#49: How to keep up with a full-time job and other interests
A glimpse into my system
Hey friends,
Welcome to the 49th edition of the “Level Up Ladder” newsletter.
I can’t believe next week is going to be the 50th newsletter I send in a row. I am very excited about this, and I am preparing something special for the occasion.
1/ Some updates from my side
It was a sunny weekend, and I took advantage by taking some longer walks and doing a running workout at the stadium.
And a terrific 2+ hours of training for Hyrox (it was one of the worst ever).
Oh, and we assembled a bookcase. Do you like it? We do, and I’ll post another photo once we fill it up.
As my first Hyrox event is approaching, and running is a big part of it, I need to become better and better at it.
Running in zone 2 has helped, as I can now run 10K+ with an average HR of less than 140 bpm. This is quite good, as it means I can effortlessly cover longer distances.
I have a half-marathon in a month or so, and I will see there how efficient my training was.
If all goes well, I am thinking about a full marathon in the autumn or at the beginning of next year. We’ll see.
Other than that, I spent most of my mornings working on the individual project for my MBA Finance class, and I’m glad to have submitted it way before the deadline. It was a very interesting project, as we had to choose one top company in the world (I chose Netflix), analyze its financials, and make recommendations on how to raise more capital, either through debt or equity.
I am learning a lot from the MBA, and I’m very happy I took this opportunity.
It’s also a lot more demanding than I would have expected it, but I can handle it based on my productivity system.
That I will explore more next.
2/ Handling a full-time job, a side hustle, and more
I do a lot. And I don’t mean to brag about it, but it is the reality.
work
doing an MBA
training every day
writing and engaging online
There are other things too, as I try to spend time with my loved ones and I love to read books and watch movies. But I won’t get into these in as much detail for now.
How do I do it all? It’s a simple concept, although it took me years to implement it properly.
And it will take a few more years to master it fully.
1. Weekly review and plan
It all starts with the weekly review and plan.
Every Monday morning, I take 20–40 minutes to go through what I achieved in the last week and plan my next one.
The weekly review includes:
going through last week’s goals
going through my habits
figuring out what I can do better
Then I plan the next week, mainly concerning:
going through my list of goals
figuring out which one of them I can work towards this week
setting up my main goal and 2-3 secondary goals for the week
put on the calendar the important meetings and appointments
divide my tasks for each day of the week
Of course, things might change during the week, but I have the full “skeleton” of it.
2. “Division of interest”
In his book, “The 3 Alarms”, Erik Partaker talks about how he divides his day based on 3 alarms on his phone: health, wealth, and relationships.
I do something similar, only that I divide it into the following:
my projects: writing on LinkedIn, engaging, writing this newsletter, etc → from 7 AM to 8:30 AM
my main job as a Deloitte director → from 9 AM to 6/6:30 PM
my personal time: working out, having dinner with my wife, going out, watching TV, reading, etc → from 6:30 PM to 10 PM
Of course, these are not set in stone, as I might have a call for work later, or something comes up and I need to wake up later, etc. but I try to keep it at least 4 out of the 5 days
3. The Daily Plan
I start each morning by journaling and setting up my tasks for the day.
Journaling helps me understand my mood and set up expectations.
I then go through my tasks and meetings set in the weekly review and, based on what came up during the week, adapt that list.
I set one main goal for the day and start working.
4. No distractions
I am a big fan of deep work, and I try to get as many blocks of uninterrupted work as possible. I have a shortcut on my iPhone that sets a timer for 45 minutes and puts the phone on DND during this period. So, I work on the things that are important to me without responding to WhatsApp messages or browsing the web.
This single trick makes me a lot more productive than most people.
I won’t get into the studies about how long it takes to get back to a task once you are interrupted (it’s more than 20 minutes, by the way) as you realize this yourself.
5. Work in Bulk and automation
I try to use deep work sessions to work in bulk on different activities.
For example, I try to use a chunk of 60 minutes every Sunday evening to write all my LinkedIn posts for the following week. I then schedule them to be posted around the same time using a tool or LinkedIn’s scheduler.
I don’t have email notifications, and I try to read them in bulk every couple of hours and take action based on them. I also couldn’t respond right away because I have a lot of meetings during the day.
Generally, if I have something to do, like a project, I prefer to work on it for 45 minutes continuously rather than dividing that time during the day. It’s a lot more efficient for me.
And that’s about it. In a nutshell.
Of course, the system is a lot more complex, and it starts with setting up my vision, and my goals and following them through.
How many tasks I plan per day, and so on.
If you want to learn more about my productivity system, remember that I have created a full course about it: Get the course
You can get it for ONLY 29$ if you use the coupon BF2023.
PS: I’m running this sale as I plan to re-record the course soon, and it will go up to 199.
3/ Recommendations
The Gentlemen on Netflix
I am a fan of Guy Ritchie, and this series is quite enjoyable. It’s a spin-off from a movie from a couple of years ago.
Dukes, drug dealers, violence, and comedy—you have them all.
Dan Carlin Hardcore History
I remembered this week that this used to be one of my favorite podcasts. Dan Carlin talks for hours about a history subject, like the Second World War, or the Persian Empire.
It’s what I listened to before falling asleep last week.
Unfortunately, only some of the episodes are free, on all podcast apps or his website, but it’s enough to get an idea of the show.
Planning the weekly tasks
Here’s a video of Tiago Forte, one of my favorite productivity experts and authors, showing his process of planning his weekly tasks
Thank you for reading, and let me know if you liked something in particular in this newsletter.
I hope you have a great weekend, friends!
Leo
P.S.: If you want to read my content daily, don’t forget to follow me on Linkedin.
P.S. 2: If you want to take your productivity to the next level, check out my extensive Productivity course that can accelerate your career.