3 Daily Mental Hacks

Doing things slowly but surely will make you sharper and more productive in the long run

Dr. Conor Hogan Ph.D.
4 min readSep 28, 2021

We are made to move slowly yet the modern western world is pushing us faster.

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If we were an automobile we’d be traded by now.

But, we’re not. We’re humans.

And with that in mind, we need to do things more efficiently to be properly productive daily over a longer time frame in life.

These days the internet, technologies, the pressure of working from home, and the 24/7 news channels pushing fears into our brains are making us feel pressurized.

Then there’s the need to compete against a growing international population which has almost trebled in population in less than a century, the need to up skill, and the increasing costs of living.

And a pandemic.

And global warming.

I could go on.

But that’s not what this piece of writing is for. Rather, it’s to let you know that you can rise above it all.

You can beat the stress and most of it costs next to nothing to do.

Here are 3 mental hacks you can do daily that will beat the pressures of modern-day living:

1. Exercise your upper body in the morning

Because the neurological benefits of exercise go beyond preventing disease.

By exercising you’ll gain greater brain volume in the areas of the brain associated with reasoning and executive function. And that means you’ll be able to regulate your mood throughout the day as well.

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This increases endorphins and adrenal which are the positive brain chemicals.

I`m not talking about lifting weights or anything as long or as a big workout in the morning (although you can if you like!) but, if you commit to doing a few press-ups and chin-ups every morning you can clarify your mental ability sooner rather than later.

I do this daily and I find it does massive things for my mental sharpness.

2. Drinking water in the morning helps your brain

As the old saying goes the majority of your brain is made up of water.

And it’s a crazy fact but it’s true.

By drinking water early on you’ll improve your concentration and your mental cognition. It also helps to improve your emotional regulations, your memory and reduces stress!

Water does all this by increasing blood flow and oxygen to your brain.

I’ve always found that you have to be careful what water you drink regularly. In shops and stores, there are so many different types of water so you need to check the labels to be sure of what you’re drinking.

I remember one time when a client who was having mental issues told me they couldn’t commit to drinking water first thing in the morning. They complained that the water was too cold to drink. So I suggested they boil some water first and then top up the cold water with it.

And you can do this too.

From there you can sip it down in your own time as gulping may cause problems.

3. Intermittent fasting give your brain focus

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It turns out Jesus was a wise man after all.

After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights he suffered for his people. But he also made us all aware of the possibilities that people can go through by abstaining from food for a while.

Of course, it’s not only Christians who learned that ceasing to eat for a period is a good way to focus on one thing over another because Muslims do the same in the month of Ramadan.

The reality is we eat too much and too often in the western world.

So instead of overbuying and over eating the food that is bought, you can do the opposite and not eat at all for a brief while.

As evolution has designed our brains and bodies for us to hit our peaks like hybrid vehicles we can enable metabolic switching to take place while staying clear of food for a while.

Our brain’s cognition is best when glucose and ketones occur with metabolic switching.

And that’s how potential neurological diseases can be slowed down too.

Now I`m not saying to starve yourself for days on end but I am saying that if your doctor proclaims you’re fit and healthy, to begin with then by adopting periods of intermittent fasting your focus and productivity will improve on the desired task.

Because I’ve been doing it for years and I feel it’s a wonderful way to focus and hone in on what’s required to be done which requires less energy.

The great thing about these 3 tips is they can all be done early in the morning. That means you know once you start your day you’re crafting yourself to be a better and more productive human being not only in the short term but over the longer term as well.

So if pressure is coming from the outside why not make sure you’re ready early for it in the long term?

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Dr. Conor Hogan Ph.D.

Forbes, INC. & Entrepreneur Magazines, CBS, & NBC Featured, Dr. Conor Is The No. 1 Best Selling Author of The Gym Upstairs