Have you ever noticed that as a whole, our society has its daily habits almost completely backwards?

We’re generally so “busy” that we don’t have time to get much exercise. And then we spend countless sedentary hours sitting in our cars each week because we think that car driving saves us time.

To fuel our bodies during these chaotic days, we pack ourselves with whatever convenient or tasty food we happen to crave at the moment, then add in additional snacks between meals, while watching TV, and perhaps a final treat before bed. 

In any leftover shreds of free time, we pack our minds with similarly tasty or convenient blobs of entertainment or “content” that happen to successfully push their way in front of our face like a pen full of hungry pigs fighting for the scraps of our attention.

And our food factories, magazines, newspapers, TV and streaming services and even politicians are only too happy to keep pushing out the crap. And the results are just as you would predict: crappy.

But there is some good news too: You can do everything in the opposite way, and the results tend to be astonishingly good. The biggest difference you’ll notice is dramatically better physical and mental health, which multiply together to create a better, happier, longer and more generous life in all dimensions. 

In other words if there’s anything worth striving for – even more than financial independence or early retirement or any other individual goals – it’s probably the overall package of a healthier you.

Over the past few months, I have found myself settling into a new routine that seems to be getting better and better as the positive results feed back onto themselves. It has become so good that I thought it would be worth sharing and comparing notes with you. 

To cut straight to the good part, let’s compare the flow of two hypothetical days, side-by-side: the typical American default life, and a somewhat optimized Science-backed Life. Then, we’ll go back and fill in the details on where all these details come from, and the reason for this blog post’s strange title.

So What is This All About?

If you didn’t recognize the man in the picture above, these ideas have been meticulously stacked into my head by Dr. Andrew Huberman, the Stanford professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology who has now also risen to the top of the podcasting field.

The basic information is only partially new – Huberman covers almost every aspect of the brain and body, and the field of science has been working on some of this stuff for a long time. But the rate of progress is faster than ever, so he has become my trained guide to filter and pass on the most useful findings, in an accessible and engaging style. I find the episodes thorough, detailed, and relentlessly focused on actual science instead of just speculation. 

The packaging is important to me too. I’ve been a health and fitness enthusiast since I was sixteen, but until now the field always had an uncomfortable split down the middle: there were the glossy and buff promoters – mostly salespeople for their own products with very little substance (and an inherent conflict of interest). And then there were the actual scientists, lacking in style and presentation skills and often sporting unenviable physical forms as well, making them less inspiring to follow even before the fact that they typically communicate mostly in the form of academic papers.

Huberman unites both personas into one – he’s a real scientist, but also a great presenter. And every time he shoots another two hour Laser Beam of Focus from his intensely intelligent eyes through the screen directly into yours, while gesturing precisely with that highly athletic form packed into a classy black dress shirt, it’s a lot easier to convince yourself that “Hey, this is probably pretty good advice if it will make me even a bit more like this guy*.”

It all started when a friend sent me a link to this episode on ADHD, knowing it’s something I am always trying to optimize my life around. It immediately revolutionized my understanding of how my own brain works, which led me to this episode on depression, and this one on Dopamine and its effect on our motivation and drive. 

Everything started to fall into place as I learned about the role of brain chemicals in general, but specifically the effects of Dopamine and Adrenaline on my own life. As it turns out, the flow of these molecules dictate not only my classic ADHD symptoms of difficulty focusing and remembering where I put things, but also my ability to feel happy, feel like making plans, and feel like doing anything at all. Which helped me understand why days with strong “ADHD” symptoms can also feel like depression symptoms. 

This led me to an entire side journey into Dopamine research, as I followed Huberman’s recommendation to read a book called The Molecule of More, which turned out to be a life-changing experience on its own. Not only does the book peel away some of the biggest mysteries of Human nature and leave you with a new level of understanding of why we feel and act the way we do, but it also has a compelling flow that’s much closer to a thriller novel than a science book.

I learned that while Dopamine is often labeled as the molecule of pleasure, this characterization is not quite accurate. In reality, it’s the molecule of motivation – the substance that causes us to be interested and take actions towards something that our mind expects to bring us pleasure (which in turn usually means food, mating or social benefits). But the actual attainment of that pleasure tends to temporarily quench our desire and decrease motivation.

Until our brain comes up with the next thing we don’t currently have, which triggers more dopamine, more motivation, and more seeking. Which can either lead to good things like healthy living and self-actualization, or addictions to drugs, success and status for its own sake, or the hedonic treadmill we talk about so much here in the personal finance world.

