Instead of a rigid schedule for work and life, I shifted to an adaptable planning, based on my energy levels to enjoy life more, be more productive, and avoid burnout.
Knowing my history of repeated overuse injuries and my tendency to bite off more than I can chew, and wanting to better enjoy my self-employed status, I changed to a much more flexible timetable for my whole professional and personal life.
Energy based planning and activities worked very well for me knowing that my mood and my physical state change often even in the same day.
Still I have major themes I follow as guides.
These themes are recommended for every well-balanced life: spirituality/religion, work, sport, social life, and hobbies.
In my case:
– Spirituality/religion is Islam: studying Islam for 500 minutes a week instead of a daily fixed number of minutes, this brings more flexibility
– Work: as a self-employed person, instead of working 9 to 5, I work before sunrise when I can, and at night if I still have energy and focus. Meanwhile, if I’m tired or have worked on a large project, I take a couple of days off or do only essential things—like accepting future projects. I can also simple shift to training videos or listening audiobooks as this require less energy.
– Sport: It is scientifically recommended to walk after eating to lower blood sugar spikes, and to walk in the morning to lubricate the joints, so I try to stick to this as a rule. Plus, I walk and cycle without a fixed time, depending on my energy and comfort/pain level.
– Social life: I go with friends to cafés and sit at home with family members, chatting with them when I need to socialize and take time off the screen.
– Hobbies: cooking, computer, reading and writing. This blog itself is a form of therapy as writing requires research and getting deep into specific subject. If I am low on energy and focus I can write a few notes on my bloc note or use a voice recorder.
I fit all these “projects” into my weekly schedule, depending on the freelance work assigned to me and my energy level. Generally, I spend a block of time ranging from half a day to three days on one project. This helps me reach a state of deep work and maintain a high level of focus and quality.
This strategy is essential for getting better results, as I focus on hitting milestones rather than just putting in time. Plus, deep work leads to insights.
I adopted this approach because a relative who also has health issues suggested it. Before, when I focused heavily on productivity and tried to reach peak performance in both sports and work, it backfired
Now, after about 10 months of this overhaul in how I structure my activities, I feel better and avoid the tunnel vision that used to keep me from seeing the bigger picture.
This improvement in my work schedule came months after another pivot, when I started being more practical than theoretical. As a result, I became more productive at work, as well as calmer and less stressed.
Finally, I use a habit app on my tablet it used to have around more than 10 daily habits I had to check, this became a source of stress, and years ago I kept trying to put more habits. Hopefully, I grew aware that this was not the right way. Now, I have 3 daily habits and 2 weekly goals.