Introduction
I have undergone a significant evolution in my understanding and application of productivity. This journey reflects my learning curve from a scattered focus to a more streamlined, effective approach, highlighting the importance of concentration, prioritization, and disciplined lifestyle choices.
Early Challenges
Initially, I struggled with productivity, primarily because my attention was divided across a wide array of interests and activities. My involvement ranged from politics (democratic AND independent AND conservative if you can believe that…) to cryptocurrency, festival creation, and content creation on YouTube, TikTok, and Substack, and MORE! This diverse engagement resulted in spreading myself too thin, preventing me from excelling in any particular area or developing a coherent personal brand.
Realization and Shift
I realized that as I grew older, focusing became increasingly crucial to avoid stagnation in mediocrity. I learned that to escape being generally mediocre, it was essential to concentrate on fewer, more impactful projects.
See I’m Finally Learning How To Focus and Hedging Has Been Holding Me Back.
Current Practices
Main Project Focus
- Edge City: This is my primary project, where I devote most of my attention, setting and tackling quarterly priorities.
- I advise a small number of other projects that relate to Edge City. Which is VERY important to me.
Planning and Review
- Weekly Review Process: Every Friday evening, I use a template to evaluate the previous week's accomplishments, failures, and set new goals aligned with my life priorities.
- Monthly Reviews: These are dedicated to assessing major goals, analyzing achievements, and planning the next month's activities.
- I even do Quarterly and Annual Reviews.
Lifestyle Choices
- Diet and Health: I avoid video games and have fine-tuned my diet to high protein, low carbs. I also stopped drinking coffee as it adversely affects my energy levels. I don’t really watch TV shows and very sparsely watch movies.
- Reading: Regular reading is a part of my routine, enhancing my creativity and providing insights relevant to my work.
- Fun: I plan to go out 1-2 times a week when I’m around people my age and living near fun things. Fun is very important to me. See: In 2024, I pledge to be more FUN
Time Management
- Calendar Utilization: I meticulously block out hour-long work segments in the mornings for focused work. It’s like prompting for chatGPT except I’m the machine. See: Use Your Calendar To ‘Prompt’ Your Brain Like ChatGPT, Change Your Life Forever
- Routine: My typical work day starts at 530 AM and goes until 1 PM. Around 2pm, I head to the gym. Then I eat around 4:30pm. Then I relax, read, and have an early bedtime at like 8pm.
Social Media and Tools
- Social Media: I limit my time on social media, often scrolling on it only while at the gym.
- Microsoft To Do: I use this tool religiously to organize tasks for various projects, including personal matters.
- Tab Snooze: There are cases where I want to revisit a tab so I’ll snooze it. Or have a tab pop up every day for me (for whatever reason).
- Other Tools: https://substack.garysheng.com/p/utilitybelt
Conclusion
My approach to productivity has transitioned from a multifaceted, unfocused effort to a more targeted and disciplined strategy. This method combines strict scheduling, health-conscious choices, and strategic use of tools and self-reflection, demonstrating a holistic approach to improving both personal and professional productivity.