Today, I want to bring you all along on a “work” day in my life.
I’ll be sharing some tips, tricks and my thought process.
Now, while I know that doing YouTube isn't something that most people can relate to,
I've definitely done the 9-5s, the office jobs, school, university, and I'd like to
think that this video can provide value for people in different situations.
So, it's currently 7.30, and…
I’m excited to get this day started!
I just need to take this little guy outside first or else he'll confuse my lap for the
loo.
While Fred is searching for the perfect spot to mark his territory, I’d like to present
to you what I have planned for the day.
I use the app Things 3 to keep track of my to-dos, or as I like to call them, targets.
You’ll notice throughout the day that I’m quite the app fanatic.
Not because they’re all necessary, but mostly because I think they’re fun to use!
And if I can sprinkle some enjoyment on something that is otherwise kind of plain and dull,
I’ll do that.
Main targets.
These are the most important things that need to get done, and I keep it short, 1-3 things:
Film this video Work on an upcoming video
Finish writing for a project that I'm working on
Small targets.
These are also things that need to get done, but they’re not as important or urgent as
the main targets:
Workout Emails
Send out invoices Work on a pitch
In-betweens.
I used to call these “free time”, but I decided I didn’t like that wording, because
it assumed that anything that didn’t fall under the category “free time” was captive
time.
Anyway, the in-betweens are things I do daily, pretty much by default.
Some are just maintenance, some are entertainment.
I don’t put these things into Things 3, and I don’t plan on filming them, but I
figured I’d tell you about them to let you know that there are moments when I pause,
and they’re important:
Skincare Shower
Cook Feed, play, cuddle, train, take out Fred
Journal Read
Draw Social media
Clean
We are back, and I’d like to share tip number one, which is dressing up.
I work from home, so technically I could just wake up and walk straight to my desk in my
PJs and messy hair.
But that doesn’t make me feel good.
It makes me feel… lazy.
I prefer to change into a comfortable dress.
Tip number two is preparation, which is just another word for reducing friction, because
friction wastes energy and demotivates us.
Studies have shown that most people are most productive in the morning, and I don’t want
to spend that peak productivity time doing things that could’ve been done the night
before, such as putting away dishes, emptying my memory card, setting up my camera or looking
for my workout clothes.
Basically, anything I can do the night before to set myself up for a friction-less morning,
I’ll do.
For that same reason, I prefer doing some work on my computer for 30 minutes before
making breakfast.
It gets the ball rolling.
Breakfast, check!
And now I'm just going to continue where I left off, only this time, I’ll be using
the pomodoro technique, which is my third tip.
So, with pomodoro, you basically work or study in intervals of 25 minutes with 5 minute breaks,
and that is supposed to help you stay focused.
You can have longer intervals but 25 minutes is the standard.
You don’t need an app or anything for it, you can just set a timer on your phone..
However, I like to use the app Forest because I like making things a bit more fun whenever
I can.
In short, the way it works is that for every 25 minutes that I complete, I grow a tree.
If at any time I decide to leave the app and do other things on my phone, the tree is going
to die, unless I immediately go back to the app.
And I’m obviously not about to kill off an entire tree just to check instagram, so
it works!
So, my plan right now is to continue working on the upcoming video, and I’d like to briefly
share with you what that process looks like.
So firstly, today we are sponsored by LogiTech, and full disclosure, they sent me this keyboard
case which is their Combo Touch a while back to try out, and it’s now attached to my
iPad at all times.
So, when I’m planning out a video, I prefer using my iPad Pro as opposed to my Macbook.
And the reason for that is that, with the Combo Touch attached, I’m able to easily
switch between different modes of working, such as reading, typing, sketching and viewing.
So, when I’m just starting to brainstorm for a video, I typically go over some of my
journal entries, which I'm still using a physical notebook for.
I go over my book notes and other random notes which are typically in Notion.
And then, sometimes, I like to illustrate my ideas, either in a physical notebook, or
in any app that allows me to doodle, such as the Notes app.
Depending on the topic and type of video, I’ll do quite a bit of reading as well;
articles, research, books, much of which I will have saved onto Instapaper which is where
I store articles that I want to be able to go back to.
I’ll sometimes also chat with friends and with you all on Instagram to get different
perspectives on things.
As cohesive thoughts are starting to form in my mind, I put them into a google docs,
which is where I’m currently writing out my notes and scripts for these videos.
If you’d like a more in-depth video on this process, please let me know in the comments.
As a creative, the versatility of the Combo Touch has elevated my workflow.
Not to mention it also keeps my iPad protected, it has a nice woven fabric, it’s back lit
so I can use it when it gets dark, there’s a spot for your apple pencil.
I don’t have an apple pencil, I have a free-bee version, but even that fits.
If you want to check out or purchase the Combo Touch for Ipad, you can click the link in
my description box.
Alright, time to plant some trees.
We are 5 trees deep and I'm about to get a workout in, which is the fourth tip that I
have.
Moving your body is beneficial to pretty much every aspect of life as I’m sure most of
you know; even a 10 minute walk is better than nothing at all.
Now, I’m not someone who gets super excited to work out.
But what helps me is either working out with someone in real life, or, when that’s not
an option, like today, I’ll follow a workout online, and my go-to lately has been growingannanas
here on YouTube.
(film parts of workout, showering, making lunch, eating)
Alright, Fred and I are both well-fed and happy.
We ate and then we went for a longer walk with a friend.
It’s such a beautiful day!
Now, I’m going to check off some of my small targets which are mostly administrative stuff.
So, e-mails, invoices, things like that.
Now, I like batching, which is my fifth tip.
Batching basically means grouping similar tasks together and doing them all at once,
instead of doing them separately and more frequently.
This is something that I’m trying to become better at, for instance, with my newsletter.
It would make a whole lot more sense for me (from a productive perspective) to write out
four newsletters, once a month, instead of sitting down to write one each week.
I’m done with all my small targets, and I’m going to take an hour or so to do some
in-betweens.
I’ve started playing around in Procreate, just to kind of explore my artistic side more.
I’m also going to Play with Fred and basically just do whatever I want that isn’t related
to “work”, and I’ll actually put this as my sixth tip.
At any workplace, breaks are crucial; to recharge our batteries, to boost our performance, but
I also think that the way we spend those breaks is important.
Like, I don’t think a 5 minute break should be spent talking about work.
I think those 5 minutes would be much better spent watching cat videos.
The point is to detach from work and to do something that forces us to focus on something
else.
Alright, I’m about to grow the last trees for today working on this project that I mentioned
in the beginning.
I just looked it over and I don’t think I’m going to finish it tonight, but that’s
okay.
I’m going to work on it some more tomorrow and hopefully finish it then.