The first couple of hours of a Monday morning can make or break your week. This makes it all the more critical to add some structure to your day to ensure that from the moment you wake up (as much as in your control), you are executing a routine and ingesting information that will lend to a positive mind frame to start the week.

I love a good, longer reading session on Monday morning, but understand that not everyone has that luxury with time and family. If you find yourself in this situation this week, check out this 10-minute video covering the foundational principles of James Clear’s “Atomic Habits”, which I have discussed in previous editions as my personal #1 self-help book of all time.

Transformation = Information + Implementation. 

Here’s your information. Now, go implement.

James Clear Morning Motivation

Brain - The Verdict is Out on Cellphone in the Bedroom

At the beginning of the month, I committed to trying something new to help fight back against the ever-constant problem of screen time. I’ve consumed all the podcasts, read all the books, and digested all the articles at this point - so I know the challenge that we are up against. Which is why for 2025, I have committed to finding small, actionable habits that once stacked upon each other, can have a more powerful lasting effect.

The action I took in February was to remove the cell phone from the bedroom. This came as a recommendation from Sahil Bloom’s new book and two different podcasts that I consumed all in the same week in January - a sign that this was probably something I should try.

The reasoning is simple, and detailed in Volume 53 of the Superset. At its core, the idea is that when it’s bedtime, it’s bedtime. We don’t need to see any more research to understand the critical role effective sleep plays in our recovery, mental health, and emotional intelligence. I planned (and plan) on doing this trial through the end of the month, but 3 weeks in, I know that I don’t need to wait to summarize the benefits that I have felt to this point.

I journaled the other morning about it, and these were the things that came to top of mind:

Restless Mind Syndrome:

I suffer from restless mind syndrome, like I know many of you do as well. When I lay down, my biggest challenge is getting my mind to shut off. My brain LOVES to give myself a good recap of the day’s events, to remind myself of what urgently I have coming up tomorrow, and to mix in a couple of other random, unnecessary pre-sleep thoughts. Throwing in the Iphone into this poisonous concoction in a recipe for disaster.

If we (me) want to control the outputs of our brain before sleep, we have to control the inputs (and their volume). Removing the phone has allowed me to either have good conversations with Allison until I fall asleep, to read, or even to watch an episode of a show, which, without a phone, can be a much less damaging pursuit. Relaxing and solely focusing on the TV isn’t the problem, the problem is doubling up the screens and giving nothing your sole attention

Morning Stress:

I am notoriously guilty of letting the day begin at whatever hour it is I wake up. Roll out of bed at 4, 5, 6 - whatever time it may be - get up, check the phone, and react accordingly. If I have pressing emails I see, I have a difficult time not getting right to them. Which is an insane way to operate and begin your day, especially if you are looking to control your stress levels.

What I have found with not having the phone by my desk when I wake up is that it has given me back control over the early parts of my morning. It’s easy to walk by it in the kitchen in the morning and instead make my coffee, sit down and read my book, and only pick it up when en route to the gym. Doing so allows me to take back my mornings for me time, but also controls the off chance that a negative notification can bomb my day before the sun even comes up.

Detachment:

This is just the first small step in convincing my brain that separation from the screen is a plausible and easy solution. After about a week you start to almost feel a relief that you aren’t laying there reaching for your phone to fill the void. When it’s time to go to bed and you feel tired or bored, instead of just scrolling, you just go to bed. This lesson can be duplicated throughout the day, strategically implementing times when the phone is displaced to not be an option to distract. Over time, your brain should rewire itself to understand that the outlier is having access to the device at all times, not the other way around.

Give it a try this month and let me know what you think about it -

Body - Why Everyone - Including You - Should Take Creatine

If there were a single supplement that could boost your strength, improve brain function, and enhance recovery—without side effects or an outrageous price tag—would you take it? Enter creatine.

Most people associate creatine with bodybuilders and athletes, but that’s now been proven to be an outdated view. New research has shown that creatine is one of the safest, most effective, and most beneficial supplements for everyone, regardless of age, gender, or fitness level.

