I wanted to silence external and internal doubt, so I started documenting my days. I kept myself accountable and discovered a source of boundless motivation.
Not a single wasted second
Here’s what happened on a truly exceptional day, July 29th. This is the first day I rated an eleven out of ten. It was a day filled with accomplishments, a testament to the power of productivity and self-discipline.
I got up at 5, as usual.
Then, I wrote two blogs, “Delete Photos Now” and “Life Lessons from a Vacation.” I published them, which also took some time. Additionally, I started to write a blog, although I quit after 400 words because its complexity far exceeds my skills and life experience.
To balance writing, I drafted, edited, and uploaded a two-minute time-lapse video of Catalonia to my timelapse* channel, something I had been doing for two years by now. The thumbnail took ten minutes to create.
Then, I practiced speaking for a few minutes. Afterward, I made more minor preparations to work on a 30-page school assignment the next day, which also took a few minutes.
That was the work for the day, and after the gym, I decided to go to the library. I read an entire book on digital photography, which inspired me to take photos of my room.
It was already bedtime, 21:00. But I decided to go further. I decided to record a few because I practiced speaking in front of the camera during my vacation in Spain and haven’t recorded videos in a while. I recorded* four videos: “Sacrifice Music,” “Get up at 5”, “Life Lessons from a Vacation,” and “Cold Showers,” every video being seven to twenty minutes long in its unedited form. I saw them more or less as speaking and thinking exercises because the quality was not too high. In between the videos, I meditated.
I went to bed at midnight, three hours later than usual. What a day. Not a single wasted second.
It was truly extraordinary, indeed.
I don’t want to mislead you. This day was extraordinary, even by my standards. Why was that day so productive?
I was used to it. In late June, not too long ago, I experienced a period of 'burnout '. This term refers to a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It lasted for ten days after nine hundred uninterrupted work days. This was followed by a less productive period, which ended after a rejuvenating two-week vacation with my family in Spain. The burnout was a clear sign that I was used to maintaining a high level of performance.
Optimized life. Discipline was something I knew pretty well. I didn’t listen to music, I didn’t touch warm water, I never ate sweets, … My lifestyle, diet, and routines were remarkably optimized towards productivity. Achieving an optimal lifestyle took two years of self-improvement.
Plans and purpose. The tasks I completed weren’t new; I’ve done them countless times before. Furthermore, I knew which order I was doing them in, enabling me to make every second matter; I didn’t sit down and think what I would do next.
Cut out wasted micro-moments
I once sat on a one-hour train ride with my book on the table. I read only five pages. Where did the hour go?
Five-minute tasks usually take more than five minutes. Recording a ten-minute video usually takes two hours. If I’m fully transparent, sometimes recording a ten-minute video takes three weeks. Why? Because of wasted micro-moments.
Writing this sixty-word paragraph takes no more than five minutes. Looking at the clock for a second, going to the toilet, taking a sip from the bottle, and then looking out of the window easily take ten minutes. These ten minutes disappear; you never remember going to the toilet and looking out of the window.
The potential for wasted micro-moments is endless. Looking away for three seconds is three seconds one could have spent working. I’m not saying it’s possible to be in hyperfocus all day long. I want you to try to eliminate as many wasted micro-moments as possible. The goal is to focus as much as possible and to work deeply. Deep, focused work is almost a sublime experience.
I can write twice as fast without looking at my phone, going to the toilet, or looking out the window. Picture this. You replace two hours of draining, shallow work with one hour of deep work and enter the magical flow. You get more pleasure and results for less time spent working. The free time can be used for more work, reading, sports, socialization, or adventures.
After my burnout, I learned something. Working intensely without distractions is faster and more pleasurable, but I can also prevent burnout to some extent. If you work shallowly for fourteen hours a day, you will burn out much faster than someone who works six hours deeply and spends two hours in nature.
What to wear and what to cook
What you eat or wear absolutely matters. Food is one of the many keys to your health and productivity, and your appearance is one of the many keys to your status.
The questions are the problem. Decision drag, the mentally stressful state experienced while overthinking a decision, is a performance decimator and the leading cause of these wasted micro-moments. The more time and energy you spend deciding what to wear or what to cook, the less time you have for actual work or leisure activities.
Every conscious decision drains your capacity. Hence, deciding what to wear and what to cook wastes focus. It’s easy to do nothing for a solid ten minutes thinking about what to cook, which is already half the time for most meals. Arguing in your mind and overthinking make it even worse.
When I overthink where I want to wander, I usually overthink for more than it would take to get there. For example, I exhaust my creativity for the day at noon and then overthink where to go. Instead of going right then and there, I often waste two hours working very shallowly and going only then.
There are a few ways to decrease decision drag.
Personally, I wasn’t concerned about my looks for the first 15 years of my life. I made my hair for the first time in March 2023, as I started to create videos and got a crush. By then, I had already been on the path to success for two years. I focused on what was essential.
You perform well under pressure because you know exactly what to do. You don't hesitate or procrastinate; you do it.
Cut out as many delays as possible. Focus on what matters.
Put passion into everything you do.
*In June 2024, I deleted every video and started to enhance every text on my website. That means these videos and texts may no longer be available.