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00:04:58 However, other chronotypes have been identified by Dr. Breus (2016, The Power of When)

00:13:58 •Extrinsic motivation

00:15:27 •Intrinsic motivation

00:18:39 •Gamification

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• There are countless scientifically proven techniques and methods for getting the most out of our brains.

• Technique 1 works with your innate circadian, ultradian and infradian rhythms and plans activities according to when your body is best primed to handle them. Find your unique body clock rhythms (chronotype) by observing your ebb and flow of energy, and then schedule tasks accordingly.

• Our brains prefer easy and fun things, and this preference for instant gratification can lead to procrastination. We can get around this by deliberately making tasks appear more interesting and fun, such as by breaking them into chunks, using extrinsic or intrinsic rewards, or gamifying the process.

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Hello listeners, it's Friday, February 9th, then you're tuned in to The Science of Self, where you change your life from the inside out. Today, we're diving into the fascinating world of your brain with an episode inspired by Peter Holland's book, Super Brain. We'll be exploring circadian rhythms as well as our tendency to procrastinate. Think of it as a user manual for your brain power. There are innate, natural patterns that our brain has followed for thousands of years. Even if they are constantly challenged and undermined in the modern world, deep down, the brain is still running on cognitive routines, preferences and programs that took our entire shared history to evolve. Let’s dig into some important biological aspects of our neural functioning, and how we can work with rather than against them. Follow the rhythm Our bodies follow a specific biological pattern that determines states of alertness and sleepiness, hunger and satiation, and more. The body has a clock that determines different the timing of aspects of our behavior and sensations.

Choose at least one weekday and a day on the weekend. Observe and write down the times when you feel most alert and awake. What time do you wake up normally when you don’t have to wake up at a specific time? What time do you wake up if you have gotten enough sleep? Note the times when you feel most and least productive. Usually, our alertness will spike throughout the day, rising and dropping. Some people are especially productive in the morning, while others do their best in the evening or the afternoon or even during the night. Note when is the best time to go to bed and wake up. If you know the times when you are most productive, you can schedule the most difficult and demanding tasks for these hours of the day.

Instead, it can be best to try and adapt our lifestyle to it. •Bear Most people, around 55%, belong to the bear chronotype. They follow the solar cycle: getting up at 7 am and going to bed at 11 pm. Their productivity spikes between 10 am and 2 pm and drops after lunch. •Wolf Wolves sleep best between 12 am and 7 am. Their productivity spikes between 5 pm and 12 am. Around 15% of people fit in this chronotype. •Lion Lions sleep best between 10 pm and 6 am. Their focus and productivity go up between 8 am and 12 pm, so they are the most clear-cut “morning” type.

Big projects that require an early start often get put off until the last minute, even if it rationally makes no sense. Your brain is big on saving energy and effort. It wants to find the simplest, easiest and most pleasurable way through a task – why wouldn’t it? But our brains are also not rational, and procrastination is a clear example of this. Often, we might perceive the task we have to do as difficult, unpleasant, challenging, or boring. We might know that it must be done right away and that putting it off will only bring trouble. Yet, we often cannot bring ourselves to do what needs to be done. Why? One issue tied to procrastination is choosing to do what is necessary but hard instead of what is unnecessary but is easy, fun, or pleasant.

We can work with motivation and resolve our perfectionism, but one of the easiest tactics to reduce procrastination is to tap into our brain’s search for instant gratification. By changing the way we perceive the task, we motivate ourselves to do it right away and reduce procrastination. Technique #6 Making a task more attractive for our brain It will take enormous amounts of energy and effort to use sheer willpower to tackle procrastination. But driving home how unpleasant and mandatory a task is will likely only lessen its appeal, making it harder to do! Instead, we can work with our brain’s preference for easy and pleasurable things, and use different strategies to make a task more appealing, such as reducing it to smaller tasks that do not seem that intimidating or reframing it more positively. However, here we will talk about how we can make a task appear more fun and the different ways to help our brain get more interested in it. How it appeals to the brain: We have a highly developed motivation/reward system mainly drawn to things that aid our survival and that promise to engage our dopaminergic system. Games and fun activities that seem easy to finish and get a result to draw us in consistently. If we can make the tasks that bore and frustrate us seem more like the things our brain likes, it is certain to provide enough dopamine to take our motivation higher.

Games are a dopamine goldmine. Applying these strategies to other areas of our life can help our brain feel more motivated and willing to do any tasks without procrastination. So have you unlocked the secrets of your brain if you're hungry for deeper insights into self-discipline and taking control of your life? Peter's book, The Power of Self-Discipline, is packed with practical strategies. Check it out on Peter's website, bit.ly slash Peter Holland. Thanks for joining us on The Science of Self. Remember, change starts within.