The Ultimate Creative Hack For Productivity
True Story that happened today.
I woke up at 4am all excited and ready to start my day.
Morning Breathing Exercise for 15 Mins — Check!
15 mins Meditation — Check!
5 mins of stretching & exercise — Check!
Ice Cold Shower — Check!
Finally, I sit down on my workstation ready to allow all my creativity to flow, to ooze out and for me to just pour all my excitement into my work!
The iMac is on, my fingers are ready to dance, my mind is racing and then as usual I wait for my magic cup of espresso to arrive — which will always be placed on my left hand side (courtesy my sweet, loving wife) and then…..She tell me “Darling, Spressoo finish darling”
Are you serious?
Are you seriously serious?
How in the world can I perform without my morning shot of espresso?
And where in the world would I get an espresso at 5am? That too when I stay in the middle of a bloody forest in Thailand?
Pissed off….I just ignore the thought….
I imagine ‘happy thoughts’ and try to get back into my zone….
“The Happy Zone”…..
And then I start typing out my creative article for my creative blog
30 mins pass by and I don’t even realize it…..I am going deeper and deeper into the zone — when suddenly Mr. VIP client who has my VIP exclusive number sends me a message from USA — apparently he has an article which has to be released asap and he needs my input asap!
Well, given that my VIP client pays me VIP amounts of money — I cannot say no to him….so I end up breaking my own self-imposed rule of no-interruptions and address his query.
An hour later with $500 deposited in my account — we are both happy and I am back into “The Zone”….. or at least I try to get into “The Zone”
Well….slow and steady it begins to creep in…I am getting excited….and then I realize — its time for my breakfast! My faithful Oat-Meal + Low Fat Skimmed Milk + Protein Powder — something I need to take especially after my Bariatric Surgery.
My sugar levels are going down and I need to maintain them right…..when suddenly my wife tells me again… “Darling, I forget. No Meek, Darling. (she pronounces Milk as Meek). We can buy 7/11”.
Now my blood has started to boil.
I am pissed off.
Not joking or exaggerating.
I am pissed off.
The only thing my wifey has to do — is ensure I am 100% supported and helped to do my work. That’s all I ask my wife to do — to be in charge of the house and for her to support me — and she is not doing it.
I am in two minds — should I confront her about this and tell her that I am upset and that this is unacceptable? Or should I continue with my work?
I choose the latter.
So now, I am irritated, and upset, and hungry. And nothing is going my way. And on top of that I have had an interruption from my VIP Client.
I check the clock — not good.
3 hours have passed by.
As per my target — I should have completed at least 10,000 words by now.
Not good.
And so I ask my wifey — “Please get me a Red Bull”
Wifey responds “Darling No have. Finished”
My temperature increases.
The finally I ask my wifey — “Please bring me a my cold bottle of water”
My wifey responds “Darling, your water finish. You want other water?”
Now before you jump into what is MY water versus OTHER water — let me make you understand — In Thailand, the locals are accustomed to drinking the water that they get delivered to them in their customized 5 liter bottles. I have tried drinking from it — only to end up getting sick with diarrhoea. So I have my own ‘bottled’ water that I get from 7/11.
My wifey looking at the fact that I conveniently drink from fancy bottled water bottles — well she also developed the habit. I don’t mind she drinking what I buy for me — but please — at least replenish the stock when its over!
Now I was pissed.
Critical Level “Pissed Off” Reached!
What must a married man do to get his life easier?
All I want to do is my bloody work without getting all these hiccups in my way!
And so I call my wifey and then want her to hear the stuff I am ready to spew in her direction — you know — the basic “Caveman Rant” about how a man should have his shit in place — that kind of talk.
As soon as I call my wifey, I guess it must have been the tone because the minute she came and stood in front of me, I opened my mouth, raised my hand to being my fine oratory and then I saw her face.
