My current daily routine

Overview and goals:

The following routine is specifically designed for myself, though many of you will probably find it insightful and useful. I’ve basically arrived at it through experimentation and seeing what works best for me, a natural early-bird. Though I don’t get up super early, I always function better in the mornings, both in terms of physical & mental performance. That’s why the mental & physical ‘workouts’ belong in the morning, preferentially. Also, a decent bit of work goes there too, but I usually finish it in the afternoon, since it doesn’t require as much mental sharpness and I can ‘brute-force’ my way through it.

With this routine I’ve found the best results so far for my energy levels, productivity & mood. As with the entirety of my work, this is designed to fit holistically with my physiology and psychology. Optimizing the circadian rythm. Supplementing with caffeine with the right timing. Achieving a balance between work, solitude, and social life. Letting me put out when I’m energized, and absrob when I’m tired.

Here it goes…

Sketch of the day:

• Wake up, drink water, get caffeine & sunlight.

• Mental workout of choice (maths for me).

• 50% of productive work (social media/personal brand)

• Physical workout (gym).

• Lunch & a little break (some fun activity, usually some podcast or educational video).

• Finish essential productive work (rest of social media/personal brand, studying, learning) .

• Then choose from: social activity, more mental activity (light work), more physical activity (bike ride or walk).

• Close-up wth a bath & a stretch, then dinner & finish the day with some reading, journaling & maybe some passive content consumption.

Explanation of each step & possible variations:

Now, the sunlight, caffeine (usually in the form of Yerba Mate) and sunlight serve to wake me up, in the literal sense of cranking up my circadian rythm and keeping it on-schedule.

The mental workout may seem a little ad-hoc, but I find it essential to keep my mind sharp and creative. The mind is like a muscle, treat it like so. Then, once the mind is both awake and warmed-up, I get done a decent bit of work, mostly creative stuff, content for the personal brand, and ideas for social media posts.

Then comes the physical workout, where I get absolutely hammered in the gym. A strong and healthy body will facilitate the functionality of the mind. Then, as it says, after I’ve had lunch & a little break, I finish any work that I may have left for that day.

At this time (around 4 pm) I’ll choose between doing more mental activity, more physical activity, or social activity. Social activity, though, usually gets a priority, since you just don’t want you entire life to be either work or exercise.

Then I finish my day with a stretch, to keep myself mobile and bloodflow to those muscles smooth, and the rest is pretty simple; semi-productive things to get you primed for the next day and relax before bed.

Diet:

Anything that suits you best. For me, a whole foods, animal-based diet works best. I don’t get any energy crashes or bloating or anything. I eat a solid base of steak, eggs, cheeses, animal fats, and then some grains & fruits & honey.

I do skip breakfast, since I like training and thinking fasted, plus that saves calories for later in the day, so I get to eat bigger, more filling meals.

Tips, personal comments & little details:

Some useful tips are the usual: dim the lights down some while before bed (blue-light screens mostly), try getting some sunlight and time in nature during the day, for mood and vitamin C, go to bed early and try to coordinate your sleep so that you wake up by yourself. I ideally like to go to bed within a 9+ hour window, just to make sure that I actually sleep at least 8 hrs. For me, if I don’t get good sleep, even though I might still be productive, I feel like trash.

And that’s it! It’s pretty simple, useful, and has made me the most productive and creative I’ve ever been, without spending the whole day on my computer.

I’ve tried having bigger, smaller breakfasts, or getting up extra early, and working out in the afternoon; but this has definitely hit the sweetspot.

Now, remember, your routine might differe noticeably from this one; maybe you’re more productive at night/late afternoon, maybe you like sleeping until later. Whatever it is, make sure that yours, fits YOU.

See you next post!