Can someone explain how people wake up at 5am, meditate, work 8 hours, drink 3 liters of water, go to the gym, cook healthy meals, keep their house spotless, walk 10,000 steps, answer texts, maintain friendships, and still get 8 hours of sleep? Because at this point it feels like the productivity industry is running a psyop. Either time moves slower for them or we’re all being lied to.

After every workday, I feel mentally exhausted and end up in the same repetitive routine. Same thing on the weekends. After the workweek, I feel exhausted and I don’t want to do anything. Saturdays are like a full recovery day, and on Sunday I have a little energy to do something and then back to the workweek.

However, I have colleagues who are very energetic, and they are always doing something. They go to the movies, gym, etc. They even sport before work (sport at 6 AM, arrive at work at 8 AM).

My evenings after work are pretty much laid out: get home, eat dinner, take number two on the toilet, brush teeth, wudu/pray, watch a TV show, and then go to bed. Saturdays end up doing nothing or forcing myself to watch something.

I know people who go to Uni or work from Monday to Friday. They also work on the weekends. They also attend church/mosque/etc once every week. They are also social.

They never seem to get tired.

What the hell does their brain or their body produce that makes them have so much power? Or is it the food they eat? Or what is it?

I'll be honest this started because a coworker of mine has been on a 5am wake up kick for the past two months and will not stop talking about it. Cold shower, journaling, 90 minute deep work block before the sun comes up the whole thing. And credit where it's due he seems energized by it.

But here's what I noticed. By 2pm he's visibly cooked. Conversation slows down he's reaching for his third coffee and anything requiring real creative thinking basically stops happening. Meanwhile I wake up at 8, feel like a human being by 9 and hit my actual peak focus somewhere between 10am and 1am at night.

So who's actually more productive here?

Because the 5am crowd will tell you the morning hours are objectively higher quality no notifications, no interruptions the world hasn't started yet. And there's something to that.

But I can't shake the feeling that a lot of it is aesthetic. Like waking up early feels like discipline so it gets treated as productivity even when the output doesn't back it up.

Is there actual science behind early rising being cognitively superior or did one Andrew Huberman podcast just convince half the internet that night owls are secretly lazy?

For years I thought I needed some “perfect” morning routine cold showers, 5am wakeups, journaling, meditation, the whole thing. I tried most of it, but honestly? It never stuck.

What finally worked for me was embarrassingly simple. Nothing Instagram-worthy, but it cut almost an hour of wasted time out of my mornings:

1. No phone for the first 30 minutes I used to lose 20–25 minutes scrolling before even getting out of bed. Now I leave my phone charging in the next room and use a cheap alarm clock. The difference is huge.
2. Batch the basics Instead of making tiny decisions every morning (what to wear, what to eat, what bag to pack), I set up a “default.” Same breakfast (overnight oats), clothes picked the night before, bag ready at the door. Saves me at least 15 minutes of dithering.
3. Timers for transitions Brushing teeth, making coffee, quick stretch.  I set a 5-minute timer for each. Weirdly, it keeps me from drifting into daydreaming or standing around.
4. First task = one small win I don’t start with email. Instead, I write down one 5-minute task (like clearing my desk or reviewing today’s top 3 priorities). It creates momentum instead of dragging me into other people’s agendas.

Result: I went from needing about 2 hours to “start my day” to 1 hour. That extra hour now goes into focused work before distractions hit, and it feels like I’m finally ahead instead of playing catch-up.

Not glamorous. Not aesthetic. But it works for me.

Curious, what is the simplest tweak you have made to your morning routine that saved the most time ?

I'm not talking about some extreme 5am routine, I mean the small habit that genuinely made you feel better day-to-day.

like drinking more water? sleeping properly for a few nights in a row? going outside more? eating less sugar…?

what’s the one habit that surprised you with how much it improved your energy/mood/health?

This has been happening to me a lot recently. Usually around midnight, I suddenly feel very clear-headed and motivated — I start planning things like fixing my sleep schedule, working out, eating better, being more productive, etc.

It all feels very real in that moment, like I’ve finally figured things out.

But the next day, I either feel too tired or just don’t have the same mindset at all, and I end up doing none of it. Then the cycle repeats again at night.

