Optimizing Workspace for Productivity, Focus, & Creativity 

Just sharing my notes. I posted this on Medium as well for your convenience (easier to read) Summary: 1. Bright lights during phase 1 of the day. 2. Place visual focus direct in front of you. Restricted visual window. 3. Put screens at nose level (at least). 4. Avoid reclining 5. Half stand and half sited work. 6. Avoid white noise. 7. Pursue 40 hertz binaural beats during work bout or prior to work bout. 8. Stationary tread mill increases alertness and focus. 9. Cathedral effect: focused and analytical work: low ceiling space. Creative work: high ceiling environment. 10. Limit interruptions 11. Changing environments might be beneficial. Three phases of the day: - Phase 1: From waking up to 8hrs later: ○ high levels of dopamine and norepinephrine. ○ State of high alertness. ○ Light the environment as much as we can. Overhead light is great. ○ Analytical and focused work. ○ Sunlight is the best way to activate the brain and body. Sunlight thru the window is 50times less effective than without the window. - Phase 2: from 8hrs after waking to 16hrs ○ Bring down levels of light. Dim the lamps and screens. ○ State: high serotonin. § Better for abstract and creative thinking - Phase 3: pre sleep and sleep. ○ Limit bright light. Just to the amount that is safe. Light: § It depletes melatonin levels § Shifts circadian clock: the body suffers jet lag. Visual focus: - Where we look and levels of alertness are highly correlated. ○ When we look down the neurons trigger calmness and sleep. ○ When we look up the neurons trigger the activation of alertness. - Screen should be at least to nose level. - Bringing your visual to a narrow space enhances focus. - Make sure that whatever you are looking at is straight in front of your eyes. - If i look into a narrow space, they create alertness but also require energy, so it's demanding. - For every 45 minutes focused on something narrow, get 5 minutes of relaxing eyes (ideally, take a walk). Body posture: - When we are standing up, locus coeruleus neurons become more active (they become even more active when moving). This activates alertness. - Never do: sit down and immediately focus on something (unless you are stressed or highly motivated). - Expect 6 minutes to "warm up" the alertness and focus. The Cathedral Effect: - Lower ceiling (detailed and restricted thinking) vs higher ceiling (abstract thinking & ideas). - When we are in a small space, we are more restricted. If there is a lot of space, we go to more abstract thinking. - If you need analytical work, and the space is too broad or ceiling too high, you can put on a hat. It restricts the visual angle and focus. Noise: - Avoid: Air conditioner noise or heat generating noise. White noise can cause impairments in development of auditory system in children. ○ When there's ongoing sound, the auditory system is listening even if you are not aware. The brain becomes more alert. ○ Pink noise vs brown noise vs white noise: different frequencies. - Monaural beats - Binaural beats: the difference between the two patterns of beats that are listened by each ear leads. ○ Best frequency: 40 hertz. Optimal for learning, memory and recall. § Increases striatal dopamine release: more focus and motivation. § Increases spontaneous blink rates. ○ We can engage in the binaural beats a little before doing the work, so you start the "warm up". Interruptions: not just bad because you lose x amount of time, but because it takes more time to focus again. Sit or stand doing work: - A combination of both is best. ○ Reduced neck pain, increases in health and vitality, improvement in cognitive performance and productivity. - Ratio: 50% standing and 50% sitting. - Starting to work in a standing desk requires some time to adapt. Movement while working: - It improves cognition - No difference between treadmill and cycling. - Moving improves attention and cognitive control scores. But it worsens verbal memory. ○ Active working stations are good for analytical work. But not for verbal work. - Forward movement generation: there is optic flow, which quiets fear, anxiety and vigilance. Ambulation increases epinephrine. Twitter @Juampiaranovich you can find the article

This podcast is probably the one thing that’s had the single biggest impact on my life in the last few months, the advice here is amazingly useful, and I always come away understanding the content well enough to convince my friends too

Someone (@Beto5) wrote on one of the earlier episodes that this podcast was like having a manual for life, and I completely agree.

