My 6-Step Morning Protocol for a Better Day

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Office Hours with Arthur Brooks

Arthur Brooks

12 episodes

2 days ago

Hi Friends, I’m Arthur Brooks, a social scientist, professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and columnist at The Atlantic. I write, speak, and teach about the science of human happiness, blending neuroscience, behavioral science, philosophy, and religion for insights on how to live better, and be happier. Each week on Office Hours, you’ll get a glimpse into the cutting edge research on happiness, and explore how you can use it to improve your life—and share what you learn with those you love. Join me in the movement to build a happier world–starting with you.

Mental Health

Health & Fitness

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Mental Health

Health & Fitness

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My 6-Step Morning Protocol for a Better Day

Office Hours with Arthur Brooks

44 minutes 29 seconds

1 month ago

My 6-Step Morning Protocol for a Better Day

Want to make your own morning protocol? Download Arthur’s guide to help you get started: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/6-protocols

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How you start your morning sets the tone for your whole day. In this episode of Office Hours, I share the science and habits behind my “Mad Scientist” morning routine, a six-step protocol I use to lower negative affect, boost positive mood, and make mornings a time of focus and flow.

I introduce the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), explain why morning mood matters, and show you the research-backed habits I use to improve mine.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why your morning starts the night before with an early bedtime

• How witnessing the sunrise can help manage poor morning moods

• The reason I don’t use the alarm clock on my phone

• Why I exercise first thing

• How to build a grounding spiritual or reflective practice (even if you’re secular)

• Why delaying your morning coffee can improve focus and energy throughout the day

• The high-protein, tryptophan-rich foods I eat for breakfast

• Why you need to protect your most productive hours of the day

• Listener questions on staying compassionate while protecting yourself and whether anger is linked to unhappiness

We’d love to hear any feedback you have. Please email us at officehours@arthurbrooks.com. And please leave a review on Apple or Spotify. Thanks for listening!

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Where to find Arthur Brooks:

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://arthurbrooks.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/arthurbrooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/arthurcbrooks/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/ArthurBrooks/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGuyFRjJQFGCKzfHTBvWM6A⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthur-c-brooks/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠officehours@arthurbrooks.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro