#ProductivityHacks: How The 10-3-2-1-0 Method Can Fix Your Day
The super successful swear by their daily routines. Whether it’s Sir Richard Branson recommending his long-standing habit of waking up at 5 a.m., or author Tim Ferriss telling fans how much of a lift it gives him to make his bed each morning, the right structure to your days can help you achieve incredible things, many business superstars attest.
The problem, though, is the quantity of these tips. While one person recommends morning journaling, another person argues exercising in the early hours (which I personally do) is the key to maximum productivity. Is there any way to boil down much of this advice into the basic principles of a sound daily routine?
The single most important factor in winning your mornings and owning your days is to get up 15 minutes earlier and work on your No. 1 priority before anyone else is awake. It’s that simple, But we concede that’s easier said than done for lots of us.
If you want a simple approach to sleeping better and taking control of your mornings, we recommend you follow the “10-3-2-1-0″ formula:
- 10 hours before bed: No more caffeine
- 3 hours before bed: No more food or alcohol
- 2 hours before bed: No more work
- 1 hour before bed: No more screen time
- 0: The number of times you hit the snooze button in the morning
If you wake up on time and rested, you won’t feel like you have to play catch up all day. When you dominate your mornings, you won’t have to deal with anxiety and stress in the afternoon. There are plenty of things you can do to get better sleep each night, but this formula encapsulates some of the more important, science-backed aspects and makes it all easy to remember.
The blue light emitted by electronics has been shown by research to disrupt sleep and impact performance the next day, and there’s a host of neuroscience that indicates giving your brain a breather from work isn’t an indulgence–it’s necessary for maximum focus and productivity. And come on, we all know the snooze button is a bad idea, no matter how sweet it can feel to hit that little devil in the morning.
