SNE Quest - Day 37: BURNOUT

VPP COUNT: 110985

Well I knew it wouldn't be too long before my motivation got stale and I started having trouble pushing myself to put in the necessary hours. Fortunately, I recognized the problem fairly early, and can start working on the solution.

First and foremost - I need to get back on a regular exercise schedule. The first 2 months of January, I ended nearly every session with a ~10min floor routine. This did a very good of "resetting my brain" and getting my mind off of whatever beats/frustration I may have experienced during my time at the tables. This made starting the next session much easier, as well as just being all-around better for me.

Second - I need to start waking up at a regular time every day. I've been fairly good about this, and I am rarely in bed past 9am. Having a ~8am wakeup every day will help a whole lot with...

Third - Putting in a session before 12pm daily will really improve the overall hours I spend playing. Starting the day out right really is half the battle.

Fourth - Eating actual breakfast. Coffee is not breakfast. Even cereal would be better than 2 cups of coffee and occasionally a granola bar.


Putting all of the pieces to this puzzle together, it is becoming increasingly clear why my drive has slowed. Waking up at 9, drinking 2 cups of coffee, and lazing around until 11-12 when I have a caffeine crash is pretty much the worst way to start a productive day.

Caffeine restricts the blood-flow to the brain, and in turn will worsen the poker thought-process.

Exercise, however, increases the blood flow to the brain. On top of this, morning exercise gives your mind "practice" with overall willpower, which is basically the #1 trait needed by poker players.


In theory, this all sounds good. In practice...we'll see how it works out.

I already did a floor-routine this evening, and almost instantly felt better. I was in a pretty major funk this morning.

In SNE news, I put in 1 hour today and it was nothing special. Now that I'm feeling better, I am feeling much better about putting in a few more hours tonight. There may be a Day 37 part 2 up later.