We have all felt the huge difference between showing up to work early and well rested vs late and in a zombie-like mode. How we sleep and feel when we wake up will dictate the rest of the day. We all want to perform on a super human level throughout the day, achieve maximum productivity. How your body feels will have a large impact on this.

One of the biggest difference makers, when it comes to productivity, is sleep. Most guidelines recommend 7–8 hours of sleep. That is 7–8 hours of your brain sleeping, not you laying in bed and staring at the brightest screen in the world! You may think, “My Phone has night mode and it eliminates harmful light!” While browsing a phone in night mode is better than staring at the surface of the sun while in bed, it is not a substitue for actually switching off your device and going to sleep on time! So what steps can be taken?

Figure out how much sleep you need to function

First, figure out how much sleep you actually need to properly function. While the average adult needs 7–8 hours, every person is different. You may only need 4 hours, or you may need 10 hours. If you get 8 full hours of sleep and feel tired when you wake up, adjust the amount of time you sleep to figure out which works best for you.

Set a consistent schedule around the amount of sleep you need

I need about 8 hours of sleep. I would like to wake up at 7 am which means that I must be in bed sleeping at 11pm. It is useful to set a sleep alarm. This is an alarm which fires to remind you to get ready for bedtime. I set mine for 10:45pm. Depending on your night routine, whatever you need to do to get ready for bed, set the alarm to account for this time.

One tool which has really helped me is a section in the iOS Clock App which is called Bedtime. It takes care of my sleep alarm and my wake alarm. Being an application made by Apple, it also has access to system information which other third party apps do not have. It knows if you are using the device or moving around vs actually sleeping and uses this to guess the amount of time you actually sleep.

Optimize your environment for sleep

Turn your bedroom into the darkest, most silent cave that you can. This is important because it directly impacts the quality of your sleep.

Disable all electronic devices from vibrating, showing any light, making any noise. This includes setting your phone in a do not disturb mode where all notifications are muted.

Block any incoming light. Use a sleep mask if you must.

Block all noise. Anything which makes noise that you are able to control, make sure it does not make noise when you are asleep. You may need to wear earplugs for uncontrollable factors, I used to live near train tracks.

Once you improve your sleep quality, you will wake up with a full grip on the day. While everyone shuffles into work like zombies heading straight for the coffee machine, you will already be at your desk with a half empty cup, having already replied to all of the emails in your inbox.