Andrew Huberman podcasts are truly one of the best sources of knowledge on RU-vid right now. Hats off to you sir 👏👏

Making Mondays feel like Friday’s out here, Huberman crew! Thank you

The comment section below Huberman Podcast episodes is probably pretty damn unique on this platform ;) Definitely shows that content creators themselves have a huge influence over what kind of crowd they attract and foster. Anyway I wanna second the general consensus in here, this series is definitely one of the most positive forces in my life as of late.

Good morning everyone let's get ready to grow and learn from our beloved Professor Dr. Andrew Huberman 🤲

The idea that it takes 6 minutes to get really focused combined with the suggestion to make your morning workspace super bright is extremely helpful! I’m noticing that I’m more focused and less frustrated about the 6 minute warm up. Thank you again Dr. Huberman!

I can’t believe I’ve been watching these every Monday for over a year

I started watching you religiously in December. I’m fascinated with your presentation, it captures my attention and I put your advice to practice. I had to share my excitement with my 26 year old son and ironically he already watches you. I’m 56 and we both gain from your free education. Thank you for this! I’m trying to keep healthy because taking a vaccine every 6 months is not in my agenda, so staying healthy is my priority. Once again, thank you. I listen to you every night and wake up ready to put what I learned into motion the next day. I’m happy.

You're the best in your field. You explain stuff so professionally that even the most complicated facts look really enjoyable and easy. You're great at knowing what things people need to know to increase their life quality ❤🙏🏻

Thank you Professor Dr. Huberman for sharing your wealth of knowledge on these important health topics with the general public. I am sure you have changed many lives, and you certainly have changed mine. As a health-conscious neuroscience nerd, this is my favourite podcast of all time.

You're doing the humanity a big favour!

Mate, I love you. I understand exactly what ur saying all the time. And all your topics are on point with what's relevant to me. I like the black shirt too 👍👍

Dr. Andrew, I have a suggestion for your next podcast. I have always found the subject of humor to be fascinating, and I think it would be a great episode to try to understand what causes laughter from a neurologic standpoint, and how laughter impacts our body and brain. By the way, I am forever grateful for this podcast and how useful it is on a day-to-day basis

Best science based podcast channel on RU-vid

The podcast series is like a summary of all the productivity/health/fitness articles I am supposed to read - but just don’t have the time to get to it. I appreciate your effort in educating the public. Thanks

One of the things I did after watching your last video was buy a coffee cup on eBay that says Colorado on it, to put into my peri personal space and feel like I'm outdoors. My workspace is a big kitchen table against the wall, with a 4 foot flat screen monitor on the wall behind it. I can stand up and work with the keyboard and mouse at waist level, and the monitor set to 4K resolution right in front of my face. Lately I've been standing up for most of the day.

The only professor on RU-vid that I can listen to without my mind wandering as much as it does when listening to lectures. You are amazing. Thank you 🙏

Thank u. I know this get buried underneath all of the other gracious comments, but there’s a good reason why there’s so many. You are a beacon of greatness!

As a young architect working in residential sector, thank you for putting forward this research. Crucial to develop the way we live and build houses

Hubermeister you are the GOAT!

Dr. Huberman your podcast is a gift to humanity!

Hey, Huberman, your channel is excellent! There is one topic that’s missing… MENOPAUSE!!!! O.K. , two topics.. ANDROPAUSE…( gotta be ‘inclusive’ ) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring us the facts! 🙏🙏✌️

These weekly episodes are just getting better and better, I'm so happy to find your podcast Dr Andrew!

Since the beginning of COVID I have spent a good portion of time thinking about how to improve my ability to focus on what I need to focus at the time I need to focus on it. As I have ADHD it is a really important thing to me to live up to the expectations I have for myself. I did a lot of experimentation, moving my desk a lot in my apartment, changing the lights, moving the screen on my desk etc. I was always trying to be mindful of the state I was in and keep what works best. It's incredible that while having no idea what I was doing I mostly came to the conclusions shown in this video, the ones having the biggest impact on me were lighting, and the position of my screen. I use a laptop with a second screen, the screen of the laptop is a bit below eye level, while the second one is above (I have to tilt my head a bit to correctly look at it). I put on the bottom screen stuff which do not need a High level of alertness and what I am working with on the top. End damn it changes everything ! However there's a few thing's were I came to the opposite conclusion, like for example the field of view thing. I focus best on my work if what I work on takes a lot of space on my field of view. I like to use multiple screens for this wich when I look at center one it takes up all my field of view. I am pretty incapable of focusing correctly if I work on single, smaller screen. My Hypothesis is it's because of my ADHD, because a lot of my attention actually goes towards what's on the periphery of my vision. In the same way I had to move my desk away from the windows, as having them close to me would often ends up with me distracted and looking at the birds outside instead of working. There's some other things where I need to do the opposite of what's advised and I think it would be interesting to see a similar video but for people with atypical brains. Not only for people with ADHD of course (For exemple : High IQ, autism , etc ..)

