This makes a point against the "CEO morning routine" kind of approach, but from my point of view, it is not that different from that perspective on life. It still talks about "proactively moving towards #1 or top 25%", "be so good they can't ignore you", "10x work", "something extraordinary" etc.
Take that direction if that's what makes you tick. I've decided that that's not how I want to live my life, quit a 'prestigious' position, left the competitive career, and I now work as a teacher with "10x personal satisfaction".
Yeah exactly. I don’t even think he’s right about how pivotal a lot of them bellwether events he cites are. If you don’t nail the punchline in your marketing you can change the punchline or the marketing. So it’s important but because it can be changed you might find yourself taking another path than “home run marketing” that is still very successful. For all he’s decrying hustle culture he seems very immured in it.
What's funny is I've never been a routine guy but I've fallen into becoming one.
I run 6 times a week because I feel significantly better when I am running every day. The reward for me is so significant that getting myself running requires 0 mental effort or preparation. I live in a very hot and humid climate, if I run even at 8 am it's so hot it's uncomfortable. Because of this I'm waking up and running at around 6:30 am.
I also fall asleep at 11 pm like clockwork. Not because I have a schedule but because I'm so tired I have to sleep then.
I commit code to github almost every single day. I actually really just enjoy programming.
I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet, in a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an icepack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now.
After I remove the icepack, I use a deep-pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser. Then a honey-almond bodyscrub.
And on the face, an exfoliating gel-scrub. Then I apply an herb mint facial masque, which I leave on for ten minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine.
I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm, followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
Yeah, I think if you prioritize one demanding routine, the rest of your life inevitably shakes into place around it without too much effort.
And if it happens to be a routine that demands you be well (alert, rested, etc), most of what shakes out is stuff that keeps you well or at least doesn't inferfere with your wellness.
And similarly if the demanding routine insists on less healthy habits. If your priority is socializing and drinking until 2am several nights, the shake out is going to look like miserable, exhausted mornings and hangovers.
The hustle culture bs is the wellness equivalent of get rich quick schemes: "add this 10 minutes trifle and you'll finally be happy and successful!" --- But no, if you're not close to there already, the changes need to be way more comprehensive and radical.
I forced myself into a routine because with wfh, I woke up 9.50am and started working at 10am, and after the work day I was too tired to do anything, as well as becoming a blob. I joined a gym nearby, started going to the pool 7.30am, got charged 10$ if I didn't go, so I had the external incentive.
Couple of years later (how time flies), I need to go swimming otherwise I'm in pain the next day due to the desk job. I've also added weightlifting 3 times a week, and then swimming, I'm feeling great, and when I finished my day, it feels like I haven't missed anything.
I would say physical fitness does not fit the thesis of the article. It requires disciplined consistency doing the same thing repeatedly on a regular schedule to see benefits.
the "CEO Grindset" or "daily routine" stuff I see on Youtube and Medium has always struck me as a sort of peacocking for a certain level of the office crowd.
I once worked a construction equipment maintenance job. Basically we'd roll out of bed at 5 am, climb into a big truck, and drive out to wherever someone called us to fix everything from dump trucks to excavators. I cant remember a consistent day, ever. Some mornings its pouring rain and breakfast is a slim jim from the truck stop. Other days youre driving so much it hardly feels like anything is getting done. I started making lunch about calorie counts instead of time of day, and eventually got to just taking a couple of cliff bars for lunch tucked into my overalls. I guess coffee was consistent. we filled four thermoses at the truck stop and that used to cost us about $20. after we fixed the air hose in the parking lot we got all our coffee free. i digress. I didnt have a routine, no "stoic virtue" stuff. the only thing i did religiously was the vehicle check in the morning.
People who obsess over a pattern or "grindset" in life rarely do the work necessary to fulfill the ethic of that said routine. They miss the forest for the trees. Theres way more meaning and reward to being adaptable and resilient than there is in worshipping a pattern or coddling a routine.
I think the audience for those types of videos skew young, as in college kids and new graduates without much real experience. All they know about the working world is mostly second-hand knowledge from their network, or straight from Youtube and TV.
