The Key To Finding Your Most Productive Habits

My super productive life hack is more of a super productive process. It involves 3 parts:

1.) Get adequate sleep.

2.) Wake up early.

3.) Have a coffee.

That’s it.

You see, I’m most productive in the early-morning hours. Like really, really early. I like to be knee-deep in work before the first beam of light breaks the horizon and the sun declares, “Day time is here!”

If I time it right, I can get my first couple writing assignments out of the way just before daybreak, run downstairs, pour my second cup’o’joe and watch the sun extend its rays across the backyard as if they’re limbs reeaaaching out for an early morning stretch.

Those are the best days. But those days only happen if I follow my super productive process accordingly.

Getting adequate sleep, between 6 and 8 hours, is a crucial first step. I like to go to bed at 11 — a reasonable time for a college student. That gives me 7 solid hours of sleep before I naturally wake up at 6AM the next morning (I rarely set alarms anymore; as long as I get enough sleep, my body wakes itself up).

Waking up early, like 6AM, gives me at least an hour-and-a-half to get work done before daybreak. It’s the perfect time to be productive — quiet, dark and peaceful. Early mornings are when I’m at my creative peak — pivotal for a writer.

Having a cup of coffee gets my juices flowing. I like dark roast, black coffee with a small scoop of coconut oil, grass-fed butter or MCT oil — whatever I’m feeling that day. I roll out of bed to a brewing pot (I usually set a delay brew-time for 6AM), waltz downstairs, fix a mug and make my way back to my desk. I swear it’s the highlight of my day.

Habits or ‘life-hacks’ are formed over time.

I wasn’t always the early-to-bed, early-to-rise coffee drinker I am today. Trial and error taught me that my best work comes in the morning, my second-best in the early evening and my worst at midday.

They aren’t easy to master, either.

But they can be, if you pay attention.

Start to notice when you’re most productive. Is it in the morning? After a workout? While listening to music? Just before bed?

Being self-aware is key to finding your productive habits.

So is being happy.

Let me explain.

Doing things when you want to as opposed to when you have to makes them much easier to do, and produces better results 99% of the time.

When I’m in a good mood, I get shit done — plain and simple. When I my 3-step process started becoming a habit, I realized it wasn’t necessarily just the morning or the coffee or the good-night’s rest that made me productive. It was my mood.

Getting enough sleep makes me happy. Being the only one awake in the dark, quiet hours of dawn brings me peace. Coffee — well I just love the stuff. To me, all of this combined is pure serenity.

This little daily routine puts me in the right frame-of-mind, allowing my thoughts to wander freely in the vast ocean that is creativity, while at the same time, staying laser focused toward putting words on screen.

This little ‘life-hack’ is what makes me my most productive self.

And that makes me happy.

Thanks for reading!

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