My daily objective is to nurture all my life areas by doing something for each. This isn't a hard rule, but I assign each life area to a time block.

The important thing to remember is that my mornings should be used to strengthen my religious life, which includes my writing life. A successful morning for me is one when I felt I existed, read, wrote, and thought deeply, which should help me make progress on at least one specific subject.

Afternoons and evenings, on the other hand, are for tasks that require me to jump from one thing to another. Because of this, they are less structured than mornings.

This routine only applies on regular days when I'm free from work, travel, or other commitments. A work day will look entirely different, with research and writing taking up almost the entire day. Likewise, when I'm working on a time-bound project, I focus entirely on the tasks under that project and let go of this routine, except the core block.

Morning rules

To make the most out of my mornings, I bound them with some rules:

• No social media and email
• Alone at my desk
• No meetings
• No extended breaks (maintain momentum, not combat fatigue)

Pre-desk (~8:00–8:15 AM)

• Feed the cats.
• Wash face.
• Weigh in.
• Drink two glasses of water.

Core block (~8:15–9:30 AM)

The core block is non-negotiable, meaning it is something I do without fail every day. During working days, I don't begin working without doing it. However, I do shorten the time I spend in it by shortening my sitting meditation to 5–10 minutes and my journaling session to just a page. During non-working days, if a project requires more time, I could forgo of subsequent phases of my morning routine to accommodate it—but not the core block of my morning routine.

This core block—and my entire morning routine—is articulated fully in Leaves of Morning.

• Light an incense.
• Meditate.
• Light a candle.
• Read "My Principles of Living".
• Prayer Before Writing
• Sulat Nilay
• Back up HD.
• Write daily review.
• Write 5MJ.

Auxiliary block (~9:30 AM–12:00 PM)

I always begin this block by reviewing the previous journal entry and adding it into its corresponding index.

After this, this block is reserved only for the following tasks (in order of priority):

1. Developing or revising writings
2. Working on a specific creative project
3. Studying

How I ultimately decide on what among these three activities to do on any given morning depends purely in curiosity and intuition. For example, since I will be prioritizing writing, I expect that there will be days when I would feel the need to read more and catchup with my readings. On those days, I would be naturally pulled toward studying rather than writing.

When developing or revising writings, I return to any existing seeds or seedlings (some in my editorial calendar) and choose one or two to work on. It is better to make focused progress on just a couple of these than scattering my attention as this allows me to go deep into something—a continuation of the contemplative mode of sulat nilay.

If I decide to prioritize a project instead, I open Things and perform what to do from a set of preplanned actions prepared during the weekly review.

When there are no writings or projects to work on, I study by performing the following actions:

• Prayer Before Study.
• Perform contemplative reading and studying outlined in my reading process.

Although I prioritize the aforementioned tasks, I keep this block open to what my current circumstances ask from me. My only requirement is that whatever I do at this block allows me to continue the contemplative mode that the core block has started.

Lunch Break (12:00–2:00 PM)

Unstructured Time (~2:00–4:00 PM)

While the majority of my afternoon is unstructured time, I try to accomplish the following:

• Back up photos.
• Process yesterday’s photos in my phone (if any).
• Perform retrieval practice.
• Read one poem.
• Connect meaningfully with at least one contact, ideally part of my creative or spiritual communities.

After I accomplish the above, I use this block for any of the following:

• Projects, tasks, admin work, and meetings
• Siesta
• Merienda
• Study

Walk (4:00–6:00 PM)

I go out for a walk and perform my jiyū shūkyō walking practice. When I don't work out with Lea, I go on for a full walk (7,500–10,000 steps). When I'm working out with her, I just take a quick walk (5,000 steps).

Dinner (6:00–8:00 PM)

Evening Block (8:00–10:00)

After dinner, I use this last block of the day to rest, unwind, spend time with Lea, or read.

Wind Down (10:00–11:00 PM)

I begin my wind down routine at around 10:00 PM.

Before sleeping, I meditate for another 30 minutes then read a book.