The Manual #12
My daily routine.
I recently published a video going through how I manage my time and my daily routine. I wanted to also share that here for those who would prefer it in text format.
My daily routine is pretty simple and also very flexible, it’s designed to be. But the most valuable thing to me is time. I’ve always had a rule that whatever it is I’m doing is what I want to be doing. I want to be very intentional about how I spend my time because I’m never going to get it back. Now I’m not super strict on this rule because there will be times where I don’t have control over my own time, but whenever I can, I want to be the one in control.
Daily routine
My morning usually starts around 9am. First thing I do after getting up in the morning is go to the gym. I like to go the the gym around 3-5 times a week. I’m not super strict on it but I sit behind a computer all day. I don’t want to become overweight and unfit.
I start working around 10-11am and usually work until 4-5pm. Some days I may work less or I may work more, it really depends on how creative I’m feeling or if there is a deadline.
The evenings are usually spent doing other stuff that’s not work. This varies a lot as some evenings I’ll spend with friends and family, I may watch some movies or TV shows, or I might play some video games. I try and have a healthy work/life balance.
Weekly routine
What I do each day can vary. I usually spend 1-2 days a week making YouTube videos. Right now I’m really enjoying creating YouTube videos and it’s a good source of income. Best of both worlds.
The rest of the week is spent on whatever I decide needs doing that week. I’ll still spend an hour or two a day managing emails and my team.
I might spend a day working on something for ULX. I might spend a day working on some personal projects.
I try and have a day a week in which I spend consuming stuff and learning something new. I like to have a 50/50 balance of creating and consuming. My places of consuming and learning span across lots of mediums including Twitter, YouTube videos or just reading up something of interest.
Weekend routine
My weekends are usually pretty off-limits when it comes to work. I spend the time doing whatever I feel in the mood for. Sometimes it can be work too but it’s usually something creative — I don’t touch anything admin related.
I hate this idea that you need to put in like 10-12 hour days to be "successful". I've always strived to have a healthy balance. It's unfortunate that not everyone can experience the same. I have friends and family who are doctors who work 10-12 hour shifts. Now that is hard work. I have it super easy compared to them and I'm very fortunate to be in such a position.
2021 iMac
The new iMac is awesome and I would seriously recommend it to anyone who doesn’t need a Macbook. I’ve been really impressed with this machine and it’s an ideal everyday computer. It’s more than capable for photo editing, UI design work and video editing. I had no problem editing my YouTube videos on it.
Rating & Roasting Your Setups
This was one of the most fun videos I’ve made. I asked on Twitter for people to send me their workspaces and boy did you guys deliver.
I’ll be making this a regular series.
Many people were asking for product links so for the next video I’ll be asking those who submit to post product links if they can.
Link Lowdown
A collection of links to stuff I think are worth sharing.
Stripe Payment Links — Stripe now lets you quickly and easily set up payment links for pretty much anything without having to mess around with code.
Graphite — A cool web design tool that lets you make websites without having to mess around with code.
MagicPattern — An easy pattern creation tool, perfect for backgrounds and thumbnails.
Lucid User Experience — Super cool video showing the UI and UX design of Lucid’s infotainment system.
Any amount of alcohol consumption is harmful to the brain — Long time followers may have seen me mention that I don’t drink alcohol and never have. This is an interesting article on how it affects the brain. Now it is just a study, it doesn’t mean it should be taken as gospel.
Moonlight — Free and awesome way to stream your PC games to your Mac, phone or TV. This is seriously great.
MacYTDL — A download tool for YouTube.
Wormhole — A private way to share expiring download links.