Mind

How I became a morning person. Finally.

chanman · Apr 16, 2017 · Leave a Comment

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an insomniac.

I remember being awake for a whole night before a 9am exam. I’ve punched the walls in frustration at not being able to sleep the night before an important interview. I’ve lain awake so often that for years on a Sunday night, I would pop downstairs at 3am for a glass of port and a sleeping tablet to help my mind relax and finally get some sleep.

Not ideal I know.

I’ve long dreamed of being able to sleep when I want to. I’ve dreamed of bouncing out of bed at 6am and going to the gym, reading a book and doing some writing.

But I’ve never been able to do it. The snooze button was always too inviting. The pillow was too soft and too warm.

Until now.

I was in Hong Kong and Australia recently to celebrate getting married. Jet lag going eastwards is always horrible. But it’s a total joy coming back westwards, particularly for an insomniac.

At 8pm London time, I would be so tired. (8pm London time is 7am Sydney time). I’d go to bed at 10pm and wake up naturally at 6am!

I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks now and it’s changed my life. I get up now at 6.30am, feeling energised. I go to the gym every other morning and use the rest of the extra time to read.

How to get up at 6.30am

You need to commit to doing this for 3 weeks minimum. That’s how long it takes on average to build a habit. It’s easier to do in summertime because the sun rises earlier and you will feel like getting up as it’s in daylight (as opposed to getting up in darkness in the depths of winter).

First morning: Set your alarm for 6.30am and get out of bed at that time, no matter if you feel like staying in bed. No caffeine at all that morning.

First evening: You’ll feel tired that evening. Eat around 7.30pm and go to bed at 10.30pm latest. Set your alarm for 6.30am.

Repeat, repeat and repeat.

Repeat even at weekends. Don’t fall back into late habits at the weekends. This is critical.

What’s next?

I’m going to get up earlier and earlier. There’s a whole legion of people online with 5am accountability clubs.

Noah Kagan has a podcast episode dedicated to getting up at 5am.

Jocko Willink has one for 4.45am. The community will take a photo of the time and post it to Twitter #0445club

What time will you get up? Let me know in the comments.

What I learned from watching the recent Supreme Court Article 50 case

chanman · Dec 11, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I was absolutely blown away by the recent Supreme Court Article 50 hearing.

Easily one of the best things I’ve ever watched.

Here’s what I learned:

1) Some people are really, really incredibly clever

The eleven justices are legal geniuses. As are the barristers who were representing the various parties ranging from the UK Government, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and private individuals.

Each was marshalling several arguments, a huge range of facts and issues of generational importance.

It’s reassuring that issues of this magnitude are being handled by big brains such as these.

It makes Michael Gove’s now pilloried statement that the nation had ‘had enough of experts’ even more ridiculous.

How could anyone but experts deal with enormous matters like this?

2) The mind needs to be exercised or it will atrophy

Watching and listening to the arguments, I could feel my mind waking up, like a dry plant given water after a long drought.

TV and Netflix just don’t exercise the mind in the same way.

It’s like walking on a treadmill versus a heart-pounding, acid-burning 5 mile cross-country run flat-out.

For a true workout of the mind, why not read Leviathan or The Republic?

Or listen to the Ring Cycle?

Or write a short story?

Use your brain properly or lose it.

At the very least, we could consume better material.

As a starting point, check out Bill Gates’s amazing blog, where he posts book summaries and about issues relating to his Foundation’s work. It’s incredible that one man can be so clever and so influential. Truly a flourishing life.

Or watch TED talks.

Or watch educational YouTube videos (check out Fighting Mediocrity’s page).

Or read Tim Ferriss’s new book Tools of Titans (summary to come soon).

Read the best newspapers like the New York Times or the Financial Times.

Use it or lose it!

My first experiences with Nootropics (Noopept) (Chaos and Pain Cannibal Genius)

chanman · Oct 11, 2016 · 1 Comment

I’m always on the look out for ways to improve. Particularly if they involve a shortcut or life-hack.

I’d come across the the idea of nootropics from a lot of guys I follow online.

Like Tim Ferriss.

Dave Asprey

Victor Pride

More recently Dave Meredith and Chris Stoikos.

What are nootropics?

Nootropics are chemicals that improve mental performance.

They were popularised in the film Limitless where the fictional drug NZT gave the main character access to his entire brain capacity, improving his mental performance massively.

Whilst no such NZT exists in real life (I don’t think), there are are drugs that do have a tangible positive effect on mental performance.

The most popular are Modifinal and Noopept.

Modifinal was originally made for the military to combat narcolepsy.

It kept pilots awake and alert for hours, like caffeine only without the jittery effects.

My main draw towards nootropics was the reported ability to focus and be much, much more productive.

According to reports, users experience an almost tunnel-like focus on doing what’s important.

Students are reportedly big fans, using it to pull all-night revision sessions.

I have a tendency to procrastinate.

I want to be more productive.

Modifinal and Noopept

My research narrowed it down to two types of nootropics: Modifinal and Noopept.

Modifinal scares me a bit, mainly because it could affect my sleep.

