Focus and Chill - productivity tactics for AuDHDers and other neurodivergent folks

What she focuses on 

Amazon

• investment analysis
• frameworks for decision making

Executive coaching

• 1 on 1 coaching
• listen to 2nd and 3rd level

Family

• quality time with kids

How she relaxes

• planned
  • workouts
  • meditation
• unplanned
  • reading
  • jigsaw puzzles
  • recipes
  • tidy up house
  • talk to friends
  • walks with partner

Productivity tactics

• For coaching: use scheduling link
• Calendarise important but not urgent tasks 
• Use mindfulness during meetings
• Yoga nidra to boost energy levels on days where sleep is limited
• Control environment to block distractions (Slack, Chime, emails)
  • Switch off notifications
  • Put phone in another room
  • Email autoresponder (I'm busy for the next 4hrs)
    • Email SLA should not be 5 minutes!
• Prioritisation
  • Push back: ask questions like "why do you need this? why is this urgent? who needs to do this? how does it need to be done?"
  • Eisenhower matrix: good for task prioritisation but not goal prioritisation
    • Q3 tasks can often be delegated or postponed
    • Importance:
      • what's in it for me/my family/company?
  • Goal prioritisation: take a long term perspective
    • how can you get there faster or add more value

Morning routine

4:30-5am wake up (no alarm) - 6hrs of sleep

Plan schedule for day and week (on weekends look the month ahead)

Deep work for planning and creativity

Make breakfast and lunch for family

Workout (bike for 45 minutes or 30 minutes of aerobic workout)

Meditate (insight timer: 15 minutes with Zen guitar)

8:30-9 start normal work day

Evening routine

Thankyou notes (jar with postit notes or verbal thankyous - different each time) with family 

Journaling at least twice per week

Resources

Books

The power of habit - Charles DuHigg

Atomic Habits - James Clear

Start with Why - Simon Sinek

7 habits of highly effective people - Stephen Covey

Deep Work - Cal Newport

Getting Things Done - David Allen

Techniques

Pomodoro technique

Final words

Planning and prioritising maximise your effectiveness 

Pushback regardless of who the other person is

Ask pointed questions to figure out what really needs to be done

Show notes:

Morning Routine
4AM - 4:30AM Wake up, have coffee 
4:30AM - 5:30AM Take dogs for walk
5:30AM - 7AM Read flipboard articles (leadership, business, food)
7AM-7:30AM Social media (LinkedIn)

Tactics for staying focused
Time blocking:
- 7:30AM - 1PM Coaching calls
- 1PM-3PM Admin

Use Eisenhower Matrix for prioritisation
Focus on "platinum activities" (strength based work) and delegate the rest

Wind Down Activities
Take dogs for a walk
Read a mystery novel 

Resources
- Eisenhower Matrix
- "Traction" EOS book
- "The Game of Work" book

How to stay in touch with Vaughn
- RDLTraining.com
- The Business Mechanic podcast

What he concentrates on

Day job: Product Manager at MessageMedia 

Side project: Building Focus Bear

Hobbies

• xc skiing
• trail running
• cycling
• green renovations

Morning Routine (5:40am - 9:40am)

Exercise (walk, yoga, HIIT, run): 90 minutes

Meditation/mindset/journalling: 40 minutes

Work emails (check for fires): 45 minutes spread out throughout routine

Planning for day: 8 minutes

Life maintenance (brush teeth, cook breakfast, shower, make bed): 20 minutes

Learning (anki, duolingo, reading): 30 minutes

Tactics for staying focused

• Block distractions using Focus Bear
• Prioritise on paper
• Super pomodoro mode
• Microworkouts throughout day to keep energy high

Wind Down Activities (5pm-9:30pm)

Walk: 20 minutes

Cook dinner: 20 minutes

Work emails (check for fires): 30 minutes spread out throughout routine

Deep work (youtube videos/blog posts): 30 minutes

Marketing: 12 minutes

Prepare for next day (check time logs, check calendar, write todolist): 13 minutes

Life maintenance (lock door, charge phone, shower, clean house, check weather): 25 minutes

Mindset (review day, accountability coach, personal development questions): 40 minutes 

Chinese study: 25 minutes

Reading: 6 minutes

Relationships (wish facebook friends happy birthday, Covve): 8 minutes 

Evening yoga: 10 minutes

Resources

• Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg
• Getting Things Done by David Allen
• Focus Bear app to block distractions

How to stay in touch with Jeremy

• [email protected]
• linkedin.com/in/nageljeremy

1. What projects are you concentrating on during your focused hours?
   - Wrapping up role as data engineer
   - Taking a sabbatical while he decides the next steps
   - Likely to take a role with an EA (effective altruism) aligned organisation

2. How about the rest of the time? What do you enjoy doing in your off time?

Composing music, drawing, time in nature, playing video games.

3. What does your morning routine look like and how has it evolved over time?
Journalling
Meditation
HIIT

4. What do you do to optimise productivity during your working hours?
Set goals in the morning
Pomodoro technique
Track time + achievement against each pomodoro intention
Review productivity at end of day

5. How do you switch off at night?
Gamified sleep game - shutoff at 9.45pm, wind down with meditation and journalling

6. What resources (books, philosophies, apps) do you find most helpful for productivity and habit formation?

James Clear's blog and (probably) Atomic Habits
Zen Habits blog
Coursera course on learning how to learn
Focus Bear windows app