Over the last 2 years, many of us have been working differently. We have been forced to work cramped together in our kitchens, bedrooms and dining rooms. Conducting our collaboration and socialisation over a myriad of screens. With this sudden introduction (and acceptance) of new ways of working, comes a natural human desire to augment what we have, in to what we need. For 2 years we have hacked our cramped spaces, introduced new routines and new environments to fuel our desire for difference, in the backdrop of seemingly never-ending disruption.

One of the more interesting routines I’ve learnt about this year is what is being dubbed across a catch-all of wellbeing, productivity and success — the early morning routine.

There are some particularly interesting reads on the subject, such as Disha Chhabra’s Power of the 5AM routine, Lola Engle’s Life changing 5AM morning routine and of course, Mark Wahlberg’s 2AM workouts that have become a living trend.

How not to be more productive

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the legendary morning routines of the rich and famous. Mark Wahlberg’s legitimate 2AM rise and consecutive pre-sunset workouts.

I get it. The allure of extra time in my day, and ‘me time’ especially is irresistible. I’m constantly trying to be more motivated, engaged and creative in what I do but whilst I can admit to being successful some of the time, most of my normal day is spent in the realm of the ordinary.

More of us need to admit this.

Here’s the thing — 5AM, 2AM, 11PM, It’s all just slots within a single, 24 hour cycle. If you are genuinely searching for your ‘productive self’, you have to start looking internally and begin to honestly listen to your own needs. Do you like sleeping in? Do you prefer to work in the early hours either to begin or cap off your day? Not planned to be productive today but suddenly feel the ebb to write that article? You need to start listening and acting on what your body and your mind is telling you — sleep in, work whenever the feeling strikes, write that god damn article.

This is the key to success nobody is telling you about — you need to go with your own flow. Some of the most successful people we read and idealise have figured out that if they build their lives around their needs, they can rule it. Ever heard of the entrepreneurs banging on about ‘paying yourself first’? Yeah, it also applies to productivity. Retroactively fitting someone else’s work day as your own routine is just going to restrict what your subconscious self wants to do, and it’s really key you listen to that voice inside your head, because they know you better than anyone.

What does a real routine look like?

In place of Mark Wahlberg’s late night (yes, 2AM is still night) wake-up and shake-ups, I’ve taken the liberty of drawing up my own, honest and ‘living’ work day (I call it living because guess what? It changes everyday).

The 7-to-never routine fuelling my very happy life

7AM Wake up (on average, I’m a seasonal sleeper — so in the summer I wake earlier, in the dark winter I wake much later)

7.30AM I grab a hearty breakfast and a strong coffee whilst reading and listening to the news

8AM I go to the gym for a quick 1 hour session of weight training, although this would be motivationally impossible without a dose of Beyonce (again, this is seasonal so in winter I prefer to go later at night)

9.30AM to 1PM Now that I don’t freelance I have more firmer worker hours, I’ve made this work for me by starting later and ensuring a full hour for lunch

1PM to 2PM Lunch and maybe some tv, and because I’m lazy and because my mind is half in lockdown I’ll usually have a shower and get ready at this time

2PM to 6PM More work, usually my most productive time is past 4pm as my energy levels really ramp up

6PM onwards is me time, this usually means a mixture of activities — such as doing the work I wanted to do during the day, but didn’t get a chance to do, seeing friends, cooking, generally doing life stuff

Sometimes at 9PM, I’ll write down a few thoughts into my Notion diary — I always have random or finalised thoughts on my experiences during the day, and it’s useful to capture these if they’re mildly useful

The key here is that my schedule changes everyday! I ‘aspire’ to the above, but mostly I’ll do things backwards, upside down or miss stuff out completely — and that’s okay. On those days my body or my environment is telling me that I should probably rejig, drop some things or pick up something up. What I’ve learned is the ability to listen and react to my body or the environment around me, to adjust the way I’m living and working — and not feel bad about it.

The benefits of this active scheduling means I’m always on my toes, and constantly flicking between different tasks (something that naturally makes me productive).

And thats it! Guess what? I’d consider myself a productive and successful person, and I don’t work 18 hours a day.

Discovering and ruling your rhythm

Being successful is simply being the best version of you that you can be on that particular day. You don’t need to be hard on yourself, don’t try to shoehorn someone else’s morning routine in to your life. Just do what you enjoy, whatever that is, and let the productivity come naturally — it’s much easier to maintain that way.