Hey Reader,

I'm not a morning person.

Like... at all.

I need my beauty sleep. And when I wake up, the absolute LAST thing I want to do is exercise.

But here's the thing.

Our daughter's arriving next week. Which means early mornings are about to become my new reality whether I like it or not.

So I've been forcing myself to hit the gym in the mornings. You know, to prepare.

And honestly? It's been rough.

But I go to this special gym where we all do classes together. Kind of like CrossFit but less intense (thank god).

And the guy who runs it has this routine he makes us do.

First, we stretch. Nothing crazy. Just loosening up.

Then some super light reps. Like embarrassingly light. I'm talking five pound dumbbells.

Then we slowly... gradually... raise the weight.

And you know what happens by the end?

I'm doing the most intense combination of cardio and weightlifting you can imagine.

And it feels like a BREEZE.

All because of how we warmed up.

And honestly, this applies to everything. Your work. Your relationships. Your productivity.

Your warm up might be the secret weapon you've been ignoring.

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Here's what I really believe.

The number one productivity killer in today's world? Context switching.

We're getting absolutely BOMBARDED. Emails. Slack messages. Text messages. TikTok. Instagram reels.

The lost art of just... doing uninterrupted work? It's become completely foreign to most of us.

But when you actually do deep work... when you give yourself that uninterrupted time... you can accomplish things that would be impossible with fragmented attention.

Here's the catch though.

You need at least 10 minutes before you really get into the flow state.

Your brain needs time to ramp up. To get focused. To tune everything else out.

But the good news? Once you're IN that flow state, it's way easier to maintain it.

Objects in motion stay in motion. Isaac Newton said that. And it applies to productivity too.

You should be doing at least 90 minutes of deep work every single day.

And if you can? Do it early. When your energy is at its peak.

That's when the magic happens.

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So how do you set yourself up for this?

First... batch your calendar based on energy.

Don't do 30 minutes of deep work, then a meeting, then 30 more minutes of deep work.

That's exhausting.

You're constantly forcing yourself to warm up and cool down. Over and over.

Instead? Block your meetings together. Then your breaks. Then your deep work sessions.

Give your brain permission to stay in one mode for longer.

Second... and this is KEY... give yourself warm up and cool down periods.

Expect the first 10 minutes to feel a little slow. That's normal. You're ramping up.

And after you finish? Give yourself at least 10 minutes to cool down. Maybe even 30.

Your brain needs that transition time.

Third... schedule breaks.

I know, I know. You think your energy is unlimited.

It's not.

Energy goes through peaks and valleys. And if you actually take proper breaks, you'll be able to do MORE deep work. Not less.

Fourth... here's a trick I use all the time.

If you really don't want to do something, tell yourself you're only going to work on it for 10 minutes.

That's it. Just 10 minutes.

See what happens.

Nine times out of ten? You'll hit that 10 minute mark and realize you're in a groove. And you won't mind continuing.

The hardest part is just STARTING.

Fifth... people have different philosophies on this.

Some say tackle the hardest tasks first.

I say the opposite.

Start with the easy wins. Get some momentum. Build that confidence.

THEN go after the hard stuff when you're already warmed up.

Either way... break tasks into smaller segments. Don't try to do everything at once.

This concept of warming up shows up everywhere.

When you're building a product and want users to buy, you don't just ask them to purchase immediately.

You ask for their email first. Then maybe you get them to schedule a call. THEN you ask for the sale.

You warm them up.

Same thing happened to me in my personal life.

After my second date with my now wife, I knew it was time to kiss her.

So what did I do?

I went RIGHT IN for the kiss.

No warning. No build up. Just... boom.

And she was NOT expecting it.

It was super awkward. She immediately got into the cab and left.

She told me later, "You didn't even try to hold my hand first. Or touch my shoulder. You just went for it."

I made the classic mistake of not warming up.

(In my defense, I was nervous. But still. Rookie move 😂.)

So here's what I want you to remember.

The next time you need to do something difficult... something that feels overwhelming... give yourself time to warm up.

Don't go from zero to a hundred.

Ease into it. Build momentum. Let your brain (or your date) adjust.

And watch what happens.

What about you? How do you warm up for your most important work?

Or have you ever made the same mistake I did and just... jumped in too fast?

Hit reply. I'd love to hear your stories.

Have a great weekend,

Till next time,
Josh