In this monologue, memory‑coach Jim Kwik outlines a concise, 45‑minute morning routine designed to boost memory, focus, and overall brain performance. He begins with a six‑step dream‑journaling process to capture subconscious insights, then stresses the habit of making the bed as a micro‑practice of excellence that conditions the brain for disciplined action. Next, he emphasizes immediate rehydration with water and probiotics, noting that the brain is ~75% water and that gut health is the "second brain." A brief (3‑minute) burst of exercise, supported by a study from Appalachian State University showing 75% deeper sleep for 7 am workouts, follows to activate the body‑brain connection. Kwik then challenges viewers to brush their teeth with the opposite hand, arguing it forces attention and strengthens concentration muscles. He recommends a cold‑shower (or alternating hot‑cold intervals) to reduce inflammation, reset the nervous system, and build grit through deliberate discomfort. After the physical actions, he suggests a focused journaling session: envisioning a successful day, listing three personal and three professional priorities, and reviewing the schedule while consuming a “brain powder” blend (ashwagandha, ginkgo, lion’s mane, etc.) to enhance focus. Throughout, Kwik stresses evaluating each habit for its brain impact, keeping each activity under two minutes, and gamifying the routine with family members to turn it into a shared, time‑saving practice. The overarching message is that winning the first 45‑60 minutes of the day yields exponential dividends in memory, attention, and productivity.
Chapters
Now you wake up in the morning, you feel refreshed. The first thing that I do for a better memory, the first thing I do is I take a moment and I remember my dreams. And I have an actual process for remembering my dreams, 6-step process. One of those things that you could do easily is have a journal, like a dream journal, right on your nightstand, and just write them down. As you reflect on your dreams and you write them down, you're more likely to remember them because the more you do it, the better you get at it. Now, after that, the first thing I do is I make my bed. Now, why is that important for your brain and your memory? Because I believe how you do anything is how you do everything. Write that down. How you do anything is how you do everything. And when you make your bed with excellence, you just take 1 or 2 minutes, make it great. You're going to take that level of excellence into other activities. Be conscious of it, because when we're talking about habits, excellence is a habit. Right. And so the more you do it, the better you get. So make that bed. Plus, your brain loves a clean environment. How great does it feel to come back at the end of the day to a well-made bed? From there, to improve your memory, the first thing I do when I get out of bed and make my bed, I have a glass of water because your brain is mostly water, at least 3/4 water. And just staying hydrated can boost your reaction time, your thinking speed, Upwards of 15, upwards of maybe even 30%. But did you know you can lose up to a pound of water when you sleep through respiration, through perspiration? So you need to rehydrate. That's also where I take my, my probiotics. You know, your gut is your second brain, and we're going to talk about that in this program. From there, what's really good for your memory is to get some exercise, and it doesn't have to be your full exercise routine. There was There was a study done at Appalachian State University saying when's the best time to exercise for weight management and also deeper sleep, which we know is going to be good for your memory. And they tested people in the morning, afternoon, and evening. In the morning at 7 AM, 1 PM, and 7 PM. And they found that the group who exercised at 7 AM actually had upwards of 75% Deeper sleep. What an incredible benefit that is. And it doesn't have to be your full exercise routine. It could be as little as 3 minutes. So when you wake up, you hydrate and just do some burpees or some jumping jacks, do some, some pushups or some, some core work, right? As your body moves, your brain grooves, which is great for your memory. From there, in no specific order, you can do it in the order that you like to do, is brush your teeth. And you're like, Jim, you know, everyone brushes their teeth. I hope you do. It's good oral hygiene. And what I want to challenge you to do is brush your teeth with your opposite hand. Now, I've been talking about this for over 20 years, 25+ years, because when you use a different part of your body that you're not used to, it challenges a different part of your brain. But the other reason you do this, and I want to encourage and challenge you to try to do this, is it forces you to be present. It forces you to observe. It forces you to really pay attention. Remember I said how you do anything is how you do everything? The art of memory is the art of attention. And when you're forced to do something a little bit more difficult, like brush your teeth with the opposite hand, it forces you to pay attention. And so first thing in the morning, you're flexing your attention muscles, your concentration muscles, and your muscles for being present, as opposed to being distracted on your devices. 