A couple of weeks ago, I posted my new workout routine and introduced my home gym. For today, I’d like to share my new work routine and the best but simple productivity hack.
I have been an early bird for so many years. I normally wake up at 5 am, start my workout, then I rush to check my email and start work. That’s where my brain is tying up in knots because my experience in my workout, for example, is bitter-sweet. It is because I do not like the feeling of rushing things. I want to take my moment and do deep work without thinking of my next tasks to do. This thought is basically my motivation to manage my time better, be more productive, and enjoy every moment at the same time.
Working from home to me is a gift. We all save a lot of time traveling and commuting. There are pros and cons but to me, the pros outweigh the cons. Yes, we humans are social animals. We all need to see our colleagues in person, face-to-face especially if our activity requires brainstorming, writing on walls, and whatnot.
But work from home gives more quality and quantity especially if you need to block more time and time to focus on a certain task.
The major and simple change in my work routine recently is switching my time from being early to going late and here are the reasons.
Reason #1 – I have a daily “Highlight” of the day. A two-hour time block that requires creativity and focus. The highlight of my day is my personal projects such as writing an e-book or creating a digital course which is the current project I am working on. I needed that time-block to be done in the morning because this requires creative energy to execute.
Because of this, I moved my daily highlight to 9 am to 11 am. Since I am just focusing on this one single task, it is easier for me to insert 10 min. blocks to check messages every hour.
Reason #2 – I need a two-hour time block to do business-related deep work such as document reviews and drafting, product release planning, and cash flow management, etc. I need this time-block during everyone’s downtime so I don’t get distracted with messages. It is challenging to do several tasks in a two-hour time-block while doing a 10min. blocks to check messages.
I moved this from 9 am to 11 am to 8 pm to 10 pm and I work on tasks that are needed one day before so am not bothered about deadlines during the day.
Reason #3 – I need to align my schedule with my significant other so we can spend time together during workouts and/or eating and fasting. She is a night owl, so it is more convenient for her to do the fast in the morning than dinner time. I changed my workout time-block from 5 am to 7 am to 11 am to 1 pm or 5 pm to 7 pm depending on work meeting schedules.
Lunch hour is downtime for everyone so I don’t have the urge to check messages during this time and I can focus on working out without getting bothered.
The last thing is I now wake up around 6 -7 am from 4 – 5 am. I still do my morning routines like meditation, affirmations, reading, and stretches.
So here is my take on the #1 productivity hack.
Make a list. It is that simple.
First, define the time blocks where you are comfortable with depending on the nature of the task and your body clock. Then list those tasks per time block to ensure you don’t miss anything important.
You can be old school and use a pen and paper or use apps like Google Task or Todoist. I use TickTick and divide my time blocks into folders. If you need an all-in-one collaboration platform, we have our own Lark From Servio.
My folders are Highlight, Writing Topics, Deep Work, and Mobile Work, and then set priorities for each task under the folder.
Here’s a template:
Writing Topics
- The #1 Productivity Hack – Priority 1
- My Music and Art Journey – Priority 2
Highlight
- Digital Course Video – Priority 1
- Digital Course Sales Page – Priority 2
Deep work
- Review proposal for client A – Priority 1
- Review team report – Priority 2
Mobile work
- follow up client A – Priority 1
- call person B – Priority 2
Then my calendar looks like this:
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