during your Deep Work hour.
• Putting your phone somewhere out of sight and earshot while you’re do...

The magnitude of the reward isn’t very important; it’s the ritual of the reward that matters. So it’s enough to do something small as long as it signifies that you’ve completed your​ task.

Psychologically, by doing all the things that go along with showering like combing your hair, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, etc., you’re communicating to your brain in no uncertain terms that it’s time to go and get started with the day.

• Get a monthly calendar.
• At the top of the calendar note the task or action you’re tracking. 
• Each morning after you’ve completed the task, put a big X or some kind of mark through that day.
• Try to go as many days as possible without “breaking the streak.”
• If y...