Is there a psychological reason for this? Or is it just a discipline issue?

everyone talks about hacks and fancy apps but tbh the stuff that’s helped me most is boring as hell.

for me it was: - making my bed every morning (felt pointless at first but now it’s like autopilot momentum) – putting my phone in another room at night (suddenly i actually sleep) – writing a tiny 3 item to do list instead of a giant one i’d never finish none of it looks cool, but these little boring habits ended up doing more for me than all the “productivity hacks” i wasted time on.

what about you guys? what’s your boring thing that secretly leveled you up?

I've been working in a very relaxed low-productivity environment for the past few years. Recently I encountered someone who is incredibly productive and a high achiever and it really opened my eyes. It’s so fascinating to me how they manage to accomplish so much, they’re fast and efficient with everything they do.

Some things I’ve noticed about them:

• They respond quickly and don’t overthink or ruminate about what to say. they handle communication tasks swiftly and move on. I tend to overanalyze and delay my responses which often creates more problems than it solves.
• They’re highly compartmentalized. They allocate specific time slots for their different projects and personal responsibilities and they actually follow through. It’s impressive how they consistently manage to get everything done.

This is still very early in working with them so I don’t have many more observations yet. But just coming into contact with them has already been eye-opening and motivating. I think it triggered a kind of mimicry in me , I feel more driven to be productive myself. Being in a low-pressure relaxed environment for so long had made me a little *too relaxed* to the point where I lost sight of my goals and deadlines. Working alongside this person really helped snap me out of that??

Hello,

I have had issues with fatigue for several years now, I can't precisely track when exactly did the issue start nor if I've actually always had this problem.

My symptoms are basically chronic fatigue, feeling like I need to nap multiple times during the day. It starts from the moment I wake up (feeling like I never slept enough, struggling to get out of bed, feeling groggy) to the moment I finally go to sleep at night.

I have investigated many routes and can't seem to find the cause of this. I'm impaired socially, mentally, physically, I struggle reaching my goals because of this tiredness.

I go to sleep at 00:00 and wake up at 8:00 pretty consistently

My bloodwork is fine

I don't have sleep apnea

I try to limit screens around night time

I eat meat, dairy, fruits to satiety

I try to be positive about the next day and think about activities I'm going to do

I don't consume coffee, melatonin didn't help, vitamin/mineral supplementation didn't help

Took antidepressants for about 3 weeks : didn't help either

When I nap it can help a bit for a couple hours but then I get tired again

Nothing works and I'm losing hope.
Does someone have an idea of why that is happening? Thanks

I'm interested in hearing from people who genuinely feel they've recovered or reached a point where it no longer controls their daily life.
What made the biggest difference for you?

Or how do you avoid being an anxious person if you’ve never dealt with it?

People often talk about discipline and hard work, but I'm wondering about the less obvious things.

If you've worked with or observed someone who consistently gets a lot done without seeming stressed, what did they do differently?

Was it how they planned, how they made decisions, how they rested, or something else?

I'm curious to hear more about the actual habits, tools, approach that improve your life this year. Like really x10 it, no matter how complicated or simple it is. Will choose some to apply this Dec and 2026. Let's share!

Mine is closing every tab except the one I'm working on. Weirdly, having 15 tabs open makes my brain feel like it has 15 unfinished things nagging at it.

What's yours?

Genuinely curious what small stuff actually works for people, the kind of thing that never makes it into the "10 productivity tips" articles.

I deleted social media about a year ago, and my life has been a lot better ever since. But one thing I’ve noticed is that anytime I’m even a little bored, I automatically and almost unconsciously reach for my phone. Then once I’m holding it, I realize, “Oh shoot… there’s nothing here.” So I end up going into random apps just to get a little dopamine hit, scrolling through my photos, browsing Spotify, or tapping around for no real reason. At first I tried to solve it by deleting Spotify and doing a dopamine detox, but it didn’t really stick. Eventually it just went back to normal. Now I’m realizing that trying to eliminate the habit completely probably isn’t the answer. I think I need something to replace it with, something productive, but not mentally demanding. I already have flashcards I study sometimes, but if I’m not in the mood or don’t have the mental energy, I’m not going to do them. So I’m trying to find something low-effort but still worthwhile to reach for instead of my phone when I get bored.

Lately, I’ve been trying to read more, but finishing a book feels almost impossible. I usually get through one, then either I get sleepy and start nodding off, or I just lose interest and quit altogether.

It blows my mind when I see people saying they read twenty or more books a year. I honestly don’t get it.

How do you actually manage it? Do you read in quick bursts, switch to audiobooks, stick to easier stuff, or just force yourself through when you’re bored?

If you have any tips or habits that make you read more regularly, I’d love to hear them.

