Example routine

Key Insight

● Example routine

○ This example will be the example of the latest iteration of my routine. It’s the same every day (workday/non-workday) but any day can be replaced by a full day off. It changes as I learn new things or as my business projects change (which happens often). It won’t suit you 100% nor is that the goal; the goal is to give you an idea and stimulate you to design your own ideal routine. Probably you don’t have the same problems and goals as I, so take steps as you wish. My personal goal is to honor at least 90% of days by at least 90% of the routine, and if I succeed I consider myself very successful. Expecting 100% all the time is very hard and often unrealistic, so it can create unrealistic expectations (and unrealistic expectations are the fastest path to calamity). If one day for any reason I skip a step I don’t abandon the routine for the rest of the day, I simply continue from the step that is possible. This is very important, and in popular psychology is called “failing with abandon” (slipping with giving up) and is often seen. Do not fail with abandoning; if you skip a step just continue with the next.

○ Wake up around 7 and go outside for a 20+20 minute walk.

■ It takes me about 20 minutes to wake up a bit, change, and go outside.

■ This is to ensure I sleep well that night. This sets the biological clock and triggers cortisol which wakes the body and tells it to start producing melatonin about 12 hours after the first strong light. Only after I go outside do I feel genuinely awake. It’s possible to activate this with artificial light, but it requires really bright light. This has significantly improved my sleep quality and speed of falling asleep and reduced my need for caffeine. It’s important to do this within the first 30-60 minutes after waking (detailed explanation in the Huberman podcast episode on sleep).

■ Without a phone, the brain has a chance to process whatever thoughts it wants.

○ Meditation 25 minutes.

■ A boost in focus for that day by about 200%.

○ Journal 5 minutes.

■ Focus on gratitude, and simply getting thoughts onto paper. When we write them down the brain stops thinking about them and flow is better.

■ It’s impossible to be grateful and angry at the same time, and being angry isn’t good or helpful. Negative emotions actually hurt us the most.

○ Email + Beeper + Calendar + To-do ~20 minutes.

■ At this point I first look at the phone.

■ Here I do check, prioritization and planning, and if something is urgent but short I solve it immediately (e.g., a call); if something must be done within the next few hours or someone is waiting for me I take care of it immediately.

■ I don’t respond to messages and emails if they can wait (and 99% can).

● If any email or message requires a lot of thinking it will get one flow session.

○ Caffeine + Flow Period 1 ~3h.

■ Caffeine should not be consumed in the first 90 minutes after waking (explained in detail in the Huberman sleep episode), then for flow finish all routine tasks and brew coffee, and then start. My goal is 6 flow sessions of about 20 minutes each. I start a timer for 20 minutes, remove all distractions and focus only on what I am doing for those 20 minutes. I have a Google sheet where after every session I note what time it ended and how many interruptions I had (usually 0, but not at the start). Between sessions I take breaks as needed, but I often do 2 or 3 sessions back-to-back, then take a longer break. After each session I reset the timer and log it. I track results every day and try to have as many sessions as possible during the day—gamification. If these 3 hours go as planned I’ve completed 80% of the day’s most important work, and probably more than 99.9% of people for the whole day. During breaks I answer a few emails or messages or take a call.

○ Breakfast ~30 minutes.

■ The first meal and calories I consume around 11:00 AM (coffee is consumed black; a little milk doesn’t break the fasting). 90% of days I eat the same breakfast—6 eggs with vegetables + yogurt. 10% of days I eat whatever I crave that day (usually burek, pâté, sandwiches, pizza, or whatever). With the first meal I take all the supplements for that day (vitamins, minerals, etc.). A short break and then a bathroom break and brushing teeth before continuing.

○ Decaf coffee + Flow Period 2 ~3h - Similar to session 1, the goal is another 6 flow sessions under the same rules (as energy and focus decline during the day, in this period I usually have more interruptions). If I complete 12 flow sessions that day I consider it extremely successful (and since this is routine it’s often). Caffeine should not be consumed in the afternoon as it can disrupt sleep, so I give the brain decaf coffee (placebo is not a joke). In this period I almost always include a walk as a short break to rest my back and eyes a bit.

○ Snack + break ~30 minutes.

■ Around 15:30 I’ve already finished all the important stuff! For a snack I put in the blender: fruit, nuts, dark chocolate, dates, whey protein ~50g, chia, flax and other seeds, milk and water (not always all). It’s tasty, healthy and quick to prepare.

○ Flexible session ~2h.

■ Here there can be all sorts of things—calls, meetings, messages, another flow session, cleaning the beeper, inbox zero, cleaning the to-do list...

○ Workout ~70 minutes.

■ Almost every day, Monday and Wednesday evenings followed immediately by yoga (on those days I train after dinner), once a week running ~8km or swimming ~3km (those days I usually train before the snack, so it shifts by about 70 minutes later) (I’ve noticed after evening training I start to lose muscle tone faster, so I avoid it except when I do yoga; it’s more convenient). I don’t recommend training after dinner.

■ Sometimes I train before the snack, so the whole schedule shifts a bit, but nothing significant.

○ ~7 PM dinner.

■ 50% of days my dinner is a “super veggie” from Bryan Johnson + 200-400 g meat, 50% of days my dinner is whatever (mostly meat). Chicken, beef and fish in rotation.

■ Dinner can sometimes be work-related or with friends.

■ These are also the last calories I consume on 90% of days. 10% of days there’s a little something before bed, but I don’t push it. If I crave something I’ll eat it, but not to excess. Overeating before sleep almost certainly means poor sleep.

○ After dinner.

■ With no pressure or rules. Maybe I’ll work a bit longer, maybe I’ll read, maybe I’ll rest or walk. Maybe flow, maybe fast thinking. No pressure...

○ Bedtime preparations.

■ This starts around 10 PM when I gradually wind down and air out the room (cool it), check all devices around the apartment, brew a chamomile tea (chamomile is great before sleep) and head to bed. I fall asleep to YouTube documentaries but with extremely dim screen and completely off blue light (the screen is barely visible). I don’t recommend this to others; it’s better to fall asleep without it, but I can’t. If you also can’t fall asleep try this method:

● Set the device you watch on to turn off after ~20 minutes of inactivity. Turn off blue light completely on the screen (f.lux app) and reduce screen brightness to the minimum possible (while keeping the screen on), set the sound very low.

● The secret is to find content that is interesting enough to hold our attention but not so interesting that it wakes us up. Documentaries about history, popular history, science and similar topics are a perfect fit for me!

● Series, films and popular (clickbait, viral) content don’t work because they’re designed to release too much dopamine, and like all cheap dopamine should be avoided before sleep.

● Note:

○ Almost every day I wear the same or very similar clothes if I don’t have formal meetings (I literally have 5 identical/similar outfits).

○ If I go to training in the afternoon I dress for training first thing in the morning.

○ I wear shorts all year round (good for men, not good for women) and in the height of winter (older women often cross themselves when they see me).

○ “Two are one and one is none” - All material things linked to routine I have as backups; and some are cheaper by 5 or 6 pieces. I heard this saying on Tim Ferriss’ podcast and it echoes in my head (in fact I always have spares, and I adhere to these mantras).