She looked like a frightened kitten, slightly shivering, afraid, worried what I was going to say. After all her previous relationships were abusive. Why wouldn’t this tattooed monster be any different? Especially when she knew she had messed up?
I looked at her — and she looked at me.
Our eyes met and I saw her big, beautiful, black eyes ready to tear up. All it needed from my side was a loud voice. And behind her, hiding were my 2 small dogs peeking in fear. Even they knew something was wrong. They were not wagging their tail. Both were just peeking to see what would happen next.
And then, I told her…. “Well baby, lets go to 7/11 and buy milk, espresso and your favorite cake from Amazon Cafe — what do you say?”
My wifey’s face brightened up and so we went for shopping and quickly came back. Quickly as in after 1 hour.
And when I came back home — well, life decided to be even more generous with me. There was no electricity in the house.
So much for a “Creative Day to get into “The Zone”.
I took a deep big sigh.
Thought about what to do next….
And since I got a headache by then — decided to go for a Thai Massage — which apparently turned out to be bad as that lady was busy looking at her phone — no idea what she was doing.
Following that, me and wifey went to the market, purchased some stuff for the house — including the bottled water. And before I knew it — it was 6:30pm.
I sat down once again at my work station — looking at my iMac. Completely upset. Drained out. Pissed off. Upset. Seriously F**ked up. I mean, come on…..do I really deserve this? That too when I am in THE ZONE?
I saw on my chair feeling lifeless and defeated…upset because I couldn’t do any work. When suddenly — the solution just appeared before my eyes.
Immediately, I told my wife again — lets go and get the Amazon Special Extra Strong Espresso. Surprised that we would once again go to Amazon Cafe to get a Espresso — that too in the evening (I never have coffee 6 hours before bed time), she accompanied me. But as I was about to leave — I popped a sleeping pill in my mouth and let her know — We will go and buy the Espresso, come back and then after sometime, I will sleep — sleep for 6 to 7 hours and then wake up at 1am when everyone is sleeping — and then I will do my work.
My wifey looked at me — she knew the drill — me and my weird habits of working when the world would be fast asleep. And so we went and got my extra strong shot of iced-espresso and came home.
Right now as my wifey keeps everything ready for 1am — the espresso, the ingredients for breakfast, the ice-cold water, everything — I am completing my last few thoughts for this article.
Its 7:39pm Thailand time. And the effects of the sleeping pill are kicking in slowly. Within a few minutes, I will feel sleepy and doze off. But when I do wake up after 7 hours — I would have reset my system and be ready once again “To get back into THE ZONE” and do what I really wanted to do.
In as much as this may sound like a new productive or innovative hack — this is one habit almost every Indian student I have met — who is an achiever has done — get up at 1am or 2am in the morning when the whole world was asleep — and for them to focus on their work or their studies without interruption or distractions. Singular laser like focus towards one and only one goal. Nothing else.
So what exactly is the Ultimate Creative Hack for Productivity?
- Keep everything ready for the next days work
- Before sleeping ensure everything is at arms length so you do not have to move
- Choose to Sleep when everyone is awake
- As you are about to sleep, speak your your mind about what your challenge are tomorrow.
- Visualize & imagine every detail as you put yourself to sleep
- Wake up when everyone is asleep at a fixed & specific time
- Immediately upon waking up — with no noise, no interruption or disturbance — immerse yourself into deep work. There should be no smart phone, no chats, no emails — nothing. Just you and your work.
- Focus on your work with the help of whatever stimulant agrees with your body
- Ensure uninterrupted work for 4 to 8 hours with almost zero breaks.
- Do not get up until you are completely exhausted or you have completed your task.
You may not believe me when I say this — but this one simple secret has not only helped me create some of my best work — it has helped me succeed beyond anyone and anything else’s expectations — including my own.
So as my sleeping pills kick in their effect and make me feel sleepy, I am mentally getting ready for what lies ahead after 6 hours of sleep.
This is me saying goodnight to you.
See you iMac at 2am
