So there’s this personal habit or constant that I, Audra, have done my best to adhere to. When I’m good about this practice, I find my days are… brighter. Better. When I fall off the wagon of this practice, I notice that my day is not so sunny.
I call it the First 15 Last 15.
I did not invent it. It is an amalgamation of lots of info from experts I’ve heard over the years. But essentially it goes like this…
The first 15 minutes & the last 15 minutes of your day are SUPER important moments for your brain. It’s when the computer that is your brain is gearing up for the day & shutting down for the night. It’s when the conscious & subconscious mind are most connected, the barriers between them less barrier-y. (Yes, that's the word we're sticking to here lol) It’s when you have the most control over how your day & your sleep are going to go.
We only use 10% of our brain, right? So I am always game to learn hacks for maximizing that 10%! I tend to turn to ancient wisdom & current neuroscience. Funny enough, when it comes to this first 15, last 15 concept, they are kind of in alignment with one another. In other words, current neuroscience is proving what ancient wisdom has been telling us for centuries. Here are some examples…
Do:
Build in a gratitude practice.
We’ve said it before, we’ll surely say it again. Writing down 3-5 specific things you’re grateful for from that day (or the day prior if you’re practice happens in the morning) rewires your brain.
Devote time to the BIG THREE - silence aka prayer aka meditation
Think about an affirmation and/or visualization practice.
An affirmation is a couple power statements. Need help? Try these! "I am enough. I am worthy. I am strong. I am capable."
Read.
Leaders are readers. Experts tell us even 10 pages a day moves the needle. Not just on what you’re learning but your overall cognitive health.And we're not talking, fancy, self-improvement, knowledge building books. But if that's your thing, totally rock it! But even just reading a book that brings you joy will get your day off to a great start!
Don’t
Look at your phone first thing or last thing.
Not only is that NOT your life - you’re either looking at other people’s lives or attending to other people’s problems - preliminary research is showing that blue light is BAD for you. Like brain cell destroying bad. We’re the first generation with a computer in our pocket, don’t be the guinea pig in the experiment of “What are the long term effects of this new & unknown technology” Could we be so bold as to say… leave your phone in another room overnight. And then don’t reach for it in the morning until you’re done with your routine? Like what if you had snuggle time with your kiddos, breakfast, prayer and/or reading time BEFORE you ever reached for your phone… wouldn’t that feel like magic? Or at least a little more like how our parents did it...
Beat yourself up for falling asleep with the tv on.
Or scrolling the ‘gram. We are humans. Sometimes its a weekend.Or you’ve had a day. Or something is amiss in your brain or world & you just need the office on in the background as you drift off.
Try and implement all these ideas & practices all at once.
Build it one step at a time. One of my favorite MK leaders made us repeat the word DELETE like 20 times. She would boldly say delete & we had to say it back to her. And then she goes… you know how you get 100 emails a day with great ideas… DELETE. Does this sound daunting, maybe. But can you baby step this & build up to having all of these elements as part of your wind up & wind down routine?
Successful people… joyful people… zen people… think of the awesome people you admire. Our guess is that they are highly protective of their first 15 minutes everyday or their last 15 minutes of everyday. Or both.
Bottom line… no one goes to the grave saying I wish I checked my emails more often. Or I wish I had started my day answering dm’s and ended my day scrolling more photos of other people’s lives. Unplug. Tune into yourself & your loved ones. First thing every morning & last thing every night. Then tell us if it’s increased your happiness.