'Cause every ring and ping and ding and app notification notification, social media alert is driving you to distraction. You wonder why you can't remember what you just read or a name that you just heard. So practice being present. And then finally, a couple other things you could do to wind out your morning is take a shower. And I challenge you to take a cold shower. And even if it's not all cold, switch off 10 seconds cold, 10 seconds or maybe 30 seconds warm. But the reason you do this, I'll give you 2 reasons. Number one, It helps to reduce inflammation in your body, and your brain is part of your body, right? Inflammation is a contributing factor for a lot of challenges, health challenges and diseases. And you know, when you bang your knee on a coffee table, what do you do? You put ice on it 'cause it reduces the swelling, it lowers inflammation. Well, we create inflammation, you know, through stress, emotional stress, financial stress, right? Not getting a good night's sleep. Right? Tearing down our body. So a cold shower will allow you to kind of reset your nervous system. You don't have to take a complete ice bath or a five-minute cold shower, but just test yourself. You know, get a little bit uncomfortable because that's the other reason you want to do it is because not only is it a great reset for your nervous system, for me it's even better than coffee. It also challenges you to do difficult things because part of success in anything or memory and otherwise is developing grit, right? Developing some kind of resilience. And how do you do that? You get yourself to do difficult things. And something like taking a cold shower, for most people— I don't like the cold, so it's very— it can be very difficult. But if you do the difficult things in life, life gets easier. Because if you just do the easy things in life, life gets very difficult, right? But it's a paradox. If you do the difficult things, you challenge yourself, life gets easier. And then you develop some kind of grit, some resilience, and you take that grit into your life. So when you have to have something that's uncomfortable, like an uncomfortable conversation, or maybe you have to give a toast at a wedding, something that gets you out of your comfort zone, you're going to do it better because you train yourself to be uncomfortable. Does that make sense? And then from there, what I'll do is I'll journal a little bit, which is good for my memory, but I'll think about what would make today successful. Not the 300 things on my to-do list, but I'll fast forward and say, okay, I'm coming back and in the evening somebody asked me how my day was and I said, it was amazing. Today was incredible. Then I say, what had to happen in order for me to feel that way? And I say, what 3 things personally? What 3 things professionally? And I keep it to that. And they don't have to be huge big things, but if these 6 things were accomplished and they're different each day, what— how would I feel? What would make me feel amazing? And I began with the end in mind. Right. And I write those things down. And usually when I'm doing that, I'll have a beverage. I'll use— I make this little brain powder. I'll put it with some hot water and it just activates my brain. It has some fun things like ashwagandha and ginkgo and lion's mane and some other special ingredients in there, but it really helps me to focus and really makes me want to tackle the day. Right. So I take that brain powder or I mix it in my smoothie or make a little tea out of it. And it helps me to be able to focus. And while I'm doing that, I'll really think about what I I want to accomplish that day, and I'll review my day, my schedule. Maybe I'll do a little light reading. But the big thing here is, whatever your routine is, ask yourself, is this good for my brain or is this bad for my brain? Because first you create your habits, then your habits are going to create you back. Now notice that these activities that I shared with you do not take a lot of time, meaning that some people could spend 45 minutes on their phone and wonder where all that time went. For these, it doesn't take time. It actually helps you to make time. How much time does take to just review your day? 2 or 3 minutes, I said, right? How many— how long does it take to review and feel grateful for something? Maybe 60 seconds. You know, to wake up and remember your dreams and just jot them down for maybe 1 or 2 minutes. Making your bed, 1 or 2 minutes, right? Drinking a glass of water doesn't take a whole lot of time at all. Doing 3 minutes of exercise, right? Brushing your teeth with the opposite hand, nothing. And here's the thing, you can do this if you have kids. Do that with them. Ask them what happened in their day and have them talk for 2 or 3 minutes. What are they grateful for that happened that day? What are the things that, you know, what did they dream about in the morning? Show them how to make their bed. Get them to make their bed. Turn it into a game. Do 3 minutes of exercise with them, right? Show them how to brush their teeth with the opposite hand. Taking a cold shower is going to save you time because you're probably not going to want to be in that shower for too long. So, Little by little, a little becomes a lot. And you could play with this. You could gamify it, right? You could do it with your family members also as well. So it doesn't have to take time. It could actually make time in your performance. Because if you do this, if you want to win the day, you have to really win that first 45 minutes or that first hour of the day and how it's going to pay off in dividends in terms of the treasure you receive back in your ability to focus and your ability to think and your ability to remember. It's priceless.
