How to Find Time for Everything with a Full Time Job

2024-02-14 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali · recording, 21:30 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Productivity and time · mode: List of tips or lessons · tags: His medical past, Sponsor segment present

In the first part of a three-part series on managing your time outside a nine-to-five job, Ali sets out five mindsets: time is worth learning to manage, you can do anything but not everything (the waiting room will never be empty), life maintenance is not the goal, aim for intentionality in every 15 minutes, and treat yourself like a robot; above all, have goals outside work.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Why this three-part series on managing time outside a nine-to-five

★ Ali opens a three-part series on managing your time outside a nine-to-five job: this episode covers foundational mindsets, the second time drains, the third five time-management skills. — 00:00:00 · time management
★★ Ali says his YouTube channel, his business and basically every good thing in his life came from managing his time outside his nine-to-five job when he worked full-time as a doctor. — 00:00:00 · time management

00:01:27 — Mindset one: time is your most valuable resource

★★★ Ali calls time our single most valuable non-renewable resource: we can always make more money, but never more time. — 00:01:33 · first in: 2023-04-24, How I Manage My Time - The Trident Calendar System
★★ Ali says learning time management is not hustle culture or toxic productivity, nor about working harder: it is about appreciating that our time is our own to use as we like. — 00:02:04 · time management
★★ Ali says that without working on time management we fall into the unintentional default of Netflix's next recommendation or habitually scrolling TikTok, Instagram or YouTube. — 00:02:26 · Netflix, TikTok, Instagram, time management
★★ Ali says that looking back decades from now he is unlikely to remember the TV shows he watched or the time spent scrolling, but using his time intentionally on hobbies, family or his business would make him glad. — 00:02:53

00:03:25 — Sponsor read for Huel

00:04:59 — Mindset two: you can do anything you want, but not everything; the waiting room will never be empty

★★ Ali says the method of writing down 25 things you want to achieve, choosing the top five and avoiding the other 20 is wrongly attributed to Warren Buffett, who laughed it off when Alex Banayan asked him about it in Omaha. — 00:05:22
★★ Ali still calls the 25-and-five method directionally legit: priorities five to 25 derail us and take time away from what truly matters. — 00:05:53
★ Ali's own list of wants kept growing: guitar, piano, singing, playing by ear, drawing, and Japanese because he likes watching anime. — 00:05:53
★★★ You can do anything you want but not everything, Ali says: a big part of time management is prioritisation, knowing what to say no to so you have the time, energy and focus for what matters. — 00:06:34 · time management

“you can do anything you want, but not everything you want”
★★ On his first day in the emergency department as a doctor, Ali saw about eight patients in an eight-hour shift, skipping lunch, and the waiting room was still full when he went home. — 00:06:58
★★ On his second day in the emergency department Ali batched radiology calls and blood tests, skipped lunch and saw 12 patients, yet the waiting room was still teeming. — 00:07:23
★★★ A consultant told Ali that the waiting room will never be empty: there will always be more patients, and all they can do is show up as their best selves and see patients in order of priority. — 00:08:15
★ The consultant also made Ali take his lunch break, which Ali says is legally required every four hours because focus and concentration otherwise fall. — 00:08:15
★★★ Ali applies the consultant's lesson to his whole to-do list: there is always more work, so like a battlefield surgeon triaging, he shows up as his best self each day and works in order of priority. — 00:09:22

00:09:35 — Plug for the free focus crash course

00:09:57 — Mindset three: life maintenance is not the goal; the 12-month celebration and the goalkeeper doc

★★★ Life maintenance is not the goal, Ali says: our time goes either to maintaining our lives (sleep, cooking, cleaning) or to progressing them (work, a side hustle, a hobby, a relationship, health). — 00:09:57
★★★ Outside hard seasons such as the pandemic or the first few years with kids, Ali makes sure he spends at least one or two hours every day progressing his life outside work, not just maintaining it. — 00:11:07
★★ Ali treats the gym as progress rather than maintenance by training for something specific, such as a 100 kg bench press, a deadlift of about 180 or a marathon. — 00:11:36
★★ Ali says a sense of progress is a big part of what makes life fulfilling, and people feel in a rut when they go to work, come home, maintain and go to work again. — 00:11:36
★★★ If you have not set goals for the year, Ali advises pausing to ask what you would like to be celebrating with a friend 12 months from now in work, health and relationships. — 00:12:21
★★ Many viewers attended the annual planning workshop Ali hosted a couple of weeks before, and he plans to host more of them. — 00:12:21
★★ Ali advises writing your goals where you will see them regularly: his are in his goalkeeper doc, a Google Doc that is the first thing in his Chrome, where he also does his weekly reviews and looks at least once a week. — 00:12:50 · Google Docs
★★ Ali likes the phrase that it is not about the pursuit of happiness but the happiness of pursuit: having something to work towards outside the nine-to-five gives purpose and is profoundly energising. — 00:12:50

00:14:00 — Mindset four: intentionality in every 15-minute block

★★★ Ali's mindset of intentionality: imagine a bell ringing every 15 minutes and ask whether the last 15 minutes were intentional; the aim is that every 15-minute block is intentional, whether or not it is work. — 00:14:26
★★★ For Ali productivity is basically the same as intentionality: watching four episodes of House of the Dragon he meant to watch is productive, and watching them without meaning to is not. — 00:15:47

