What lifestyle choices do you make to be productive?
For me:
Waking up early. Having something exciting to do helps. Like drinking coffee recently.
Recharging well. In between work sessions, I feel like activities like going for a walk, playing an instrument and showering work better to keep me productive than browsing YouTube.
My biggest one is time blocking.
For me it's about blocking everything else, blocking hacker news/reddit/youtube is a huge productivity thing for me, so deciding that I am not going to be part of social media and i'm going to centre my life around the things I want to be and creating as many big time blocks to focus on that as I can. The rest of the time is for me to be more playful, but in order to do anything, I need chunks of focused, clear time.
Noise cancellation headphones, binaural beats / focus music and a timer. Then I shut the rest of the world out and just work on what I need to work on.
I'm a pretty chaotic person with my thoughts, so I have to make the choice to focus on something for set hours and then I try to stay as focused as I can during that time and then have unfocused time when I can do whatever I want/indulge my thoughts and curiosity.
8 hours of sleep minimum. No drinking or smoking. Exercise regularly. Be content with what I have. Enjoy the little things in life, laugh at life’s absurdities.
Before I switch off for the day, I jot down a ToDo list for the next day.
The next morning, I pick up that list and get started on it. Doing my damnest to avoid reading HN, the news, etc. That can come as a break later in the day.
Wear a uniform. It’s ok to have a few uniforms depending on weather/season, but the goal is to not have to think when getting dressed. Get up, shower, put clothes on.
Your uniform should be comfortable and make you feel good.
Changing the location where I work. I work from home, office, different coffee places.
To maximize productivity, I prioritize time management by setting clear goals, practicing effective task prioritization, and minimizing distractions. Additionally, maintaining a healthy lifestyle through regular exercise, adequate sleep, and mindfulness practices helps me stay focused and energized throughout the day.
I used to find it very had to get into coding after a few hours of meetings and I find a 20-30 minute nap to reset works really well to fix that. Of course, it helps that I work from home and my schedule is reasonably flexible, I don't know how that would work in an office environment.
I have a massage bed. I have a timer that goes for 30 minutes. I usually set the timer either 10 or 20 or 30 minutes and use this time to meditate, relax, fall back asleep, or work up the urge to accomplish a task. "Get the task done then you can come back and relax on your massage bed." Worth the investment.
I'm using several notes on Google Keep: a daily todo that I update every night, current quarter goals, next quarter goals, long term goals and a system todo (what I have to do every day to reach the long term goals)
- Get more sleep.
- Eat healthy.
- Regular, daily exercise and flexibility work.
- Automate or delegate everything I can.
Always live within walking or biking distance from my work office.