Weekly review: week 33, 2023

Productivity

Most of the week was spent on leaving things in a good state before heading out on vacation, but thankfully I wrapped up most of those things by Wednesday, so that extra margin for dealing with some last minute stuff was very welcome.

Key metrics for Week 33:

• Work hours: 42 hr 36 min (⇣17.46%).
• Focus time: 22 hr 9 min (⇡2%).
• Meetings: 7 hr 42 min (⇣9%).

I spent most of this time coding (35%), async messaging and communication (22%), and video conferencing (18%).

Health

I've been working out every day for over a week: two very long runs (15,4 and 17,1 km each), and still making some solid progress with strength training. I leave the stationary bike as cardio for the days when I don't run to give my legs some rest.

Key metrics for Week 33:

• Worked out 7 days (⇡16.66% vs. last week):
  • 3x strength training sessions (⇡50%).
  • 1x indoor stationary bike (24,1 km total, ⇡15.86%).
  • 3x outdoor runs (36,7 km total, ⇡129.37%).
• Sleep: 4h 44 min daily average (⇣22.61%).
• Alcohol: 1 drink. (⇣50%).
• Meditation: meditated 5 times this week.

Media

Books:

• Continuing Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett (62% done).
• Finished What I talk about when I talk about running, by Haruki Murakami.
• Continuing Die With Zero, by Bill Perkins (32% done).
• Started Discipline is Destiny, by Ryan Holiday (2% done).

Series:

• Foundation: season 2, episode 6.
• The Bear: season 2 (yep, the whole season).

YouTube videos:

• The Most Overlooked Productivity Superpower.

Questions

What went well this week?

Two keywords: margin and focus. Building in some margin creates a forcing function that acts as the opposite of Parkinson's law: since the work will expand to fill the time available for its completion, by adding that restriction, the important work becomes more visible, and then it's easier to focus on it.

Focus is the other keyword, and jumping into the most important item first thing in the morning, even before my morning coffee, for 1 to 2 hours, has been a game changer. Making that sort of progress before 9am is a great way to start the day.

What could be improved?

I'm experimenting with a way to keep this early morning schedule with a couple of breaks during the day for recovery, and then ensure I'm done with work earlier than usual.

I have a bit of a draft of certain key milestones I want to hit every day, and I'm trying to see how that works out. I'm using this vacation time as a way to experiment a bit with this as well, because it's a perfect time to play with my schedule and see what feels best for me naturally.

What are the goals for next week?

• Chill out, and enjoy my vacation 🌴.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, or questions, feel free to contact me on Twitter.