“productivity is basically the same as intentionality”
★★ Ali thinks 15 minutes is the right unit for blocks of time, an hour being too long: 15 minutes is enough to make progress on a video, a book or a relationship. — 00:16:13
★ From what he has read and experienced, Ali says romantic partners care much less about the quantity of time spent together than about its quality. — 00:16:13

00:16:59 — Mindset five: treat yourself like a robot

★★★ Ali advises treating yourself like a robot: when you fail to be intentional, procrastinate or get distracted, tweak the system as you would faulty code instead of beating yourself up. — 00:17:18 · the try-harder button
★ To comments calling him a productivity robot, Ali says he will take it if it means not beating himself up for failing to do what he intended. — 00:17:55
★★★ Building his channel as a doctor, with an hour's commute each way and editing his own videos, Ali traced drained evenings to four hours' sleep after night shifts and skipped meals on busy obstetrics wards, and set two rules: no editing after a night shift, and eat lunch every day. — 00:18:57 · the try-harder button, Obstetrics and gynaecology

00:20:15 — The one takeaway: have goals outside your work

★★★ Ali's one takeaway is to have personal goals outside work: time management is pointless if it only means more Netflix or slightly better life maintenance; like Simon Sinek's Start With Why, you need a clear why. — 00:20:20 · Netflix, time management

Threads in this video

restate · Should productivity be about efficiency or about enjoying the work? — For Ali productivity is basically the same as intentionality: watching four episodes of House of the Dragon he meant to watch is productive, and watching them without meaning to is not. (00:15:47)
restate · How do you decide which work to prioritise? — You can do anything you want but not everything, Ali says: a big part of time management is prioritisation, knowing what to say no to so you have the time, energy and focus for what matters. (00:06:34)
refine · How do you decide which work to prioritise? — Ali applies the consultant's lesson to his whole to-do list: there is always more work, so like a battlefield surgeon triaging, he shows up as his best self each day and works in order of priority. (00:09:22)
restate · How do you find time for projects alongside a full-time job? — Outside hard seasons such as the pandemic or the first few years with kids, Ali makes sure he spends at least one or two hours every day progressing his life outside work, not just maintaining it. (00:11:07)
refine · How do you find time for projects alongside a full-time job? — Ali's one takeaway is to have personal goals outside work: time management is pointless if it only means more Netflix or slightly better life maintenance; like Simon Sinek's Start With Why, you need a clear why. (00:20:20)
refine · How do you exercise consistently and get in shape? — Ali treats the gym as progress rather than maintenance by training for something specific, such as a 100 kg bench press, a deadlift of about 180 or a marathon. (00:11:36)
restate · Should you set goals, and how? — If you have not set goals for the year, Ali advises pausing to ask what you would like to be celebrating with a friend 12 months from now in work, health and relationships. (00:12:21)
refine · Should you set goals, and how? — Ali advises writing your goals where you will see them regularly: his are in his goalkeeper doc, a Google Doc that is the first thing in his Chrome, where he also does his weekly reviews and looks at least once a week. (00:12:50)
promised · Ali plans to host more annual planning workshops (2024) — Ali says he plans to host more annual planning workshops like the one many viewers attended a couple of weeks before. (00:12:21)
refine · How do you beat procrastination? — Ali advises treating yourself like a robot: when you fail to be intentional, procrastinate or get distracted, tweak the system as you would faulty code instead of beating yourself up. (00:17:18)
restate · How much is your time worth? — Ali calls time our single most valuable non-renewable resource: we can always make more money, but never more time. (00:01:33)
refine · Should you watch TV? — For Ali productivity is basically the same as intentionality: watching four episodes of House of the Dragon he meant to watch is productive, and watching them without meaning to is not. (00:15:47)
restate · How do you become happier? — Ali likes the phrase that it is not about the pursuit of happiness but the happiness of pursuit: having something to work towards outside the nine-to-five gives purpose and is profoundly energising. (00:12:50)
refine · How do you keep a relationship healthy? — From what he has read and experienced, Ali says romantic partners care much less about the quantity of time spent together than about its quality. (00:16:13)
restate · How do you cope with night shifts? — Building his channel as a doctor, with an hour's commute each way and editing his own videos, Ali traced drained evenings to four hours' sleep after night shifts and skipped meals on busy obstetrics wards, and set two rules: no editing after a night shift, and eat lunch every day. (00:18:57)
looked back · The Feel-Good Productivity Annual Planning Workshop, Ali's live Zoom workshop for people who pre-order his book (2023) — Many viewers attended the annual planning workshop Ali hosted a couple of weeks before, and he plans to host more of them. (00:12:21)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Ali plans to host more annual planning workshops (2024) — open (updates through 2024, not reported done); last: progress update, 2024-12-12

Mentioned

Central: life maintenance · the try-harder button · time management

Also: People: Alex Banayan · Simon Sinek · Tony Robbins · Warren Buffett

Projects: The Feel-Good Productivity Annual Planning Workshop

Works: Game of Thrones · House of the Dragon · Start With Why

Organizations: Instagram · Netflix · TikTok

Concepts: 12-month celebration · Emergency medicine · hustle culture · Obstetrics and gynaecology

Products: Google Chrome · Google Docs · YouTube Shorts

Replied to by

← Previous: How to Start Your First Business in 48 Hours · Next → How to Stop Wasting Your Life (Avoid These 5 Things)