Unfortunately, there is a whole genre of "Day in the Life Of [my job role]" Youtube channels that rack up millions of views. They are made for entertainment, not edification, so hoping to learn something end up focusing on the superficial parts of it.
I think what you've hit upon, for those of us with enough privilege to set out own schedule and priorities, it takes mental effort and will power to do what less privileged people do just as a matter of necessity.
You didn't have to psyche yourself up to wake at 5am, because you had external forces setting that requirement for you.
If you set your own schedule and work remotely or what have you, getting up at 5am is an act of will.
Without strong routines and habits my life would be a mess and I would still be working at McDonalds. With ADHD I need routines and habits to not fall into the abyss. Maybe it works for some people, but not me.
E: also I used all those habits and routines to achieve my own goals and run a business for a decade.
The author lost me when he started talking about "10x work."
I don't need to be more productive. I accomplish plenty in both my work life and my real life. If anything, I need to accomplish fewer things and spend more time living in the moment.
Indeed. Are you going to get 10x pay for 10x work? No. Very rarely, for certain types of contractor. But this particular type of hustle culture is more like buying 10x lottery tickets - you do get 10x more chances to hit it big, but from a low baseline.
Although if I were, I could stop at noon on Monday and do something for me the rest of the week?
(If only it worked like that! Suppose it somewhat does if you're self-employed, sole trader something or another. But realistically even then there's customers or something, some external factor that needs at least some work most days or at a moment's notice.)
This is silly. You do the routine stuff so that when the "10x" opportunities come, you are fit to execute on them. It's like saying pro athletes shouldn't spend all that boring time in the gym - just score some points! Maybe the author is trying to point out that it's easy to think that the routine stuff is the ultimate point, which is fair, but I fear (young) people will read this and think (as I used to) that all they have to do is go with the flow and be naturally brilliant.
Well said. It is much of the "the harder you work, the luckier you get". But with most things, blind execution won't work. Reflection and introspection are needed to shape your ever evolving journey. Do whatever works for you, just do so intentionally!
This characteristic is pervasive in this author's writing, in my opinion. I can't tell if he's willfully missing the obvious underlying truth in order to get contrarian hype clicks or if he really just doesn't notice things like what you're pointing out.
I'm a routine guy, so I'm biased, but I find myself agreeing with the values in this post, while feeling that a routing enables those values. For example,
> This is why I’m so positive on sending outbound emails to interesting people, hosting dinners and events that bring together smart folks...
I find that I'm much better at this kind of proactive outreach when I have routines that push me towards this.
The non-routine approach tends to break down when you need to collaborate IME (though many companies are successfully asynchronous).
There are several conflated ideas in conflict here. First lets be clear and define 10x work as work on something very impactful, say a business idea, an important piece of art, or a scientific breakthrough. My model here could be Richard Feynman for example. If you 'stumble' on one of these ideas (e.g. after potentially years of routine, hard work training you to have a) the skills required to act on it and b) the knowledge to notice it) the by all means, drop the routine and let the excitement take you.
Any project such as this will have such a phase. Note however that the routine 'grind' (hate that word) was required to get there, and at some point, the proof of concept will be done, and the routine will be required again to keep it going and get it fully out into the world.
I used to hate routine by my kids showed me how necessary it is. Maintenance is essential to life. Routines get the maintenance done, and free up your brain to have ideas and energy for the hard work. An observation: Where I work there is a Nobel laureate who takes walks at almost the same time every day (past my window). I would think he knows about '10x work', and also about the utility of routine.
The only case I see is against "10x" and overachievement in general. My morning yoga routine keeps me in shape and healthy. It's very pedestrian, I don't try to improve much, but it works. Maybe people should learn to relax a little and think about what's really important.
Our careers are defined by the highest moments of its biggest upside swings.
The "highest moment of biggest upside swing" can be likened to winning a jack pot. A not solid career or life advice.
In my opinion, our careers are defined by the "area under curve" of achievements.
Bruce Lee gradually became a megastar by exercising and learning, gradually, not by hitting someone's head in a convoluted flying rotating high knee kick that is not repeatable at all.
Lee chased a lot of opportunities, like any actor looking for a break. And also a victim of a somewhat random early death from cerebral edema, seemingly unrelated to all his martial arts.