This podcast is game changer. Dr Hubberman’s voice is relaxing but all the information is educational and practical.

"the long blink would be death" this cracked me up 😂😂 I'm loving all the info in this, so helpful, thank you so much Andrew 💖

These topics are precisely the things I’ve been working on. I’m loving these!

What I love about these podcasts is that I (almost) always listen to them twice, and I learn something new each time. Each episode is such a wealth of knowledge that it's amazing it's available for free. Well done as always!

Thank you so much for talking about binaural beats! That's one thing I've asked for in the comments on another video, but pertaining to migraines. I listen to binaural beats when I have an unrelenting migraine that is extremely severe, and it feels like a massage for my brain... seriously. I always end up falling asleep and when I wake up, my migraine is either diminished or gone.. I really hope you can talk about migraines one day. 🙏 🙏 🙏

I would love to see a podcast on neuropathic pain!

Thank you Dr Huberman!

Love that you touched on music in this podcast!!! Thank you for sharing all your knowledge! It’s truly appreciated!!!

I've just linked everyone in my department to this episode. Fascinating topic that many might not even think of, clearly explained and backed up with facts. Essential viewing.

this is the best and most useful podcast in the world. Thank you Andrew!

The information you are giving us is priceless. I have improved my scores in maths and abstract reasoning exams from 1-2 average score to 7-9 average, and with just one 90 min bout of learning /day. It is incredibly useful and I cannot be more grateful. Just keep on!

Amazing content as always! Thanks! Also if you need some ideas on next topics: 1. Science of study. How to study something new most effective way. 2. How to raise children. 3. Music. Dance. 4. Video games. 5. Meta universe.

Thank you!!! Best thing about mondays are these podcasts.

This is the best podcast ever. Every time I am going through something or need advice regarding a particular topic I find it discussed on this channel. I am currently tidying up my workspace and trying to reorganise it and stumble upon this. Thank you for being so attentive to each and every aspect of our life.

Thanks Andrew❤

Thanks, Prof. Huberman. Since I've been WFH setup for more than 2 years now, I will adopt the ways you mentioned to optimize my workspace.

Thank you for breaking down the best science on binaural beats the use with rain/ocean sounds. Fascingating to hear you describe effects of 40 Hz on striatal dopamine. Absolutely amazing. And thank you for giving us practical tips for focus, productivity, workspace management. Highly useful. Many of us here on the team at Powerful Subliminals are big fans of the Huberman Labs & Podcast! Thank you!

"An evidence-based pragmatic approach to optimizing quality of life" is a concept that has intrigued me for years, ever since my hobby for neuroscience and its related fields started. I always dreamed about creating a blog surrounding this concept -almost to devise a manual of sorts to giving one the best chance at their most optimal life- but life always had other adventures in mind for me. Then I came across your podcast the other day and my mind was absolutely blown! I feel like how you discuss every concept is exactly the way I'd imagined my idea to fledge out. I'm such a fan, absolutely amazed by your work! Really, absolutely thrilled to have discovered your podcast and love your style. Keep up the good work!

This great podcast shifted my perception about Mondays 🤣

Thank you gratefully! This is exactly what I need to finish a very important work... Now I'm looking back and I can say that all this knowledge must be mandatory in every school and university...