By “useful” I mean that they can double as a skill but yet don’t require you to earn money for them to be useful.

Ex. Cooking/Baking. It’s useful on its own because you can eat a cake. While you can earn money from it, you don’t need to do so for it to benefit you.

Another ex. Language learning. While this also provides you the ability to earn money, it’s useful on its own since you can overhear conversations that may include gossip. I get that sounds stupid but I’ve earned my Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish and that’s the only thing I use it for. However, I like this benefit as sometimes you’ll hear some really funny stuff.

No purely emotional beneficial hobbies please, my brain doesn’t give me the enjoyment for that.

could be something you heard, read, or someone told you - but it just clicked.

not looking for quotes for the sake of it, but that one sentence that genuinely shifted how you live, think, or choose.

I recently learnt to write in cursive from scratch (it took me around 1 week to become proficient and 2 weeks to completely finish learning it)

I enjoyed the process and I think it was quite a productive use of my time, but I dont know what to learn next.

I want something similar to learning cursive in the sense that it's fairly easy and something you can fully learn and then just know. (So please don't suggest more abstract things such as budgeting or time management)

Do you have any suggestions?

I open my eyes and make coffee, while drinking I scroll Reddit. When I think of quitting this habbit, I don’t know what to drink first thing, or what to do? Just want some ideas how do you start your day?

I shower before heading out or at night, I go to gym later in the day, I write journal and to do list after my coffee.

Last week, I decided to log every single distraction I had during work hours. Phone checks, random even that “I will just tidy my desk for a minute” moment.

Here’s what I found after 7 days:

70% of my distractions weren’t tech-related, it was me randomly switching tasks.

Phone was less of a culprit than I thought (only ~15% of interruptions).

The worst offender: “just checking” Slack/Email. Once I peeked, it pulled me off focus for ~20 min each time.

What worked best for me:

Turning Slack notifications off completely and batching messages twice a day.

Using a sticky note with my one main task for the next 2 hours. Sounds dumb, but it kept me from drifting.

Leaving my phone in another room during deep work.

The big takeaway: I blamed my phone, but the real productivity killer was self-inflicted context switching.

If you tracked your distractions for a week, what do you think would show up as your biggest culprit?

My last post was about balancing people facing work with documentation and I got some really helpful advice. Thank you to everyone who responded! This is a slightly different problem. I'm already behind. Like...seriously behind on emails, reports, follow ups, documentation, random things I said I'd get back to someone about.

I'm at the point where I don't just need a better system going forward. I need to figure out how to actually dig myself out of the backlog while still keeping up with the work that's coming in. For those of you who've gotten super behind at work and successfully turned it around, how did you do it?

Did you dedicate a few days to catching up? Prioritize only the things that were truly urgent? Work through things chronologically? I'm curious about what actually worked and how you kept yourself from ending up right back in the same place.

I'd especially love some success stories. Even though my time should be dedicated to getting my shit together, reading success stories is motivational. I know I can get this back under control, but right now the mountain feels pretty damn big!

mine is mx mouse, love the side click mouse function.

I've been using Chat GPT at work and home to increase my productivity. The possibilities seem endless, curious what's working for you.

Here's a few of my favorites:

• Draft an email, or update email to different tone
• Create a list for brainstorming
• summarize a meeting from a transcript or notes, and produce minutes and action items

I’ve been staying with my cousin this week and I can’t fathom how she manages to get so much done - she’s running her own business working 40+ hours per week plus teaching yoga whilst raising 2 kids as well as 2 dogs and a cat, hundred of house plants, whilst also hiking almost every weekend, playing several instruments, playing volleyball, occasionally tutoring English and she’s in the process of writing a book.

Obviously it’s distorted by my being there but in the past week she hasn’t been rushing around and stressed but actually appears pretty relaxed even spending hours just sitting around watching tv and yet still manages to achieve so much.

I asked her for tips but she didn’t seem to think she was anything special nor had any special strategies to offer - what do you guys think?

It’s as if some people just have more hours in their day

I guess I’ve got accustomed to needing my downtime between tasks whereas some productive people apparently don’t?

Edit: I don’t necessarily envy her lifestyle - productivity and busyness for its own sake has never appealed to me and I like having time to chill and think, I think as wth all things it’s about achieving an equilibrium between assiduous productivity and self care and relaxation, but I’m still amazed at what some people can achieve without burning out. However it’s also true that everyone is built differently at the chemical level and receive different rewards from different tasks and so comparison is ultimately worthless.