The little daily things add up, not doing exercise can significantly impact not only your weight / insulin levels, exercise is to release endorphins for the day to help make better decisions and live a happier life. Daily routines of the .05x stack up. That's the point. 1% better a day in any given area of life is still better than 0. Who cares about the 10x, why is that even a factor? Just be a good human and contribute the most you can, when you can.
For what it's worth, the most productive people I know seem to do basically no planning, but respond to almost everything immediately in the moment. Replying to emails as soon as they see them, making a phone call to have the conversation right now, etc.
By focusing on speed, they are able to accomplish a very large amount and never let a backlog build up. In some ways this feels closely aligned with the author's point. But these people are also spending a lot of time on what the author would call "1x" work (replying to emails, etc).
This also depends on the kind of work you do. If you’re an influencer/contractor/consultant/executive, I can maybe see what he’s talking about it but if you’re a skilled IC or creative… Imagine telling Lebron James what’s really holding him back is his routines.
Sound like the writer didn't like routines and created the logic backwards from there. There are many things in life that are low impact on their own, but have a cumulative effect. Yeah yoga in the morning isn't 10X... I guess the only option is to be a chump or go straight to max dosage of anabolic steroids.
Unfortunately the article mixes the ends with the means.
The key trait that seems to stand out in the most highly regarded people in history is discipline: there is no "10x work" without hard, long term focus, which requires discipline.
"Routines" have the advantage of making that discipline easier.
Does it mean they are sufficient? No, and this is where the article is right.
Does it mean they are useless? No, it's just one way of achieving the level of discipline needed to do the "10x work" that the article focuses on.
Hindsight fallacy here, though the author sort of acknowledges the issue:
> "Imagine the thousands of tasks you did in the past year and sort them by impact. How many of them actually moved the needle?"
If you instead try to predict the impact factor or long-term result of a given task/activity in advance, how good would your predictions be?
> "However, I’m convinced that you can create an environment where 10x work is more likely to come up."
This sounds like the gambler's fallacy of retrospective determinism, which involves looking at historical data and seeing patterns, leading to the erroneous conclusion that these patterns dictate future outcomes. It ignores the inherent randomness and independence of certain events.
The argument for daily routines is that they keep you involved and engaged, so that if an opportunity does randomly arise, you're ready to run with it.
10x work is code for doing the fun stuff and ignoring the grunt work. For every person focused on 10x there are a half-dozen cleaning up all the not-fun work they choose to ignore. Fun 10x work is the stuff that has 10x positive impacts, but ignores all the grunt work that has 100x negative impacts when not done properly. Finding a way to shoehorn the word "AI" into your next product launch: Fun. Talking to Microsoft legal department about the implications of using AI in your product: not fun. Selecting new color swatches for product lines: fun. Sorting out labor contracts to avoid a strike: not fun, but monumentally more important. (See recent Westjet strike and resulting travel disruptions over a long weekend.)
100% agree. I've worked with what could be considered "10x programmers" and their wake was almost always littered with time-consuming tech debt and housekeeping chores they didn't do, or they did something very fast that was off-the-mark because they didn't have the hard "hash-it-out" conversations before plowing ahead with an inaccurate end goal.
One way or another, you will have a routine. We are creatures of habit. It can either work for you or against you.
This seems mostly a diatribe against chasing "productivity" in disguise, with anti-routine as the clickbait hook, bait-and-switch. Habits are powerful in part because they allow you to reduce overhead. If your auto-pilot routine is to doomscroll, why would this be less stressful than a yoga session?
> The question is how to create the most opportunities at achieving that, not how to execute perfect little habits.
Say, wouldn't it be nice if there was some tool we could leverage to do that?
Yoga and meditation isn't about advancing your career.
> Our careers are defined by the highest moments of its biggest upside swings.
The author makes this logical attempt to "refute the paradigm of fitter, happier, more productive routines as the secret to success" but starts with this completely subjective premise which is kind of hidden in this word salad sentence.
"Success" by other definitions can be greatly enhanced by routine and regularity. If I define my career by the time I have available to myself while making enough money the a routine helps tremendously. I can focus and get things done so I can stop working. That's success!
