Three principles to schedule your days better, and transform your career

These productivity hacks changed my life

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“How we spend our days is of course how we spend how we spend our lives.”

— Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

Last week I wrote about how I focus on death as the way to see the gift that is each new day. I live a fuller life now, but a fuller life is one with many competing demands. I’m an author, editor, entrepreneur, husband, and father to three kids. Readers wrote to ask me how I schedule my days.

A lot better than I used to, is the short answer. The more complete one I lay out below. If you want to get more out of life, and do more within each day — whether that’s complete more meaningful work or earn more money or offer more acts of kindness or spend more time with loved ones — you need to first realize that Annie Dillard is right. Each day is a representation of who you are and how you’re living. So live well.

Here are three ways to do that, dividing the 16 hours or so you’re awake into ever more specific blocks of time.

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1. Pay Attention to When You’re Best

In high school and particularly in college I thought the way to work hard was to work longer and later than everyone else: Stay at the college magazine I edited until 2 am, and the next night…