Today everyone wants to be productive. We are living in a world where we have to do things! Many high-performance people work for 10–12 hours every day. There was a time that I also tried this approach. I had been working for many hours every single day. I slept 5–6 hours per night and always hustled when I was awake 😉. This style of living was a disaster! After a couple of months came consequences. I gained a lot of body fat, my productivity decreased, and my creativity went almost to 0. I was always sad, and my relations with other people were bad. Why did such a thing happen? The answer was simple — our body can’t operate at top speed all the time. Our body love cycles! We have year cycles, day and night cycles, and many others. In productivity, we have them also! When I learned about them and fully adopted them — my productivity and creativity peaked! Thanks to them, I can do more work in 3 hours than in 10 in the past.

Ultradian rhythms and productivity

Let’s start with ultradian rhythms. In chronobiology, they are cycles repeated throughout a 24-hour day. There are many types of them, some related to blinking, blood circulation, pulse, hormonal secretion, heart rate, thermoregulation, and many others. One of them is responsible for our brain performance. In this case, one productivity cycle takes about 90 minutes. During this time, we can achieve our peak performance state called deep work. We are highly focused on our tasks and can do them much faster. We can enter the flow state to increase our creativity quickly.

After 90 minutes, we need to slow down and recharge our brains for 30–45 minutes.

Prepare yourself for deep work!

Those cycles are intensive, so an average person can have them only twice a day. The first should be in the first 4 hours after waking up — the second in the afternoon. Because we can have 180 minutes of deep work in one day, we must prepare to take full advantage of this time. I created a couple of science-based habits that are helping me to prepare for my deep-work sessions. Let’s start with my morning productivity cycle.

First — the most crucial element is to be well-rested and have 7–8 hours of good sleep. I am tracking my sleep and regeneration level using the Oura ring and HRV parameter (I will write more about it in a separate article).

If my regeneration level is good, I start with simple routines to optimize my neurotransmitter level. The most important is dopamine — to increase its level, I am using cold exposure (mainly cold showers). It is giving me a couple of hours of dopamine boost. Next is 20–30 minutes of sun exposure and cardio training to increase blood flow. I also noticed that my brain works better if I skip breakfast, so I fast till noon.

The next thing is to plan my work. In these 90 minutes, we need to decrease distractions and focus on specific tasks. To do this, I am using my Todoist tool and tagging. Every task requiring tremendous focus and energy is tagged Deep Work. I also identify two or three simpler ones — the quick wins- to boost my dopamine by solving them at the beginning of my deep work window.

First deep work window

Before starting my window, I make a bulletproof coffee with MCT oil, butter, Lion’s Mane mushroom, and creatine. This mix will charge my brain with energy and improve its efficiency (I will write an article about it). I also prepare a glass of water, and I start my work.

When working, I often use binaural beats to increase the flow state (mainly using the brain.fm app). I start my work with quick wins (two or three — in total, 5 minutes) and then go to demanding tasks. Very important at this point is to protect yourself from distractions. To do this, I am turning on work mode on my computer (it will turn off all notifications). I also have blockers in my calendar for that time so that no one could schedule a meeting with me. I use active noise-canceling headphones to reduce sound distraction. In this first session, you want to complete your most challenging tasks. If one of them is blocked or requires other people’s actions, you delegate it, mark it in your list as “waiting for action,” and then go to another task. It would be best if you maximize the efficiency of this time window.

Remember to rest.

After 90 minutes of intense work, I will take a break to regenerate my brain. I will go for a walk or do other movement-based activities. After that, I will talk with people, have some meetings, and then eat something. Here I mainly eat low-carb meals to stay focused and clear throughout the day. Sometimes I will take short 15-minute meditation at this point of the day, trying to relax.

Remember, making this 30–45 minute break is crucial if you want to have another deep work cycle later this day.

Second deep work window

The second window of deep work should be in the afternoon. I often start it somewhere between 3–5 p.m. (some people even begins at 7 p.m.). Here we aim for 80–90% of the morning performance level. During this time, I often work on more creative tasks, like content generation. I don’t use coffee anymore not to lower my sleep quality. I usually use binaural beats at this point and also protect myself from distractions (work mode on my computer, using active noise-canceling headphones to reduce sound distraction).

After this 90 minutes session, I relax, spend time with family, and prepare for good sleep.

My productivity peaked when I started working in this mode (two deep work windows). I am doing more than ever, and my creativity is exceptionally high. Also, I have more time for other activities and my family.

If you have questions about this approach or any suggestions or ideas, then share them in the comments!

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