WC121026
This week is international day for failure. You might wonder why we are focusing on a negative outcome however failure isn't just a setback—it's how we learn. It gives us the hard facts that success can't, showing us exactly where our plans went wrong. Since most startups fail, setbacks are pretty much guaranteed. But serial entrepreneurs who learn from their mistakes are more likely to succeed next time round.
Failing also builds resilience. Overcoming small failures makes us less afraid of taking risks and helps beat perfectionism. If we treat failure as a pit stop rather than the end of the road, we build the grit needed to innovate and succeed.
Work in of the week - Drink 500ml water immediately upon waking
The morning hydration protocol restores fluid balance following overnight respiratory and metabolic water loss. Drinking 500ml of room-temperature water immediately upon waking rehydrates cellular tissues, stimulates metabolism, and restores cognitive performance before any physical or mental output.
Facts:
Drinking water on an empty stomach boosts metabolism by 30% for at least 40min (national library of medicine)
It increases mental processing speed and focus by 14% (national library of medicine)
Points of Performance
Immediate Execution: Consume 500ml of water within 10 minutes of waking, prior to coffee, tea, or food intake.
Temperature Control: Use room-temperature or slightly cool water (15–20°C) to optimise gastric emptying and minimise gastrointestinal discomfort.
Pacing: Drink steadily over 2 to 3 minutes rather than gulping rapidly, allowing effective cellular absorption without triggering an immediate excretory reflex.
Electrolyte Baseline (Optional): Add a pinch of unrefined sea salt if engaged in early-morning high-intensity training or heavy physical labor.
Why It Works
Overnight, the body loses between 300ml and 700ml of water through respiration and perspiration. Waking in a state of mild dehydration directly impairs executive function, visual vigilance, and working memory.
Cognitive Maintenance & Focus: A study led by Dr Lawrence E. Armstrong at the University of Connecticut showed that a body water loss of just 1.36% in women degraded mood, increased perception of task difficulty, and impaired concentration (Journal of Nutrition, 2012).
Reaction Time & Working Memory: Research led by Dr Matthew S. Ganio demonstrated that a 1.59% fluid loss in men led to significantly higher error rates in visual vigilance and reduced working memory response speeds (British Journal of Nutrition, 2011).
Physical & Mental Output: Rehydrating with ~500ml–1500ml restores total mood disturbance, reduces perceived exertion, and increases mental work capacity scores (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019).
Common Faults
Caffeine First: Reaching for coffee before fluid replacement. Caffeine acts as a mild diuretic and does not address overnight net-fluid deficits.
Inadequate Volume: Sipping 100ml and calling it done. A minimum of 500ml is required to signal stretch receptors in the stomach that prompt alertness and gut motility.
Ice-Cold Water: Chilling the water excessively can slow gastric emptying in sensitive individuals, delaying hydration kinetics.
Scaling Options
Beginner: Start with 300ml immediately upon waking and scale up by 50ml per day until reaching 500ml comfortably.
Advanced: Follow the 500ml water intake with a 10-minute walk outdoors to combine rehydration with natural light exposure for circadian alignment.