How Do I Stay Productive?

Over the years I’ve worked out a few quirks of lifestyle that keep me alert, upbeat and effective most of the time. Some of these “rituals” might be useful to you too.

Sleep. Nothing matters more than sleep! Personally, I need around eight hours a night. I use an Oura Ring tracker to watch my pulse, sleep quality and its phases: deep sleep (when the neural connections of the neocortex recover) and REM sleep (the one where we dream). Tracking sleep adds a layer of gamification to life: even if I’ve been invited out for the evening or to a party, I try to get to bed at a sensible hour so I don’t “wreck” my sleep and drag the numbers down. Bedroom temperature — 16 to 18 degrees, full blackout.

Morning. In my younger years I could get dressed and be out the door in eight minutes. Now my morning is full of rituals that, whenever I can, I try to move through slowly: I wash up, take care of myself, do a bit of exercise, read the news, have breakfast and a cup of tea.

Working hours. Maximum light in the room (or sunlight) until 4–5 p.m. Focus — on the main task. No background noise. My phone is almost always on silent. I try to work in phases of 40–45 minutes without interruption, and in the other 15–20 minutes I check and answer calls and messages, take a walk (even if it’s just around the office), stretch my body and rest my eyes. Every hour I drink a glass of water. I eat a solid lunch and try to make all the important decisions before midday.

Evening. I gradually dim the lights from 6–7 p.m., and from 9–10 p.m. I avoid red light entirely (on my computers I use the f.lux app). My phone is set to switch off blue light automatically. When I can, I have dinner around 6–7 p.m., so there are at least five hours left to digest the food before sleep. If I drink wine with dinner, then ideally at least five or six hours should pass before bed, so my pulse doesn’t climb in the early part of the night. A few times a week I go for a walk after dinner, in any weather.

Before sleep. Ideally, an hour or two before bed, no computer, and as little phone as possible. This is my personal pain, because I’m a “night owl,” and an enormous number of thoughts start coming to me right before sleep, often once I’m already in bed. The brain switches on, adrenaline kicks in, and sleep slips later. I use a whole range of methods to fight this: I write my thoughts down in a notebook, listen to audio recordings with gratitude and relaxation techniques, put on binaural delta rhythms for sleep, take magnesium as a supplement and CBD oil, and meditate — visualizing objects or the space around me in the finest detail.

Getting around. I gave up driving myself a long time ago, because it drained the energy out of me. Our brain has a limited reserve for making good decisions over the course of a day. And every turn, lane change or overtake is a small decision — but a decision all the same, and it spends down that reserve. Almost always, if the weather and the distance allow, I prefer to go on foot: I walk, look around me, and think my own thoughts.

Flights. Frequent flying wears you out over time. If the flight is short, I try not to break up the day but to fly in the evening — so that, say, I take off at 7 p.m., land at 10 p.m., get home and go straight to bed, without disrupting my sleep schedule or stealing working hours.

Sport. There’s nothing better for the brain than physical activity. I do functional training and play tennis.

Time alone with myself. Every day I try to find a chance to be alone, without the outside “noise.” It’s the perfect time for reading. I don’t watch television at all — not in the slightest — though I sometimes allow myself a few selected clips on YouTube.

Rest and travel. As long as I stay reachable, rest recharges my battery, and travel widens my horizons, which leads to new ideas and unconventional solutions.

Continuous growth. I’m constantly looking for ways to stimulate the growth of new neural connections. It might be studying a difficult discipline, or simply trying something new.

Here’s to maximum productivity and a full tank of energy for us all! 😎