Applying this knowledge to my own life: ADHD is a condition which often comes with suppressed dopamine levels. When in this state, we sufferers have trouble with things like maintaining focus, keeping track of objects in the physical world or remembering names and faces, and making future plans. Some of us compensate with hyperactive and impulsive novelty-seeking behaviors, unconsciously seeking things that trigger more dopamine release. But for others like me it manifests as a mildly depressive state – turning away from the outside world and focusing on things that are more familiar and require less planning. 

By doing more of the things that help release and stabilize my dopamine levels (basically everything in the table above), I was able to start feeling more consistently energized and motivated, which gave me even more ability to keep the good routines going, and so on. It has become a virtuous circle that has me exercising more, sleeping better, eating better, seeing positive physical changes, saying “yes” to more plans with more people, and getting more done with my days.

So I kept listening to more and more of his episodes. And as the knowledge flowed in, I started noticing the overlapping patterns in every area of health. It all seems to boil down to the same few things.

These things in turn affect the plumbing and the hormones in both our bodies and brains, which in turn controls EVERYTHING – from mood and energy to body composition to the immune system and even our chances of chronic diseases – including cancer.

It sounds somewhat obvious, but I think the key is understanding this stuff down to the deepest fibers of your soul: everything affects everything. So if you want a better life, take care of every part of yourself, by making the entirety of your day something that improves you, rather than wears you down.

You don’t have to be perfect, of course. But you do have to understand which stuff is good for you, which is neutral, and which is counterproductive. At that moment, a little Scientist Angel will materialize on your shoulder and start advising you on every decision. And it will just naturally become easier to make positive choices. And when you do decide to be decadent and naughty, it will be a deliberate conscious and fun choice, which you will do in moderation.

The best way to live life is to combine a constant appreciation of the present moment, with a general program of consistent improvement. That way, you get to feel good about both the present and the future. 

So if you’re up for the challenge, I’d love to see both of us – you and me – continue to iron out our daily routines so they bring us both more moments of feeling great and more decades of personal growth. That means doing our best to learn something new every day, and do something hard every day. 

And if you’re looking for somewhere specific to start, I think that taking a long walk with a great podcast is one of the most simple yet powerful options. 

I typically enjoy listening to podcasts and audio books with the playback speed set to 1.5x, which helps make them more engaging (it gives my easily distracted brain less time to wander because the information flow is faster plus it saves a lot of time). It’s definitely worth experimenting with speeds if you have never done so before.

The next revolution for me was switching from standard headphones to good quality wireless earbuds* so I can combine the learning with my long daily walks, workouts, carpentry and chores around the house. The better models even have good microphones built in so you can use them for phone calls and meetings.

Finally, many of these podcasts have a long “sponsors” section built in which can be a chore to listen to more than once. On the YouTube app on your phone, you can do a two-finger double-tap on the right side of the screen to immediately jump through this section and get to the good stuff. Other media and podcast players have similar things, or at the very minimum a double-tap feature to jump ahead 10 seconds.

Bonus Technique: Successful Transformation through a Madwoman’s Scribblings

As I was writing this article, I happened to reconnect with a longtime friend who revealed that she too had made some great progress in feeling better and improving her health and fitness after a rough patch in life. Her secret to success was revealed in the strange photograph at left.

The idea is that you put your ideal daily activities down the left hand side of a page, and the days of an entire month along the top, and stick this thing on your fridge. Then you color in the squares for each day as you achieve each activity. 

You probably won’t get them all, but every square counts. And because this chart is right in your face every time you visit your kitchen, you are reminded and motivated to get as many as possible. Easy accountability, and you can just keep it going and making adjustments for month after month. I just printed out my first one today!

Shortcut: Here’s a first version of a Badassity Tracker chart I made for myself:

In the Comments: What habits and self-inflicted problems do you struggle with the most? And if you feel you’re doing well at something, what has been the cause of that success? I’d love to see more people working and sharing with their peer groups, to make healthy self-improvement much more of a national pastime.

* Superstar Scientists: An article like this would not be complete without also mentioning Peter Attia, an equally prolific researcher, doctor and educator who has also pulled me in to dozens of hours of his teachings on health, medicine and longevity. For best results, I recommend following any and all of these types of people – as long as they seek and present real science, choose whoever inspires you the most.

** Wireless earbuds – if you’re looking for a research shortcut, I’ve been using this Anker Liberty Air 2 Pro set (affiliate link) for about 6 hours every single day for the last year. Here’s another similar option, on sale at the time of writing. Insanely good yet cheap which makes you wonder why the hell Apple airpods cost so much (!?). And they were transformative for me because the noise canceling feature eliminates not only airplane noise during flights, but all the engine noise of urban life, making walks much more pleasant.

