My Most Productive Days

My most productive days occur in a quiet, library-like environment where I can focus with minimal distractions.

On these days, I start by heading to the nearest library within 45 minutes of waking up. Breakfast is a hard no because it disrupts my peace and breaks my momentum. Eating sets off too many metabolic processes that ultimately distract my focus. If I don’t eat anything, I can last five to six hours without feeling hungry. But if I have even the smallest bite, especially something warm and cooked, I immediately snap out of my magical morning trance, where I get more done in 20 minutes than I would in an hour of post-food productivity.

The perfect environment should be absolutely quiet, ideally to the point where you can hear a pin drop. At the same time, there should be some people around, either in a similarly focused state or completely relaxed. Having others present keeps me accountable, and this is especially effective if they are working on the same things as I am. Occasionally, I will go to a food court or café for a change of scenery. I find that people are typically relaxed when they are eating out. Being around focused individuals helps with motivation and tackling difficult mental tasks, while being around relaxed people helps with tasks that demand creativity and innovation.

For deep work, I wear industrial earmuffs, the kind used at construction sites and gun ranges. Unlike noise-canceling headphones, they do not generate artificial sound waves that cause headaches after extended use, and they are incredibly effective at blocking noise. When I am in deep focus, I like it to be so quiet that I can hear my heartbeat and feel my blood flow through my veins. You know those anechoic chambers where the silence is so intense that it drives some people crazy? That might just be the perfect place for deep work. The challenge, of course, is finding people willing to join me.

Since this is about my most productive days rather than an average day, I can afford to be picky. I have some very specific architectural preferences for my surroundings. Ideally, the walls should be made of real, unprocessed stone, something hard, natural, and in large chunks. The ceilings need to be high enough that you could comfortably juggle eight balls without worrying about hitting anything. There should be no paintings or unnecessary distractions on the walls. Bookshelves are acceptable, provided that most of the covers are not facing outward. The lighting should be bright but not harsh, and if we can keep CO₂ levels down to 500 parts per million, even better. The places that tend to meet these criteria are old libraries or churches. There is a special kind of productivity you just cannot find elsewhere.

Of course, a perfect workday is not complete without the right kind of breaks. I have found that the best breaks involve doing something very different from my work, but not so different that I lose my mental context and have to start over completely. One such activity is browsing social media to see what others are working on. I think of them as remote coworkers, all contributing in their own ways to this massive company called society. While they may have different roles and work on vastly different things, they indirectly collaborate to keep the whole system running. A quick five to ten minute check-in is usually enough to clear my mind before diving into another deep work session.

If I need an even stronger reset, I might write, just like I am doing now. Writing clears my mind, forcing me to focus only on what comes next. However, it is easy to get carried away. I could write endlessly and never actually get back to work. On that note, I will wrap up my thoughts here.