Thankfully this podcast has been here the last 2 years. It's a safe space every Monday...in an ever changing world trying to balance itself out and striving for chaos at the same time it is reprieve. Peace and love to all

i had a dopamine release with this alert ... new podcast uploaded !! And i am also getting anxiety ..since there are quite a bit of podcasts to go through. ( Physiological Sigh )

0:00 Preview 7:55 Introduction Lighting 10:02 Phase 1 16:00 Phase 2 19:45 Phase 3 24:17 Gaze 28:02 Screen position 31:24 Body Posture 34:22 How Long to Do Deep Work 36:50 Visual Window Size 42:15 45 min/5-min Rule 44:23 The Cathedral Effect: Analytic vs Creative Work 55:50 Leveraging Background Noise 1:02:20 Binaural Beats for Work 1:06:38 The Best Binaural Frequency for Work 1:11:17 How Binaural Beats Increase Focus 1:13:56 Minimizing Interruptions 1:20:01 Sit or Stand, or Both? 1:25:18 Movement in the Workspace 1:31:00 Summary & Shifting Work Environments 1:39:36 Zero-Cost Support, Sponsors, Patreon, Instagram, Twitter, Thorne

I haven't yet listened to the broadcast as yet. However, lately I have had this inclination to all-white interior decor with some greenery. I changed my office furniture to all-white, had the walls painted all white, the filing cabinets and folders all were exchanged to white, with some plenty green plants placed on points I see in my peripheral vision while concentrating on work.

Every time I think he can't tell me anything new - he does!!!!! I love you Andrew!

Yessss! Managing my physical environment tricks myself to do many things done. I know this is very useful.

Daaamn Andrew, back at it again with the awesome content every Monday.

This will blow the desk setup contents.

Every time I take walk around 4pm, I feel so amazing. Now it's in my agenda, hope it will become a habit. All thanks to this man's work. So Grateful!!!

The Huberman lab podcast is all about what internet was meant to be in the first place: a place where people would share the best of humanity to each other instantly, at no cost. Thank you, Dr. Huberman, for your interest in making humanity a better place for all of those who are interested in education and science.

Thank you doc, wish you a great week!

Hey Dr. Huberman! I want to thank you for the videos you have put out since last year! I found your channel a year ago around the same time I was studying for the MCAT. I applied many of your tips/advice to my MCAT studying which helped immensely. One was using a treadmill desk while doing Anki flashcards and practice problems and this helped me a lot! I got the MCAT score I needed and into my dream California medical school as well!

Good morning class!

Just listened to this podcast this morning as I drove back to my home office (I run a virtual CPA practice). The first thing I did was turn on all the overhead lights, turned on my LED desk lamp, and open the shutters to the windows. Later in the afternoon, I turned off the overhead lights. As I write this at night, I just have a desk lamp on. I then raised my monitors so that the middle of the screen is about nose height. Wow, it really makes you sit up straight and keep your head up. My neck was getting tired, so I imposed the 45/5 rule. The interruption segment was really good, but my two dogs ignored all the methods you suggested. 🙂 The one suggestion I have is to only have what is necessary to complete your task on your desk. If you have multiple projects sitting on your desk, it's too easy to see a "squirrel" and change tasks midstream.

Thanks Dr. H!

I just clicked on this out of procrastination and should be working right now.

My life is so much better since I started listening to this podcast and applying some of practical tools learned here. I've been sharing it with friends, and I know many people who, thanks to this, improved their sleep, worked more efficiently, optimized their athletic performance, etc. Thank you Professor Huberman!

Thank you so much, Dr. Huberman. Your podcast is impactful and improves the well-being of so many of us.

LOVING IT . Only half way into it and already tempted to post a comment .

As ever, thank you to you and all involved in producing these. Particularly looking forward to this one ! Peace

Andrew's Podcasts are out of this world. This is the only podcast which I can NOT and (I don't think anyone should) listen in car, while walking, biking etc :) There are so many useful information I have my word file opened all the time to do the summary.

Every week I enjoy your lectures that improve my daily habits. All your suggestions are accompanied by tools and processes that drive the brain. It's amazing how our human brain responds to every event. Is a human computer.

1:11:00 I'm offering a source for a 40 Hz binaural beat, as suggested by Dr. Huberman, with the same frequencies utilized in the study listed in his links, i.e. using a 340Hz carrier. It can be found on my RU-vid channel.

