Over the years I have changed to different routines because of working places, moving and lifestyle. But recently I found an useful routine that I follow every day and might inspire some of you.
###Morning routine
I wake up around 7:00 to 7:30. No alarms. I have to wake up by myself. I feel it’s a bit late. Try to get up earlier, 6:30 to 7:00 in 2014. So that it’s possible to workout for 15 to 30 minutes.
I have breakfast around 8:00. Before going to work, I try to find the most important tasks to be accomplished that day.
Mornings are quiet. I like to do the planning and think for the future. But sometimes, news and emails distract me. So, I try to skip the news session and try to focus on my work.
###Work
I have to admit that I do multitasking. Multitasking is poisonous. I try to do one thing at a time in 2014.
I always prioritize. I live by the words of Mark Twain, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
Whatever I do, I try to focus as best as I can. To do so, I try to remove all the clutter, and all distractions while I am working. This is the only way I can work on what really matters.
I work in blocks, and use Pomodoro technique, which helps me focus on the current task. I try not to interrupt what I am doing, until I finish. You will be amazed to see how much you can accomplish if you give yourself to a task for 25 minutes without any distraction. I turn work into a spring by working in small bursts and completing one task at a time.
I give small breaks, and in these breaks I do whatever I like, talk with my friends, reading on Hacker News are my favorite break time activities. But I recently move these reading to Pomodoro as well, cause it usually cost more than 5 miniutes and I want to record how much time I spend on the readings.
###Eating
I do not like eating alone. I always eat with friends and colleagues. This is a great way to connect with people. Talking about small stuff, ideas, projects helps you catch up. It doesn’t matter how busy you are. After all, we all eat.
I prefer eating out, whenever possible. It is both refreshing and also helps me clear my mind.
###Note-taking
For taking notes I use evernote everywherea. The struture was to complicate, really need to simplify in 2014.
###Tools
I use Evernote to record any piece of ideas. I use it whenever possible. From all my devices. I digitize any physical stuff as best as I can to avoid clutter and save them to Evernote, such as business cards.
I use GitHub for my projects, even for my writings. It’s quite fun to focus on writing with markdown. I like the tool named Mou.
I read articles via RSS. I do a some Weibo(Twitter) stuff. I don’t do Facebook.
I use a Chrome Pomodoro app, called Pomotodo, which is a very minimalist one.
###Night routine
I ate late due to current job. Usually I spend time with my familly.
Sometimes, after dinner, I continue working. Before I go to sleep, I plan to have a short workout session, which is no more than 45 minutes. This way I feel refreshed and keep up working.
I try to do one thing for me no matter how tired I am. Reading a book, news, watching a TV show, re-touch photos or writing is among my favorite things. This is very important for me and I try to keep it that way.