Why 8 hrs is the Best Caffeine

Imagine this:

You've just finished a CrossFit Murph fitness challenge of the following caliber with 300 other contestants in a stadium full of 30,000 people:

A 1 mile Run

100 Pull-Ups

200 Push-Ups

300 Air Squats

Another 1 mile Run…

… all while wearing a weight vest of 20 lbs the entire time.

You’ve completed it after the 4th try, and you’re at the finish line with your family whose faces you can tell are shockingly ecstatic that you got 1st place.

That’s right… you got 1st place…

Your face comes up on the digital billboard with a time of 21 minutes and 49 seconds, and congratulatory visuals meaning you beat the record time.

You know deep down you earned it but you don’t know how you could go from 291st place & losing to 1st place and finishing. Was it the 4 hours a day of training for the past 340 days?

What you do know is that this will take time to marinate…

You’re the world champion in these moments — a feat completely unexpected when you came in, but one the crowd constantly cheers as you walk out…

It’s the next day.

You feel completely and entirely drained of energy.

You wake up groggy and with the largest eye crystals you’ve ever seen. You slept good and just enough, but not great.

You don’t spring out of bed like usual… In fact you feel low energy even at the breakfast table.

All of this and by the end of the day, you still complete your 4 hour deep work session on your latest project.

It seemed effortless…

Is it your champion mentality finally sinking in…?

How could you feel eager to finish so much work when you’re drained?

When looking at willpower, we cannot fail to distinguish energy levels & willpower.

Willpower can override energy levels, but only to the extent to which you still have energy.

If you lack willpower, chances are leaning towards you also lacking energy. If you’re energetic & lack discipline, you’re in luck.

If you lack both, you’re in even more luck — just ensure you’re being attentive and you’ll find out why.

Energy is the biological constraint to which we can function. This can be maximized but it has a limit. Since Willpower capacity does not have a limit, it can be stretched infinitely. An energy level of 4 out of 10 and a Willpower level of 10/infinity yields an output at the average of both. Note that an output level of 10 is what most people think their maximum output is.

This means that a Willpower level of 10, with the Energy level of 4, would yield an output capacity of 7/10.

Willpower at a 30 and an Energy level of 4 would yield 17/10 output. Note the detriment of having low Energy.

If Willpower is at 30 and you create an Energy level of 10/10, you would yield an output capacity of 20.

You can gauge your Willpower level or Energy level by comparing it to an average of 6 across all people. So if you’re the average person, your Willpower level would be 6 and your Energy level would be 6, yielding an Output level of 6/10.

This is average. You’re not average. You can beat this. But where do we start?

We start with our sleep.

Books like Why We Sleep & some of the world’s most vetted, famous TED Talk studies observed that in a subtraction of just 1 hour during Daylight Savings, there was a 24 percent increase in heart attacks on the Monday after daylight saving time. Another study found the risk of stroke increase by 8 percent

This is not insignificant. Sleep should be your #1 priority when it comes to your health, and if it’s not already, commit to it.

Studies find that every human needs at least 6 1/2 hours of sleep. This is the absolute minimum to function at a normal state.

This is, however, not enough.

We’re not aiming towards normal — we’re aiming towards unparalleled. The more optimal we get, the more optimized our output gets.

Since Energy is capped at 10, we should aim for the max, no..?

So how do you maximize your Energy for maximal Output?

1. Test your sleep-energy yield from 9 hours of sleep to 7 hours. Find what is optimal for your body — everyone is different. This is priority #1.

2. Wake up to the sun. Jot out of bed first thing in the morning & let the sun in your visual field. It’s evolutionary, it works.

3. Drink a lot of water in the morning. Drink ~100 oz per day, which is about 1 1/2 64 oz water jugs. Biggest tactic here is buying a reusable 64 oz water bottle & keeping it with you at all times.

4. Do not drink coffee after you wake up. Finish your routine, then feel free to drink it. Optimal timing would be two hours after waking (since cortisol is deleted). Rule #1 is not to become dependent on it to get out of bed.

5. Eat lean, whole foods, healthy fats, & calorie dense foods. Try to eat homemade, non-processed foods. Chipotle is fine. These spike your energy and your ability to exert attention. When eaten consistently, they keep it spiked.

Okay, now that you have maximized your Energy,

How do you maximize your Willpower for maximal Output?

1. Exercise lightly (to get the blood flowing) early in the morning. It could be 5 minutes. This released BDNF for focus & thus more output (you lose less control).

2. Meditate after you exercise lightly. Cortisol levels increase at the steepest rate in the early morning and are highest about 1 hr after waking up in everyone. This means they’re even higher after a workout. Meditation takes care of that & gathers your focus.

3. Your environment matters. Surround yourself by items you see your ideal future self having around you. This could include plants, greenery, a lit candle, a clean workspace that’s naturally lit. Plants & natural light are known to boost your creativity & productivity. Your goal is a workspace that inspires you.

4. Do your hardest tasks in the morning. The latest Stanford studies proved that willpower decreases throughout the day. This means that you have the most willpower when you wake up, allowing for more output at around this time.

5. Set an evening reward. Since your willpower depletes throughout the day, set a reward in the evening if you follow through with your morning protocols.

6. Delete time-consuming social media apps. TikTok drains more attention than you could every know. It’s more than just a bad habit; it’s a dopamine receptor burner. Do not succumb to falling into a spell & scrolling. Deleting the app ensures your attention is no longer drained.

Notice that you may be fearful to pursue some of these tasks. After all, they’re habits so it’s no surprise.

When looking at habits, look at if they’re bringing you short-term pleasure.

Our primate cortices of our brains tend to favor these — however, rarely will long-term benefit will ever come from short-term pleasures.

If you find some of those, those will fulfill you the most — keep them.

Remember, addiction is being habituated to something and not being able to answer the following question in the affirmative:

1. Will I get a long-term beneficial outcome from this habit?

That, my friend, is the key to habits, and the basal secret to energy & willpower.

These two, when maximized, lead to a constant and never-ending fulfillment.

Why?

Studies show we’re most happy when we’re competent ( + autonomous, & have close deep relationships with the people we like & love).

Take advantage of this. You shouldn’t ever be sad after reading this.

See ya next week!

P.S., the only way this grows is through word-of-mouth,

So if you know of 1 or 2 people who need to hear this,

Send it their way.

Ya never know, it might just change their life like it will yours.