How Does it Work?

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found in your muscles and brain. It helps produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is your body's main energy source for intense exercise, cognitive function, and daily movement. Supplementing with creatine increases your stores of phosphocreatine, allowing your body to generate more ATP— more ATP = better performance, faster recovery, and even improved brain health.

Why You Should Take It:

1. Strength & Muscle Growth (Even If You Don’t Lift Weights)

   1. Creatine is one of the most well-researched supplements for increasing muscle strength and power. Studies show that creatine supplementation can improve performance in high-intensity exercise by 10-20% (Buford et al., 2007). But even if you’re not chasing PRs in the gym, creatine helps maintain lean muscle mass—crucial for overall health, longevity, and metabolic function.

2. Faster Recovery & Reduced Fatigue

   1. Creatine aids in muscle recovery by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. A study published in The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that creatine supplementation speeds up muscle repair and reduces soreness, meaning you can get back to training (or just living your active life) faster.

3. Cognitive Benefits—Yes, It’s a Brain Booster

   1. Creatine isn’t just for your muscles; it’s for your mind too. Research shows that creatine supplementation can enhance memory, mental clarity, and cognitive function, especially in older adults and those under stress. It’s even being studied for its potential effects in conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

4. Improved Hydration & Cellular Function

   1. Creatine pulls water into your muscle cells, improving hydration at a cellular level. This can help with endurance, muscle fullness, and even overall energy levels throughout the day.

5. It’s Safe, Affordable, and Backed by Science

   1. Unlike many supplements with shaky claims, creatine has been studied for decades and is proven to be safe—even with long-term use. The International Society of Sports Nutrition states that creatine is one of the most extensively researched and beneficial sports supplements available, with no negative health effects in healthy individuals (Kreider et al., 2017).

How to Take It:

I have consistently found in the research that taking 5g of a creatine supplement in a day is a proper dose to get the desired effects. Some literature has shown benefits for front-loading - IE - taking 10g for 2 - 3 weeks and then settling at 5g consistently, but there are others who disagree.

At the end of the day, regardless of your fitness goals, creatine is one of those supplements that should easily be added into your regimen. There are both powder and gummy forms to make ingestion quick and easy. Start this week.

Book - Find Your Next Book With ChatGPT

I have been toying with the different AI bots this year, making it a goal of mine to not only take a class to better understand AI in general, but to also get some trial-and-error experience just exploring the depth of these systems like ChatGPT.

Especially for the purposes of this newsletter - Personal Development, Fitness, Dieting, Reading - the correct prompts on ChatGPT can be extremely useful for finding quick and valuable information.

If you are struggling to find a new book to read, or want to play with ChatGPT yourself, try these book recommendation prompts below. I will continue to share the effective prompts I find under each pillar of the Superset as we go:

1. Create a list of the New York Best Sellers list for the last 10 years in the (insert genre) genre. Identify the ten with the highest rating on Goodreads, and provide a short synopsis of each.

2. You are a world-renowned editor and book reviewer who specializes in covering all genres, not just a specific niche. I am looking for my next read and would like your advice. The last 3 books I have read are (insert book 1), (insert book 2), (insert book 3). Based on these three books, can you recommend me 2-5 books with their rating on Goodreads that you believe I would enjoy?

3. My New Year’s resolution for 2025 was to read more books, and I need more help getting started. The last book I read was (insert book). My favorite three TV series or movies are (insert show 1), (insert show 2), (insert show 3). Based on this information, can you recommend me 5 books with a short synopsis you think I would enjoy?

4. I enjoy reading (genre 1) and (genre 2) books, particularly those authored by (author 1) and (author 2). Based on this, can you suggest some new authors I might enjoy?

5. As a literary expert, recommend five books that can help me improve my understanding of (insert topic). The books can range from introductory to advanced level.

Once you start to see and try a few different prompts, you start to get an idea of an effective structure to communicate with the AI. The more specific the better. It’s a fun exercise to give a try this week.