There's no "one size fits all" solution. Some folks work best when they highly structure their time, some folks with less or almost no structure. Experiment and find what works best for you.
Personally, I find it best to block out some time for things I want to get done and things I must get done. Those are my daily routines. :) Everything else, I fit in on the fly.
[+] [-] martopix|1 year ago|reply
Take that direction if that's what makes you tick. I've decided that that's not how I want to live my life, quit a 'prestigious' position, left the competitive career, and I now work as a teacher with "10x personal satisfaction".
[+] [-] jewayne|1 year ago|reply
I don't know what country you're speaking from, but here in the US teaching seems to have an extremely low job satisfaction rate.
[+] [-] throwaway173738|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] brigadier132|1 year ago|reply
I run 6 times a week because I feel significantly better when I am running every day. The reward for me is so significant that getting myself running requires 0 mental effort or preparation. I live in a very hot and humid climate, if I run even at 8 am it's so hot it's uncomfortable. Because of this I'm waking up and running at around 6:30 am.
I also fall asleep at 11 pm like clockwork. Not because I have a schedule but because I'm so tired I have to sleep then.
I commit code to github almost every single day. I actually really just enjoy programming.
I should become a hustle culture influencer
[+] [-] moffkalast|1 year ago|reply
After I remove the icepack, I use a deep-pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser. Then a honey-almond bodyscrub. And on the face, an exfoliating gel-scrub. Then I apply an herb mint facial masque, which I leave on for ten minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine.
I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm, followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
[+] [-] swatcoder|1 year ago|reply
And if it happens to be a routine that demands you be well (alert, rested, etc), most of what shakes out is stuff that keeps you well or at least doesn't inferfere with your wellness.
And similarly if the demanding routine insists on less healthy habits. If your priority is socializing and drinking until 2am several nights, the shake out is going to look like miserable, exhausted mornings and hangovers.
The hustle culture bs is the wellness equivalent of get rich quick schemes: "add this 10 minutes trifle and you'll finally be happy and successful!" --- But no, if you're not close to there already, the changes need to be way more comprehensive and radical.
[+] [-] whamlastxmas|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Izikiel43|1 year ago|reply
Couple of years later (how time flies), I need to go swimming otherwise I'm in pain the next day due to the desk job. I've also added weightlifting 3 times a week, and then swimming, I'm feeling great, and when I finished my day, it feels like I haven't missed anything.
[+] [-] zeekaran|1 year ago|reply
Is there a drug I can take to achieve this? This sounds like a superpower to me. I've tried to start running so many times.
[+] [-] jimbokun|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] cen4|1 year ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] nimbius|1 year ago|reply
I once worked a construction equipment maintenance job. Basically we'd roll out of bed at 5 am, climb into a big truck, and drive out to wherever someone called us to fix everything from dump trucks to excavators. I cant remember a consistent day, ever. Some mornings its pouring rain and breakfast is a slim jim from the truck stop. Other days youre driving so much it hardly feels like anything is getting done. I started making lunch about calorie counts instead of time of day, and eventually got to just taking a couple of cliff bars for lunch tucked into my overalls. I guess coffee was consistent. we filled four thermoses at the truck stop and that used to cost us about $20. after we fixed the air hose in the parking lot we got all our coffee free. i digress. I didnt have a routine, no "stoic virtue" stuff. the only thing i did religiously was the vehicle check in the morning.
People who obsess over a pattern or "grindset" in life rarely do the work necessary to fulfill the ethic of that said routine. They miss the forest for the trees. Theres way more meaning and reward to being adaptable and resilient than there is in worshipping a pattern or coddling a routine.
[+] [-] rchaud|1 year ago|reply
Unfortunately, there is a whole genre of "Day in the Life Of [my job role]" Youtube channels that rack up millions of views. They are made for entertainment, not edification, so hoping to learn something end up focusing on the superficial parts of it.
[+] [-] jimbokun|1 year ago|reply
You didn't have to psyche yourself up to wake at 5am, because you had external forces setting that requirement for you.
If you set your own schedule and work remotely or what have you, getting up at 5am is an act of will.
[+] [-] bitexploder|1 year ago|reply
E: also I used all those habits and routines to achieve my own goals and run a business for a decade.