Any chance you can post your tracker for those who do not have gmail accounts?

This is quite inspiring! I’m struggling the most with healthy eating and evening lethargy. I always tend to gravitate to unhealthy food (ice cream, cookies etc.). They give me the quick boost of energy (dopamine?) and sooth my cravings. With the darker days I am less active in the evenings. Taking a walk at 20:00 when it’s still light in summer is great. But now all I want to do is curl up and watch something. I have been able to create some rest over the summer by not listening to podcasts. I used to listen to podcasts while cooking, taking a walk or doing chores. Depriving me of input has given me more rest and time to think instead of having my mind busy with something throughout the day. Having at least an hour a day where my mind can drift and process has really helped me. I now fall asleep earlier and am less anxious.

Just a heads up, you should modify your spreadsheet link to this, so it doesn’t require a google account to just view it:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1beZ-iHmgc0POqqZRN1jtRgueglV3BEU7LO9DKtETIiU/

Mr. Money Mustache September 30, 2022, 4:21 pm

Thanks Joey – just made the change.

Well, I don’t know. Huberman does sound eloquent but a few things bother me:

1. He often says that vitamins are good for you, and that you should take more. At the same time, he advertises a particular vitamin cocktail for which he either gets paid to talk about or maybe gets a kick back on sales. That’s a conflict of interest.

2. His Wikipedia page is rather suspicious, reads like an ad, and is frequently heavily edited. See the talk about his page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Andrew_D._Huberman

This makes me rather suspicious of him. He might be a researcher and sound eloquent but something makes me uneasy and ultimately I have stopped listening to his podcast because I’m not sure I can trust him.

Mr. Money Mustache September 30, 2022, 4:36 pm

Listening with a skeptical ear is always good, but from my perspective I get the opposite impression when I listen to his recommendations: – He clearly labels the sponsor section and makes it easy to skip – He describes the biological mechanism of EVERYTHING whether it is sunlight, vitamin B, alcohol, even illegal drugs, with equal clarity. And always points out that there is no need to take any particular supplement, talk to your doctor first, etc. In my view he’s purely interested in the science.

Also, remember that a guy at this level of so many fields is very likely well beyond financial independence already. He can afford to skip out on any amount of unnecessary money, but would not want to lose ANY credibility, since that would be a foolish trade. It’s much more rewarding to be able to help more people, than just gather more wealth for yourself.

Wikipedia: I read the “talk” section in your link and it sounds like some griping from people who have not listened to much of his work. I had to laugh at one part in particular: to lump Huberman into the category of “Bro Science” is to truly misunderstand both the “Bro” world AND the “Science” world.

And when I read his main Wikipedia page, it does not sound at all like an advertisement – just a list of facts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_D._Huberman

And yet that page clearly states “This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia’s quality standards. The specific problem is: Article reads like an advert, editing by too many SPA. Need better secondary sources.”

I spot checked a few of Huberman’s claims and came away feeling that the science on his podcast is not especially sound. A lot of what he’s saying makes sense and a lot of it (especially the more general claims) are likely right, but in many cases Huberman seems to take very preliminary scientific results or to cherry pick certain studies and then claim with high certainty that there are large, powerful effects.

That said, I think in broad outline (mostly at the level Mr. Money Mustache outlines in this post) the basic claims are obviously right — getting sunlight, exercise, peace and quiet, and healthy foods have a lot of evidence. But I’d be skeptical of any claims about very specific supplements, nutrients, or protocols. See also https://www.reddit.com/r/cogsci/comments/rwqr3p/without_doubting_his_credentials_is_andrew/

Fantastic blog post! I have been listening to Huberman for a while now too. I especially loved the episode on hypnotism. I was fascinated how effective it is in medicine and how long it has been researched. I learnt a lot on topics like hearing, depression, how to focus/learn and autism too. In addition to learning about optimizing your life with better sleep, cold showers, getting a dose of sunlight first thing in the morning and exercise, one of the most important take aways for me was how therapy works. All the methods are essentially training your brain to fire the thinking/remembering sections of your brain without also triggering the emotional responses at the same time (they fire together when experiencing trauma). There is so much info for living a better, happier life, which is the whole point of mustachianism for me. Thanks for this one MMM :)

One habit I struggle with is watching TV at the end of the day (after working out and cooking, of course). Unfortunately, I end up sitting on the couch for 1-3 hours, and that usually involves consuming an unhealthy amount of crappy snacks too. Luckily, I’m moving and selling most of my stuff (including the TV!) soon, and I can’t wait to experiment with living without a TV.