I’m an insomniac at heart and the half life of modifinal is 15 hours. I’d have to take it at 7am and hope that the effects wore off by bedtime.

I came across Noopept through a recommendation for Chaos and Pain’s Cannibal Genius.

Noopept is their active nootropic.

(I actually bought the wrong Cannibal Genius. All the research I did online suggested that Noopept was an active ingredient. I received it promptly and I waited a couple of days before taking one.

I took one on a Sunday, whilst hungover.

I didn’t think it did anything.

I wasn’t suddenly seeing the world in binary like Limitless.

But I did notice that first day that I was having really clear conversations.

I felt that I was articulating myself better.

I did feel slightly clearer.

I couldn’t wait to try it on non hungover day.

Let me repeat: it doesn’t make you cleverer.

On the third or fourth day, I looked at the ingredients label.

THERE was no Noopept!

I contacted Chaos and Pain who were excellent.

They confirmed that the 2.0 version of Cannibal Genius had no Noopept.

(I wondered then if the effects I’d felt were a placebo).

Their sales team immediately sent out the right version (1.0) no questions asked.

Awesome customer service.

It took a week to arrive in the UK and in the meantime, I kept taking the supplements.

This is the stuff with the Noopept in it

What I noticed over the next few days was that it made me so much more focused.

What do I mean?

I felt like I wanted to get the things I knew I should do DONE.

So I’m taking this copywriting course where I have to handwrite great copy ads, and I don’t want to miss a session. I’ll stay there until the end of the assignment.

Before, I would have flaked I’m sure.

I also want to go to the the gym and write blog posts like this.

Whilst at the gym, I don’t faff between sets. I don’t really look around.

I’ll still reach for my phone between sets but somehow, instead of an hour, a session will be complete in 35 mins.

Cons

I could feel some increased irritability, particularly when something was taking me away or distracting me from what I wanted to get done.

Things like Whatsapp conversations or friends wanting me to go out for beers would be annoying. I didn’t like this aspect of it.

Conclusions

I’m glad I gave Noopept a go.

It definitely does give you increased focus and determination to stick with a task. (Even now, I’m writing this at midnight and I want to get it finished).

I’m keen to try Modifinal too as I didn’t feel that the focus was as ‘tunnel-like’ as I was expecting.

Resources

Chaos and Pain get it from the US to get the Noopept version.

Reddit subreddit Nootropics

Dave Asprey on Nootropics article 1 and article 2 and one mainly about modifinil.

Chaos and Pain Cannibal Genius Review (and about Chaos and Pain itself)

Try this breathing exercise for stress release and getting rid of cortisol

chanman · Jul 31, 2016 · 2 Comments

Anxiety is the scourge of our generation.

As I mentioned in a previous article, I’m pretty damn happy most of the time, but I do get anxious and stressed.

Stress is linked to the hormone cortisol, which is produced by the body in fight or flight mode.

When you’re on a losing streak, or anxious about stuff, your body will produce cortisol.

Cortisol is perfectly normal and has served us well for millennia.

But it’s only supposed to be in the body for short amounts of time.

In the last century however, cortisol stays in the body for longer at low-levels, due to the lifestyle we now have.

This is not good.

In fact, this will kill us.

I accidentally discovered this breathing exercise when out and about recently.

Stand up tall (a bit like power posing as we saw in the earlier article on Amy Cuddy).

Tilt your head back a bit and breathe in fully slowly and under control through your nose, all the way in, as much as you can take in.

Hold the breath at the end of the inhale for a few seconds, until you want to exhale.

Then exhale under the same full control as you did on the inhale, and completely exhale.

Wait a few seconds before inhaling again, then start the process again.

You’re looking for deep, deep, slow breaths.

If you do this inhale/exhale a few times, you’ll feel your body relaxing.

For me, I feel my shoulders drop to a relaxed position.

My mind becomes quieter.

My breathing slows.

It sounds so simple, but has such positive effects.

It’s a great tool to have at the ready whenever you’re feeling stressed and anxious.

Give it a go now. Let me know in the comments if it works for you.

What stress release techniques do you use?

Crush your OCD with this one question

chanman · Jul 6, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Last Thursday, I did my usual OCD lockdown routine when I left the office.

I checked that the windows were closed, the taps were off, the lights were off, and when I locked the door, I pushed it 30 times to make sure it was closed.

Jesus, that sounds crazy just writing that down.

As I walked down the street, I wrestled with OCD insistently asking me whether I truly locked.

I suddenly asked myself a question.

‘Do I trust myself?’

This literally stopped me where I stood.

Of course, my lockdown routine and insistent voice in my head would suggest that I didn’t trust myself.

But it’s almost impossible to say to yourself that you don’t trust yourself.

It’s like it’s incongruent with your sense of self.

I asked myself again: ‘Do I trust myself?’

Of course I trust myself!

Do I trust that I can competently lock a door? Yes!

Ask yourself again and out loud: ‘Do I trust myself?’

YES!

Then get on with your day. When the next episode comes up, ask yourself again: ‘Do I trust myself?’

Let me know in the comments below if this works for you.