If I do not find the work meaningful, the tactics below are futile
If I am stressed, sad, tired, or tense, these tactics aren't going to help until I work through my feelings.
Physiology
Sleep 8 hours and go to bed/wake up at a specific time
Fast from 8 pm-midday
Avoid carb-heavy meals (especially breakfast) and refined sugars to regulate energy throughout the day
Maintain good posture and core strength, or aches will eventually distract
Wait an hour or two before drinking coffee in the morning. Then drink tea. Generally, 2 cups maximum and never after 3 pm.
Environment
Keep a tidy physical environment with mise en place
Keep a tidy digital environment, including folder systems, notes, Notion pages, bookmarks, tabs, windows
Plan
Prioritise tasks with the Eisenhower method
Spend a suitable amount of time planning and researching before diving into work
Lean on a system to capture and organise information as I go - for example, if I stumble upon an interesting article, I save it in Readwise. If I have a fleeting thought, I capture it in Drafts for later
Work
If needed, negotiate a 25 minute focus timer to settle into tasks
Work in 90 minute intervals
Remember to recharge between intervals - for example, NSDR, a walk in the sun, phoning a friend, or playing with the dog
Work with noise-canceling headphones on to eliminate outside distractions
Avoiding distractions
I turn DnD on my iPhone but also configure it to allow time-sensitive notifications like login and bank alerts
Disallow most apps from sending notifications at all - for example, Amazon or even email (Amazon just want me to spend money and I will tackle email in a batch)
No work email or work Slack on my phone unless I am out and about during work hours for any reason
Hide feeds and comments with the Hide Feed Chrome extension ($5/month)
When I am stuck
Work on something "easier" to regain momentum
Boost my energy with coffee and a cake 🍰
Breathe
Fidget my leg
Change the music. For example, lo-fi sends me to sleep in the evening, so I play house mixes on YouTube instead
Avoid anything that depletes energy
Even though flicking through TikTok, Twitter, or HN sounds relaxing, it does not rejuvenate me. I would be much more rested if I did some push-ups or walked the dog