[+] [-] candiddevmike|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] bovermyer|1 year ago|reply
I don't need to be more productive. I accomplish plenty in both my work life and my real life. If anything, I need to accomplish fewer things and spend more time living in the moment.
[+] [-] pjc50|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] OJFord|1 year ago|reply
(If only it worked like that! Suppose it somewhat does if you're self-employed, sole trader something or another. But realistically even then there's customers or something, some external factor that needs at least some work most days or at a moment's notice.)
[+] [-] RankingMember|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] jimbokun|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] thenoblesunfish|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] snarf21|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] llamaimperative|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] jimbokun|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] chrisbrauns|1 year ago|reply
> This is why I’m so positive on sending outbound emails to interesting people, hosting dinners and events that bring together smart folks...
I find that I'm much better at this kind of proactive outreach when I have routines that push me towards this.
The non-routine approach tends to break down when you need to collaborate IME (though many companies are successfully asynchronous).
[+] [-] b_emery|1 year ago|reply
I used to hate routine by my kids showed me how necessary it is. Maintenance is essential to life. Routines get the maintenance done, and free up your brain to have ideas and energy for the hard work. An observation: Where I work there is a Nobel laureate who takes walks at almost the same time every day (past my window). I would think he knows about '10x work', and also about the utility of routine.
[+] [-] rqtwteye|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] thesz|1 year ago|reply
In my opinion, our careers are defined by the "area under curve" of achievements.
Bruce Lee gradually became a megastar by exercising and learning, gradually, not by hitting someone's head in a convoluted flying rotating high knee kick that is not repeatable at all.
[+] [-] pjc50|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] HPsquared|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] ingen0s|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] npilk|1 year ago|reply
By focusing on speed, they are able to accomplish a very large amount and never let a backlog build up. In some ways this feels closely aligned with the author's point. But these people are also spending a lot of time on what the author would call "1x" work (replying to emails, etc).
[+] [-] techostritch|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] drdrek|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] rapht|1 year ago|reply
The key trait that seems to stand out in the most highly regarded people in history is discipline: there is no "10x work" without hard, long term focus, which requires discipline.
"Routines" have the advantage of making that discipline easier. Does it mean they are sufficient? No, and this is where the article is right. Does it mean they are useless? No, it's just one way of achieving the level of discipline needed to do the "10x work" that the article focuses on.
[+] [-] jimbokun|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] photochemsyn|1 year ago|reply
> "Imagine the thousands of tasks you did in the past year and sort them by impact. How many of them actually moved the needle?"
If you instead try to predict the impact factor or long-term result of a given task/activity in advance, how good would your predictions be?
> "However, I’m convinced that you can create an environment where 10x work is more likely to come up."
This sounds like the gambler's fallacy of retrospective determinism, which involves looking at historical data and seeing patterns, leading to the erroneous conclusion that these patterns dictate future outcomes. It ignores the inherent randomness and independence of certain events.
The argument for daily routines is that they keep you involved and engaged, so that if an opportunity does randomly arise, you're ready to run with it.
[+] [-] sandworm101|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] RankingMember|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] slothtrop|1 year ago|reply
This seems mostly a diatribe against chasing "productivity" in disguise, with anti-routine as the clickbait hook, bait-and-switch. Habits are powerful in part because they allow you to reduce overhead. If your auto-pilot routine is to doomscroll, why would this be less stressful than a yoga session?
> The question is how to create the most opportunities at achieving that, not how to execute perfect little habits.
Say, wouldn't it be nice if there was some tool we could leverage to do that?
Yoga and meditation isn't about advancing your career.
[+] [-] paulcole|1 year ago|reply
The author makes this logical attempt to "refute the paradigm of fitter, happier, more productive routines as the secret to success" but starts with this completely subjective premise which is kind of hidden in this word salad sentence.
"Success" by other definitions can be greatly enhanced by routine and regularity. If I define my career by the time I have available to myself while making enough money the a routine helps tremendously. I can focus and get things done so I can stop working. That's success!
[+] [-] eschneider|1 year ago|reply
Personally, I find it best to block out some time for things I want to get done and things I must get done. Those are my daily routines. :) Everything else, I fit in on the fly.