"Weekly Highlights" 28/08/2021
This week's newsletter issue is to some extent different from usual. Instead of analyzing a specific topic in depth, we are presenting the three most valuable pieces of content I have encountered on the internet this week. In a Weekly highlights* *fashion, each content is followed by some notes, thoughts, key takeaways.
Maya Angelou: "Most People Don't Grow Up" | Liberal Arts
This piece from liberalarts* *is an extract of an interview Maya Angelou (an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist) gave in 1990 for the Paris Review. Although only an extract, the few sentences included are packed with philosophical and psychological meaning.
Most people don’t grow up. It’s too damn difficult. What happens is most people get older. That’s the truth of it. They honor their credit cards, they find parking spaces, they marry, they have the nerve to have children, but they don’t grow up. Not really. They get older. But to grow up costs the earth, the earth. It means you take responsibility for the time you take up, for the space you occupy. It’s serious business. And you find out what it costs us to love and to lose, to dare and to fail. And maybe even more, to succeed. What it costs, in truth.
— Maya Angelou
Maximizing Productivity, Physical & Mental Health with Daily Tools | Huberman Lab
In this episode of the Huberman Lab Podcast, dr. Andrew Huberman presents habits, best practices, and protocols for maximizing physical and mental clarity based on neuroscience. The protocols he presents are actionable, practical, packed with physiological and behavioral tools. "You can't control the mind with the mind," as dr. Huberman likes to often point out in his podcast episodes. Setting up clear protocols, highly-beneficial routines to stick to long-term is the way forward, especially when it comes to maximizing physical and mental productivity and well-being.
In this episode, dr. Huberman breaks down one of his typical days as a leading example to discuss the science and practice of optimal routines. Below is a detailed breakdown of the optimal protocols illustrated by dr. Huberman.
Caveat: some of the takeaways below are general and research-based. Others are a by-product of dr. Huberman's experimentations to find what works best for him, hence of anecdotal nature.
- Ideally, go to sleep and wake at the same time every day. If you go to sleep late one night, wake up at the same time, as usual, the next day, as if nothing happened.
- Expose yourself to morning light upon waking up through forward ambulation (walking). From a minimum of five minutes to a maximum of one hour, this is beneficial for fostering alertness and focus.
- Dr. Huberman finds that fasting throughout the morning works very well for him to maximize focus and attention (maximize productivity).
- Delay caffeine intake to a minimum of 90 minutes after waking up.
- Do a deep work session of 90 minutes. Pure deep work. No distractions or "hyperactive hive mind" (Newport, 2021) behavior. At this time, there is nothing more important than deep work. White noise can be helpful to foster focus here. Admin work can be done at other times of the day. *You can leverage visual elevation for optimal alertness *(set up your laptop so that it is slightly above your eye level). The ideal period for deep work is between 4 and 6 hours after your temperature minimum. Your temperature minimum is two hours before you wake up.
- After deep work, go for your training session (five times a week is ideal for dr. Huberman—following the 3 ratio of strength to endurance). For general health, alternating between mesocycles of strength-focused and endurance-focused training is ideal.
- For lunch, dr. Huberman finds that a low-carb meal is very beneficial to avoid feeling tired post-lunch. He eats a high protein meal, accompanied by vegetables, fats, and some starchy carbs (in low quantity). Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to be very beneficial from a health perspective (1000 mg per day). Starches cause the release of serotonin in the brain.
- Take a brief walk after lunch. This gives information to the brain about the time of the day and bolsters metabolism.
- Non sleep deep rest (NSDR). Hypnosis is suggested by dr. Huberman here. Other types of NSDR protocols include meditation, naps, and yoga Nidra. Hypnosis is very unique, as dr. Huberman points out (reveri.com). This protocol helps reset the mind and body.
If you want to nap, do not nap for more than 90 minutes. Too long naps can disrupt your night's sleep.
- After that, begin the second bout of deep work.
- View light in late afternoon/evening light (at sunset ideally) for 5 to 30 minutes.
- Eat dinner that promotes serotonin and calmness. Dr. Huberman tends to eat a high-carbohydrate meal for dinner.
- You can decrease your temperature before going to sleep through a hot shower/sauna.
- Go to sleep at the same time every day in a dark and cool environment. If some days you don't go to sleep at the same time, that is ok. Just keep your schedule. Wake up at the same time, as usual, the next day, and continue your routine from there.
50 (Short) Rules for Life From the Stoics | Daily Stoic
In this YouTube video, bestselling author *Ryan Holiday *breaks down fifty short rules to live life according to the Stoics. These are general rules that I find of great value if remembered and practiced regularly. Some of them may sound general and overused, sometimes considered cliché by the population at large. And yet, they have deep meanings and wisdom in them, if we look carefully enough.
- Focus on what you can control.
- You control how you respond to things.
- Ask yourself, “Is this essential?”
- Meditate on your mortality every day.
- Value time more than money/possessions.
- You are the product of your habits.
- Remember you have the power to have no opinion.
- Own the morning.
- Put yourself up for review (Interrogate yourself).
- Don’t suffer imagined troubles.
- Try to see the good in people.
- Never be overheard complaining…even to yourself.
- Two ears, one mouth…for a reason (Zeno)
- There is always something you can do.
- Don’t compare yourself to others.
- Live as if you’ve died and come back (every minute is bonus time).
- “The best revenge is not to be like that.” Marcus Aurelius
- Be strict with yourself and tolerant with others.
- Put every impression, emotion, to the test before acting on it.
- Learn something from everyone.
- Focus on process, not outcomes.
- Define what success means to you.
- Find a way to love everything that happens (Amor fati).
- Seek out challenges.
- Don’t follow the mob.
- Grab the “smooth handle.”
- Every person is an opportunity for kindness (Seneca)
- Say no (a lot).
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
- Find one thing that makes you wiser every day.
- What’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee (Marcus Aurelius)
- Don’t judge other people.
- Study the lives of the greats.
- Forgive, forgive, forgive.
- Make a little progress each day.
- Journal.
- Prepare for life’s inevitable setbacks (premeditatio malorum)
- Look for the poetry in ordinary things.
- To do wrong to one, is to do wrong to yourself. (sympatheia)
- Always choose “Alive Time.”
- Associate only with people that make you better.
- If someone offends you, realize you are complicit in taking offense.
- Fate behaves as she pleases…do not forget this.
- Possessions are yours only in trust.
- Don’t make your problems worse by bemoaning them.
- Accept success without arrogance, handle failure with indifference.
- Courage. Temperance. Justice. Wisdom. (Always).
- The obstacle is the way.
- Ego is the enemy.
- Stillness is the key.
Quote of the Week
"Why, then, should we be angry? Why should we lament? We are prepared for our fate: let nature deal as she will with her own bodies; let us be cheerful whatever befalls, and stoutly reflect that it is not anything of our own that perishes."
— Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Of Providence, V