There’s a secret third option which looks like bundling bad with good (only use TikTok on a treadmill) or at least knowing when you’re only giving it your bad hours!
Really loved this piece. It’s so true that honoring your best hours makes all the difference. I’ve found that productivity isn’t just about tackling the most important task first but about working *with* my energy instead of against it. When I try to force something during a low-energy moment, the resistance only builds. But if I shift gears by doing something small like laundry or unloading the dishwasher, it creates momentum. That little win resets my brain, and when I return to the important task, everything flows so much easier.
This post resonates. Too often we give away our best hours out of necessity — our day job, our loved ones who really need our help, etc. And when you do get to keep your best hours for yourself (even if just for a day or two in a week), you wonder why you don’t put yourself first more often. In some ways, the feeling is similar to that Naval quote “Once you taste freedom, you render yourself unemployable.”
Very true, once you start prioritizing yourself it's hard to go back. A feeling I have right now when I think about working on things for myself versus someone else.
Thank you for sharing this deeply insightful post. Too often, we take time for granted, assuming our best hours will always be there. Reading this was a wake-up call—I’ve spent so much time supporting others' dreams without truly prioritizing my own. This post hits hard as a reminder to take charge, own my dreams, and be intentional about where my best energy goes. Truly eye-opening
The education we receive, at least in Ecuador where I live, is standardized according to what other people think it works according to their experience. So we get a set of rules, like work eight hours a day not considering if you are in your best version or not. This robs us our talents at the price of conformity. This discussion is will more relevant in the age of ASI.
The only thing I disagree with in this post is the title (and subtitle) because there are no capital letters there!!! What's up with you young people!?!??
Everything else is gold, I wrote on similar lines once:
there’s something about capitalizing more reflective pieces that i find more buzzfeed esque and emphasizing the wrong things — hard to explain (but I’ll meditate on it)
“I work best in the morning. I don’t need much time after waking up to be at my mental peak: it takes me just a few minutes. I use mornings to attack the most complex problems I have in front of me that day, or the tasks that require the highest levels of creativity”
Feels really good when I arrive at a particular habit by doing months sometimes years of hit and trial and then someone puts the exact same thing in theoretical framework.
Anu! This was on the money. You described my plight as only I never could. As the son of an owl mother and a vampire dad, I'm not up early, I'm still up late.
this is the way, though rare to admit and hard to do, most people can’t appropriately allocate their energy to things they control versus what other people impose on them
I recently have been ruminating on a similar idea from another angle:
As a parent, I sometimes have to look after my sick child when I would otherwise be working on my startup. I often feel terrible for putting my work on hold but I also want to be with my child, especially when he is sick.
But I came to realize that if I do enough work (perhaps making full use of my best hours), that one or two “off” days are fine. A lot of time (perhaps the “lesser” hours) is spent on less useful things anyway.
Absolutely, not crazy that you’d want of the best hours towards go towards kids. But if I were speaking like Naval I’d say find a way to outsource the work shouldn’t be taking up your best hours (and of course this is more possible when you’re entrepreneurial vs working for someone else in a defined role — ie you’re the person being outsourced to!)
Deleting TikTok and Twitter because of this post lol—those have been my greatest vices lately.
There’s a secret third option which looks like bundling bad with good (only use TikTok on a treadmill) or at least knowing when you’re only giving it your bad hours!
Not sure if the dopamine and endorphins spike from this would be a biohacker’s dream or nightmare 😂
Really loved this piece. It’s so true that honoring your best hours makes all the difference. I’ve found that productivity isn’t just about tackling the most important task first but about working *with* my energy instead of against it. When I try to force something during a low-energy moment, the resistance only builds. But if I shift gears by doing something small like laundry or unloading the dishwasher, it creates momentum. That little win resets my brain, and when I return to the important task, everything flows so much easier.
💯 Trying to maximize moments in flow, sometimes means stepping out and back in
well said
This post resonates. Too often we give away our best hours out of necessity — our day job, our loved ones who really need our help, etc. And when you do get to keep your best hours for yourself (even if just for a day or two in a week), you wonder why you don’t put yourself first more often. In some ways, the feeling is similar to that Naval quote “Once you taste freedom, you render yourself unemployable.”
Very true, once you start prioritizing yourself it's hard to go back. A feeling I have right now when I think about working on things for myself versus someone else.
I can totally relate to it.
Thank you for sharing this deeply insightful post. Too often, we take time for granted, assuming our best hours will always be there. Reading this was a wake-up call—I’ve spent so much time supporting others' dreams without truly prioritizing my own. This post hits hard as a reminder to take charge, own my dreams, and be intentional about where my best energy goes. Truly eye-opening
Resonate with this takeaway 🤝
The education we receive, at least in Ecuador where I live, is standardized according to what other people think it works according to their experience. So we get a set of rules, like work eight hours a day not considering if you are in your best version or not. This robs us our talents at the price of conformity. This discussion is will more relevant in the age of ASI.
Absolutely, a lot of unlearning what you’ve learned has to happen to heed this
The only thing I disagree with in this post is the title (and subtitle) because there are no capital letters there!!! What's up with you young people!?!??
Everything else is gold, I wrote on similar lines once:
https://newsletter.consultingintel.com/p/productivity-routine
there’s something about capitalizing more reflective pieces that i find more buzzfeed esque and emphasizing the wrong things — hard to explain (but I’ll meditate on it)
“I work best in the morning. I don’t need much time after waking up to be at my mental peak: it takes me just a few minutes. I use mornings to attack the most complex problems I have in front of me that day, or the tasks that require the highest levels of creativity”
— this sounds like a dream
exactly my thoughts recently, summarized so well
🤝
The Clock. Wow. A masterpiece of video art. One of the very best
🕰️
It’s the Pareto Principle of Work — 80% of results will come from 20% of the time spent
Also true!
Feels really good when I arrive at a particular habit by doing months sometimes years of hit and trial and then someone puts the exact same thing in theoretical framework.
We’re all ultimately learning the same things and trying to give voice to them!
Anu! This was on the money. You described my plight as only I never could. As the son of an owl mother and a vampire dad, I'm not up early, I'm still up late.
🤝
a friend working in private equity, but with dreams of becoming a musician would always say:
"i give my best hours to music, PE gets the scraps."
this is the way, though rare to admit and hard to do, most people can’t appropriately allocate their energy to things they control versus what other people impose on them
Wise words, Anu.
🙏
I recently have been ruminating on a similar idea from another angle:
As a parent, I sometimes have to look after my sick child when I would otherwise be working on my startup. I often feel terrible for putting my work on hold but I also want to be with my child, especially when he is sick.
But I came to realize that if I do enough work (perhaps making full use of my best hours), that one or two “off” days are fine. A lot of time (perhaps the “lesser” hours) is spent on less useful things anyway.
Absolutely, not crazy that you’d want of the best hours towards go towards kids. But if I were speaking like Naval I’d say find a way to outsource the work shouldn’t be taking up your best hours (and of course this is more possible when you’re entrepreneurial vs working for someone else in a defined role — ie you’re the person being outsourced to!)
My startup is not quite at the stage where we can outsource most of the work yet and I do enjoy it. Tricky balance.
you are the best writer i know, by faaaar. no one comes close anu.
too kind, literally, but appreciated 💛
well, i really mean it. wonder what's your top top book that taught you a lot about writing.