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Welcome to Effective Habits, a weekly newsletter where I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you live a happy, healthy, and productive life.
Today at a Glance:
Social Development > Self-Development
How to Shift With the End of Daylight Saving Time
Write It Down, Write It Down, Write It Down
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
Social Development > Self-Development
Elle Griffin
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
Many people turn to self-development to find peace or purpose, but an exclusive focus on personal growth can easily turn inward and isolating. True well-being often comes not from endless self-optimization but from contributing to others, or what might be called social development. Across cultures and history, thinkers from Mòzǐ to modern altruists have argued that improving society begins not with perfecting the self but with helping those around us. While periods of introspection and healing are valuable, at some point the attention we give ourselves must extend outward and toward family, neighbors, and community. Whether through volunteering, mentoring, or simply showing up for others, social engagement dissolves the loneliness and anxiety that self-focus can deepen. The paradox is that by directing our energy away from the mirror and toward the world, we often find the sense of meaning, calm, and connection that self-development alone can’t deliver.
🎬Action!
Once your basic needs are met, redirect the time and energy you’d spend on more self-development toward helping others. Help a neighbor, mentor someone, volunteer, or simply make yourself useful. Personal growth follows naturally when your attention moves from “How can I be better?” to “How can I help?”
How to Shift With the End of Daylight Saving Time
Dr. Andrew Huberman
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
As daylight saving time ends and the clocks “fall back,” the sudden shift in light can throw off more than your schedule, it can disrupt your sleep, mood, and energy levels. The earlier sunsets and darker evenings often leave people feeling sluggish or out of sync, even though we technically gain an hour of rest. The good news is that your body can adapt quickly with a little intention. By taking a few simple steps to realign your internal clock, you can ease the transition, protect your sleep quality, and maintain steady energy as the days grow shorter.
🎬Action!
Get Morning Sunlight Within the First Hour of Waking. Step outside within 30–60 minutes of waking to expose your eyes to natural light. It anchors your internal clock and helps your body adjust to the new schedule.
If it’s still dark when you wake, use bright indoor lighting until sunrise, then go outside.
Aim to get sunlight before 11 a.m. for the greatest effect on your circadian rhythm.
Spend about 10–15 minutes outdoors on sunny days (20+ minutes if cloudy).
Avoid sunglasses during this time, but glasses or contacts are fine.
Never look directly at the sun. If natural light isn’t available, use a 10,000-lux light therapy lamp.
Get Afternoon Sunlight Exposure. Spend time outdoors again in the late afternoon or near sunset. This light exposure helps your body prepare for evening, reducing the impact of bright indoor and screen lights later on.
Dim Lights After Sunset. As daylight fades, lower the intensity of indoor lighting to signal your body that it’s time to wind down.
Use lamps or low-positioned lights instead of overhead ones.
Limit blue and green light by using red-tinted bulbs or screen filters, or wear red-lens glasses.
Keep your bedroom as dark as possible for optimal melatonin production and sleep quality.
Keep Sleep and Wake Times Consistent. Go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every day, ideally within a 45- to 60-minute range. This consistency strengthens your circadian rhythm and helps you fall asleep and wake up more easily.
Use Temperature, Meals, and Exercise to Support Your Rhythm.
Temperature: Take a warm bath or shower before bed to trigger cooling afterward, which promotes deep sleep. Keep your bedroom around 67°F (19°C).
Meals: Stick to your regular eating schedule at the new time, even if you’re hungry earlier.
Exercise: Maintain your usual workout routine to help your body adapt and improve sleep quality.
Write It Down, Write It Down, Write It Down
Jack Raines
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
In the age of AI, it’s never been easier to build things, and never been easier to learn nothing from doing so. With tools like ChatGPT, Claude Code, and Cursor, anyone can create apps, automate workflows, or even train models in a matter of hours without truly understanding how they work. That convenience comes with a cost: the separation of results from real learning. Writing bridges that gap. When you document what you build or research, you turn passive output into active understanding. Writing forces you to slow down, clarify your thinking, and confront what you don’t yet grasp. It strengthens intuition, reveals blind spots, and transforms AI from a shortcut into a tool for genuine mastery. In short: don’t just build, write it down.
🎬Action!
After using AI tools to build or research something, take time to write down how you did it and what you learned. Then, review and analyze the details. read through the scripts or outputs, trace how the AI reached its conclusions, and reflect on why it made certain choices. Writing out the process forces you to spot what you don’t know, reinforce what you do, and turn quick results into lasting knowledge.
TOOL TIP
Open Culture: Founded in 2006, Open Culture hunts down and curates thousands of free educational and cultural resources scattered across the internet; from university courses and audiobooks to classic films and language lessons.
FUN FACT
The highest jump on record for any mammal was recorded for a puma (aka cougar or mountain lion), which jumped 7 metres straight up from a standstill (the equivalent of leaping nearly 7 times their own body height!). Moreover, one Puma has been recorded leaping 3.6 metres from the ground into the fork of a tree while carrying the carcass of a deer in its mouth. In comparison, the world records for High Jump set in 1965 by Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor with a jump of 2.45 metres (men), and in 2024 by Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh with a jump of 2.10 metres (women).
If you’ve found value in what I share, buying me a coffee is a great way to say “thanks” and help me keep doing what I love. Every bit of support helps me spend more time creating useful, thoughtful content for you. Thanks for being here—it means a lot! 🙏
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not liable for any risks or issues that may arise from using this information.