Great to be able to listen and learn from you here - 😆

So grateful for this. I've been slouched over my laptop with bad lighting trying to finish the first draft of my book. Clearly been doing it all wrong! Also watched the episode on Focus which helped me meet my deadline. Thank you Dr. Huberman. You are a Godsend! 🙏

thanks for your service and support Doc. your work is helping millions of people across the globe.

Awesome topic for me!!!

I your fan now. (new to the channel) thanks for one more informative video.

Excellent! Love the practicality and love your clear, concise speaking ability...very engaging, encouraging, interesting & pleasant. Especially no UMMMM'S & UHHHH'S which ruin presentations & interviews...making them boring & distracting! THANK YOU! 💯💯💯

Thank you Prof. Huberman for another great episode and I love your sense of humor!!

This is what I need right now

Looks like I've already got my podcast material sorted for today, thanks Andrew!

Dr. Huberman - Keep up the great work. I learn something each and every pod cast. This was one of the best episodes. YOU ROCK!

You keep podcasts into next level that help audience to access quality work of scientists and science .

I got a tell you you got very interesting and different topics... which i never herd before in my life

Thank you so very much for this incredible content and I absolutely agree on the handbook for life, mechanics of reality 💪 This will be the first time I watch on the day you release! A habit I am trying to form with the reinforcement tools you have taught me! Thank you so much!

Every time I watch your lectures like this I think about how much more easily I could optimize my life in several ways if I didn’t live in Minnesota. Perhaps my next house will be down south a ways.

I played this episode while driving, and after 15 min I wanted to pull over just to take note. The information is just gold!

Thank you so much, dr. Huberman! 🙏🙏 This is a very welcome subject. What I call "cognitive ergonomics" is often overlooked, in my opinion. (not sure if cognitive ergonomics is actually a commonly used term)

Can't believe this much information is available for us for free, Is there anyway we can contribute ?

I like how honest dr Huberman is. Thank you!

The Huberman Lab Podcast if BY FAR the best thing on the internet today! Thank you Prof. for making this information accessible for nerds like myself 😍 I never miss a chapter💗

Thank you Mr. Huberman. These tools you are teaching us are really making a positive impact on my life. You have my gratitude.

Also wanted to ask, would you be able to share how you put these episodes together some time? As in, how do you go about preparing a script? How much is read verbatim from things you wrote down vs. an outline and reference to your own knowledge? I am learning tremendous amounts about the topics you cover, but I think it would be just as valuable to learn how you go about breaking these things down and presenting them in such a concise manner.

Really appreciate these podcasts, my quality of life and understanding of how I work best has improved so much. Thank you!

Keys to the kingdom, going to raise my head up a bit and look down at my book while I’m reading at night to fall asleep. Going to raise my computers up and look up in order to stay awake and more alert while working. No matter the topic, you always deliver on a big level for my life. Thank you thank you thank you…so grateful for you and your work.

I wish you started these podcasts when I was 20 years old. Nonetheless thank you for your contribution, I enjoy and use the info immensely in my life.

Anecdotal advice: - If you are sitting I suggest a hard rather than a soft seat to improve focus. - Never check what time it is, I always lose focus and flow when I do. (you can set a 90 minute timer to know when you're done) - If you're reading don't look at the page numbers, same logic as with the time.

Finally, science based content for regular people like me. Thank you very much Dr. Andrew Huberman.

Thank You Andrew

Love the podcast man keep it up!!

Has anyone made notes out of all the podcasts?

wow coming off your fasting podcast and now this. It's like a rabbit hole of knowledge that I am ready to dive in. Thanks Mr Huberman for all you do

A GREAT way to boost your DOPAMINE levels during the day is to DANCE (but only if you like dancing, kinda). I have a mirror next to my desk and I practice dancing when I take breaks. I just freestyle with the music and often come up with new moves or combos. That small accomplishment together with the music gives me a rush of dopamine and adrenaline which puts me in a perfect mindset to do my work. I know for sure it's a dopamine rush because I get goose bumps, standing hair, elevated mood and the tasks I need to do suddenly don't seem to be so difficult anymore. You could turn other activities into dopamine boosting systems. You just need something like a hobby that you could do at work AND you must be constantly improving your skill. That way your brain keeps rewarding you with dopamine which will help with your work as well. Make sure you choose an activity that would have an unlimited room for you to improve your skill.