This is not a super comprehensive list of what I do to be productive. In fact I'll try to update this list as I learn new things or remove ones that don't work that well.
When I was living in Toronto during 2023 I realized these were some of the most important things to be very productive in my day-to day work:
Continous bouts of work
I get anxious if a lot of days pass without making significant progress on my goals. If I spend too much time away from my tasks, without an intentional reason I start to feel improductive and distracted, which is something that makes me think I'm being disorganized and chaotic. To avoid that, I try to prioritize doing consistent bouts of work everyday.
A normal day of productivity for me is around 5-6 hours of intense deep work. A very good day tends to be in the 8-10 hours of work. Though that's rare to achieve and depends on the type of work I'm doing and on the rest of activities scheduled on my day.
Environment
Sunlight
Once I wake up I get some sunlight. It wakes me up and improves my mood. I like to go on walks, though that's a bit complicated if you live in Mexico City, so when I'm there I quickly walk around my block and get back home. If I'm in another more decent city, I try to walk at least 15 minutes. When I lived in Cambridge, MA I used to wake up and go for a run or to a climbing gym near my apartment.
Caffeine Intake
I drink coffee every day. My friend Ray only drinks caffeine when he truly needs it. Everyone has its own rituals around this.
I like to make my coffee on a Bialetti Moka Pot (Bialetti is the best, don't buy any of those designer moka pots. I also recommend that if you can, buy it in Italy, it's at least 20-30% cheaper than if you buy it in another country that doesn't have a clear-cut coffee culture). It makes 200ml of coffee that I split with my brother in half so each of us ingests only 100ml of espresso. Then I add some milk—not because I don't enjoy espresso, but because I like to be warm while working and this helps to increase that time.
I make another moka pot at 1-2pm if I'm on a tight deadline, but otherwise, my parents have one of those americano coffee machines, so I'll just drink one or two cups of that when I finish my 100ml.
I know scientists say you should delay caffeine intake for 2 hours after waking up. But I just can't do it! I like to wake up and get straight to work, and caffeine helps to do that. Though I will try to delay the caffeine intake because you do tend to feel the crash after lunch.
Music
I like listening to music while working. Different types of work require different types of music.
- I like designing with intense pop music in spanish once I have a design solution in mind and I just have to execute it.
- I listen to mexican lofi when writing articles. It feels cosy yet mexican. My family often complains about the sounds of Mexico (fierro viejo, el gas, etc) and while they're not my favorite sounds, hearing them mixed with some hip hop and jazz does make them sound better. (Perhaps one day a fierro viejo merchant will adopt them as his official sound).
- I listen to the Cosy Jazz playlist on Spotify when doing intense, deep work that requires me to hear my thoughts in a more rigorous way. I also like nature sounds for this type of work.
- When working out at the gym I play a podcast or a reggaeton + pop spanish music playlist. More recently I've started to leave the music at home and go to the gym to listen my own head.
Overcoming discomfort
Sometimes you feel a certain resistance to keep working or to even get started. I've experienced that if you start doing it, the feeling quickly disappears. "Warming up" also tends to work but you need to make sure it's not a distraction in itself. "Scrolling Twitter" is not a warm-up. Doing something that engages your brain like writing is.
Sustaining flow
Once you're working and you get into flow, you should strive to maintain it. I tell myself to "Overcome the fatigue" rather than listen to it. Doing this vey often results in 30min-2 hours extra of sustained flow state. Of course, this also requires you learn to listen to your bodily cues for indication that you should stop so you don't burn out in your first try. I've found a very productive work/rest split tends to be 1h30m work and 30m mindful break.
Note: Pomodoros might work for some people. They've never worked for me. I just can't stick to the timer.
Btw, in case you're wondering why walking in Mexico City is terrible, consider this: No street lights on most streets, poor transit rules and even poorer enforcement of said rules, high air pollution that makes your nostrils cry and your throat to burn in just two minutes of walking, plus the constant (although recently decreasing) feeling of insecurity everywhere you go, at any time of day.