The “get direct outdoor exposure immediately upon waking” thing seems to have gained prominence over the last year. I just started doing it a month ago and haven’t noticed a difference, but I’ll probably keep doing it because… why not? It’s 10 minutes a day and doesn’t hurt anything.

I found his podcast on psychedelics to be particularly interesting. He goes very in depth with the research and asked nuanced questions which I appreciate.

I learned about Huberman on Rich Roll’s podcast a couple of years ago. It is Rich’s most listened-to podcast on YouTube. He has an interesting backstory. “Hack Your Behavior” 2+ hours lots of good stuff.

I’ve been listening to Huberman’s podcast for a while now, and have read MM since almost the beginning. I love it when people whose work I follow overlap somehow!

I started getting up early (without an alarm) and going for a two-mile walk a few years ago. It’s completely changed my life – I sleep so much more soundly, I wake up feeling more refreshed, and I have more energy throughout the day. It’s my time to myself (as a homeschooling mom I don’t get much alone time) and I mostly use it to listen to podcasts. I also take photos to share on my IG account and it’s fun to look back on. My kids go for walks with me too and it’s really opened our eyes to all the fascinating things in our urban-y suburban area – hawks, coyotes, woodpeckers, giant mushrooms, etc. We always see something cool while just walking down the sidewalk.

If you’re interested in learning about movement from a scientific standpoint, you might enjoy the work of Katy Bowman (whose company is Nutritious Movement). She’s a biomechanist and explains alignment and movement from a biological and physical mechanics perspective. Her work has completely changed my life, and the lives of my husband and kids. We no longer have seating furniture, we sleep on the floor, and we eat at a low table – because this requires getting up and down off the floor countless times during the day. It seems weird to us because our culture dictates we have couches and high fluffy beds, but it’s not an uncommon way to live in many countries. Katy also says daily walking is imperative for physical well-being. Her work is fascinating. I’d check out her book “Move Your DNA” for a more science-y perspective, but she has a lot of books, including one about kids and families called “Grow Wild.”

I habe struggled with weight issues since I was a teenager. I eat out of boredom, frustration, but mostly stress. There were times in my life (while at university) where I was near an optimal weight because I was able to establish great routines of eating, exercising and working. Now as a married mother of five (two smallest kids under too) I kept blaming my lack of development on so many things, lack of sleep, time, energy. Then I heard of this phrase “any excuse will do” and funny enough it springs to my head whenever I catch myself making up excuses. So I started to tackle each excuse by identifying the problem and then try to engineer a solution. For example:

Sleep. Problem: : I am tired all the time which makes me weary and unenthusiastic to do anything. excuse: I would sleep longer but baby wakes up by 5 a.m. I would go to bed earlier, but then I can’t spend time with my husband. Solution: some days i take a nap during the day when possible and can stay up longer to engage with my husband. Other days I tell him that he can watch the show I don’t enjoy anyway and go to bed at 8, read a book and sleep by 9.

Weight: problem: flat out obesity. Excuse: anything will do (pregnancies, no time to cook healthy). Ironically I even cook all of our meals and know a lot about nutrition, but wasn’t good with portion sizes and snacks in between. Solution: count calories to relearn proper meal sizes. Thankfully I am a person that can eat the same healthy foods every day, so now I Batch cook ingredients for the week, meal prep (and weigh) every meal as I prepare it and during the week I simply grab my Tupperware three times a day and eat. I am with my family, I just don’t eat the same things anymore which wouldn’t help me lose weight at the moment. It cost something to do that and feel ok, but actually nobody minds.

Fitness: Problem: out of breath when i have to walk many flights of stairs at work (but: I walk!) excuse: I am working and have 5 kids, how should i find time for exercise? I can’t run and take the baby with me when my husband is still working. Solution: three times a week I run 5 km when my husband babysits, between are rest days. If he can’t, I work out on a stationary bike we bought as soon as the baby falls asleep and – if everything fails – shower later.

This list could go on forever. I found that, by taking out excuses and emotions, I can look at my problems in a more rational way. Plus it is easier separated from my self esteem and gives me a chance to work. Now i don’t think “a problem” but (as a long time MMORPG player during my teens and twens): “ah! A quest!!”

I educate myself a lot with blogs and consider myself an autodidact, thank god for YouTube and all those blogs/podcasts. So thank you for the recommendation, I will be checking that out too.

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