Description: The First 10 is an Android alarm clock that is designed to help you wake up with more energy in the morning than you’ve ever woken up with before. From the mind of Clark Bartram, whom you probably know is a guy that knows how to start his day right. Known as “America’s Most Trusted Fitness Professional”, especially for those over 40, Clark Bartram is a leading name in fitness, body and mind. The aim of First 10 is to make sure that the first ten minutes of your day prepare you for the rest of the day and put you in the right mindset to tackle whatever your day throws at you. Following on from Clark’s book, Where Your Mind Goes, You Go, the First 10 is designed to program your mind – using the first 10 minutes of your day – to deal with whatever stress you might face and become successful in otherwise difficult situations. To find out just how Clark’s app does this, read on.
How it Works: Before you can start preparing for your energetic wake-up call, you’ll need to download the First 10 from the Play Store. Once you have the app installed, you’ll be greeted with an introduction from Clark Bartram himself.
After that, your next step is to choose the sort of focus you’ll want to get in the first 10 minutes you wake up. For me, it’s all about mental ability. As a writer, and Editor for the site, I need to make sure I can solve problems, knuckle down and get things done. So, I need to prepare myself in those first 10 minutes I can use the First 10 to program my brain to be focused, resourceful and creative.
After changing things to your liking, you can start to set your alarms for the week ahead. You can have as many in there as you want and have certain ones repeat every other day, or all week and so on.
Every morning the alarm goes off, there is a one minute timer, after that your preferred mix of motivation will start playing for 10 minutes as you wake up the right way, and get the right boost your brain needs in the morning. More than just an alarm clock, the First 10 is a way for you to get the right start to the day.
Opinion: As you might expect for a Managing Editor of a tech site like myself is often preoccupied when I wake up. I check my email, I check the news and I go and make some coffee. I normally only have two or three cups of coffee a day and despite Clark’s urging that I won’t need coffee in the morning, my love affair goes deeper than just caffeine. The First 10 is all about the first 10 minutes when you wake up and how that focus you give yourself when you’ve just woken up is what sets you out for the rest of the day, and what will give you your energy. On the surface of things, the app feels like an alarm clock, but it’s more about shifting your psyche into the right gear to climb whatever mountain your day has in store for you.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – The First 10 is a quick Android app and I never had to wait around for the app to load or anything of the sort.
- Features (4/5) – The motivation from Clark and the breathing exercises will certainly leave you with more energy than without it, and the first 10 minutes of your day with Clark will leave you with a renewed focus and brighter attitude to get through the day.
- Theme (3/5) – The app could look a lot better, as everything feels a little basic and the audio quality could be a little better, too.
- Overall (4/5) – If you struggle to get yourself out of bed in the morning with a bright attitude, or if you think that you’re going to struggle throughout the day then the First 10 will give you the focus needed for a great day.
Pros
- Works well for those looking to start their day right and succeed where they might not have the day before.
- Comes from the mind of Clark Bartram, a trusted fitness advisor.
- You can choose from different types of motivation, like energy, focus or exercise.
- Multiple alarms can be set at different times across all 7 days.
Cons
- Could be a little pricey for some.
- UI and its look and feel is a little dated.
Conclusion: I’m normally not one to believe in motivational speaking or anything like that, but the First 10 is a nice balance of proven techniques to fuel your brain when you wake up and Clark Bartram’s voice and wisdom will invigorate you to get out of bed better, with the right amount of energy and focus, without reaching for the nearest can of Red Bull. A good app for those struggling to get out of bed, or those that find themselves tired and lacking in motivation by the middle of the morning. More than just getting up right, the First 10 should leave you with a renewed motivation and focus to tackle whatever issues your day at work, at home or on the road might throw your way.