How I Optimize My Schedule for Productivity & Health

If you're daily life/schedule is a mess and chaotic, it's going to be a real struggle to reach your body composition goals or heal your gut.

Goals are great for knowing where you’re headed, but I’ve never accomplished anything setting goals. Habits and systems, however, have absolutely changed my life.

So I thought I would share a little inside peek into my calendar and how I schedule out my days. Although my schedule shifts and changes based on where I am in the world, it is truly the thing that has kept me grounded and focused this last year and a half of living nomadically.

Here’s how I am currently structuring my work day:

Wake Up

I wake up, naturally, without an alarm, usually around the time the sun rises or right before. I brush my teeth, and drink some water with LMNT electrolytes before making my coffee concoction. I then take my coffee to the roof or an outdoor space and read my book anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on multiple factors. It’s a must to have an outdoor space when I rent an Airbnb, for this reason, allowing me to get the sunrise in my eyes and on my skin first thing in the morning.

Morning Work Session

Then I jump right into work for at least an hour or two, working on the most important project for that day, which usually is writing, creating, or more focused work. I find this time of the day is when I am the most creative and/or focused, so I try to make the most of it.

Meal 1 of the Day

My first meal of the day happens usually after at least an hour (or two) of focused work. It’s usually a fairly large meal, as I tend to usually eat only two meals a day.

Afternoon Work Session

After eating, I will take a walk to a cafe to work for a few more hours. Once my morning work session is over, I find it challenging to focus from home, but working from a cafe helps tremendously for my ADD brain. Sometimes I will even have my breakfast there, depending on the day. I still will work on important and more focused projects during this time, as well, but scattered in during this time would be client calls, client texts/emails, student course questions, important emails, posting instagram stories, and some more administrative tasks.

Workout Session

At this point it’s usually about 1 or 2pm and I’m a bit tapped out with focus. This is where I will take a break to go work out. I find this time is when my body is the strongest. I used to work out fasted first thing in the morning, and not only was that terrible for my adrenals and hormones, but I also felt it was way more challenging to progress my lifts. My workouts consist of a lifting session that lasts anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. After my workout, I will usually have a protein shake to take advantage of the anabolic window to optimize muscle building and fat loss. On days that I don’t workout (as I only workout 4 days a week), I will either take a walk or run some errands, go to the market, or try to do something non-work related for a mental break.

Meal 2 of the Day

This meal usually happens around 4-6pm (at least 4 hours before my bedtime), and again, it’ll be fairly large and high in protein, to ensure I’m hitting my protein needs for the day. Batch cooking always saves the day here, so I can easily heat up an already prepared meal, making meal time quick and easy!

After Dinner

This period of time after dinner varies, but I try to do some light administrative tasks, instagram posts or stories, and anything else that’s lingering for the day, as well as looking at my schedule and tasks for the next day. This is also when I’ll do some red light therapy.

Bedtime

I try to head to bed by 9-10pm, but these days in Portugal it’s been fairly challenging, given the sun doesn’t set until 9pm! I will usually read for a few minutes before I get sleepy-eyed and fall right asleep, with my mouth tape, of course.

I try to keep my weekends free for more down time, like reading, socializing, adventures, exploring, and eating all the food around town. I have been getting one of my workouts in on Saturdays, as I’ve talked about in a previous newsletter, and I also will sometimes reserve weekend mornings for focused projects, in the case I’m behind on something specific.

As you can see, it’s a system but fairly flexible.

Everything goes in my calendar, especially my workouts, so it allows me to stay on track and scheduled, just like I would any other appointment. If things need to shift and move, that’s fine, but I make sure to adjust my calendar, always making sure I fit in my workouts and anything else that’s a priority!

It doesn't always perfectly line up. Sometimes life gets chaotic or other tasks and events take priority, so I allow for the flexibility, but I never let the chaos become the norm or the habit and I always come back to this framework.

Hopefully there was a takeaway or two for you here. This isn’t meant for you to replicate, only to inspire. Everyone is different! But I hope the biggest takeaway for you is to find a system that works for you and stick to it as much as possible. Schedule it in and treat it like any other appointment you make. Show up for yourself.