I had so many ways to run out of time being busy without really accomplishing anything and doing things without feeling any contentment. This is my way of managing time. I am not stating, that I am the epitome of productivity, but that is actually the point. Like always, this is an experiment from which I am still learning.
had so many ways to run out of time being busy without really accomplishing anything and doing things without feeling any contentment. This is my way of managing time. I am not stating, that I am the epitome of productivity, but that is actually the point. Like always, this is an experiment from which I am still learning.
Constrains
In the text #1 I discussed about my priorities. I wrote, that my priorities are basically a decision-making system and many decisions are about usage of time. Before moving on, I want to introduce another concept, which I will only call the “constraints”. I have four constrains I want to distinguish, which have impact on how I am able to use my time each day.
- Personal capabilities
- No financial independency
- Commute
- Eight hours of sleep
Number one means, that I have limitations, how I am able to use the time, because of my personal capabilities. For instance, I have no means to make us financially independent nor do I have the motivation either (whichever comes first). I am able to grow my capabilities, however, to do more things I enjoy and growing my capabilities is something I am investing time in.
Number two mean in our family’s case, that at least one of us needs to work. This may sound obvious, but I want to be mindful about it. We want to have a certain lifestyle and we both enjoy our work as well. This is a choice related to my personal priorities on life, but from this topic’s point of view, it means, that working takes up a big chunk of my time.
Number three is a direct consequence of number two. I use public transport and commuting takes about 90 minutes of each working day. Later I discuss, why I find this actually a good thing.
Number four is a personal principle. I am convinced by the research of the likes of Mathew Walker, that enough sleep is necessary for a healthy and happy life. Also, in my line of work, lack of sleep leads to bad advice and solutions, which may end up hurting my client (which is unacceptable). But it also means that it takes up a third of the day.
My daily routine
Before-mentioned four restrictions set the frame for each working day for me (I’ll discuss later about weekends). My typical working day can be divided to four phases: work, family, personal, and sleep.
I wake up 6 am and have a breakfast with the family. The first phase, work, starts with me commuting to work, working around 8 hours and then ending around 5 pm when I arrive back home.
At home starts the second phase: family. This includes variety of things, but basically it is the highlight of my day. We spent time together. Our son is now six months old, so this means making funny noises, reading stories, and wondering the details of life. It is also includes eating a dinner together and taking a shower.
The personal phase starts when our son goes to sleep. His current sleep cycle starts at around 7 pm and he falls asleep by 8 pm. Then starts the personal time with my wife. We spent time together, reflect the day and enjoy each other’s company. This is also the time when we can do our personal projects.
At half past 9pm, we prepare ourselves for sleep. During weekdays I sleep in a different room and during weekends we switch up, so my wife is able to have good night sleep as well.
The following graph visualises my daily routine.

So, how I strive to live according to my priorities? Family breakfast is the first thing. Though, the time slot is quite short the quality of that time is energising. We make and eat the breakfast with the baby, discuss about the upcoming day and watch the news. I leave to work happy.
I use the commutes to read the books. I have switched to audiobooks and I can easily listen one to two books each week. For this reason, I use the bus instead of the train even if it is slightly slower. In the crammed train it is much harder for me to listen to the books. Using the bus is way more comfortable and the trade-off is well worth it.
The family time after work is hectic. The highlight is the family dinner, but the rest of the roughly two-hour period is doing housework and taking the shower with the baby. I squeeze in as much as possible playing with the boy, but it is sometimes hard to be able to be really present.
I am doing a home-exercise three times a week (see the week cycle) which is also a play with the baby. He seems to find it really funny when I do the exercise, laughing at me and mimicking the moves. The exercise is specially designed to maintain mobility and core muscle strength and it takes only 15–20 minutes.
During the personal that time I do personal projects like reading and preparing our games (more about these in a future writing). This is also the time we discuss and reflect about our day with my wife. I avoid physical exercise during this time, because it affects negatively to my sleep quality if done this late. We also dim the lights at this time to improve the sleeping quality.
The details naturally vary, but this is the routine I am running at the moment. The focus is in quality time with the family taking all the constrains in consideration. We are able to get enough sleep and keep us physically healthy. I am also able to learn new things by reading.
My week
The following graphic pictures our week. There is nothing special in our week, but it highlights one important thing for me.

I used to work a lot during the week and during the weekends as well. After I finished my second degree, I decided to stop working during the weekends and when I got my priorities straight, the weekends became the time for the family and energising activities. This is something I am not willing to compromise in our current situation. If I need to stretch some goals at work, I will do that during the week and at the cost of the other priorities.
The weekends are reserved for the highlights in our life. During weekends I am running my one hour run. At Sunday morning we go swimming with the baby. We usually meet the grandparents during the weekend and my monthly gaming session with the friends takes place on Sundays. The Sunday evening, we usually warm up the sauna as well. We deal with the groceries for the following week as well.
Once again, this is really nothing special. However, these kinds of routines and habits are building blocks of our happy life. I hope, that you may find them useful as well. My next writing will be about my tactics for learning.
My giveaways for you:
- Routines make the life easier and good habits are great way to get a lot done automatically.
- Do not live according to other people’s priorities.
- Reserve and clear time for important things.
