The Lazy Lifter | MY DAILY ROUTINE: HOW I AUTOMATED MY LIFE FOR SUCCESS & FUN🦸‍♂️

MY DAILY ROUTINE: HOW I AUTOMATED MY LIFE FOR SUCCESS & FUN🦸‍♂️

I discovered the power of daily routines when I began my fitness journey 17 years ago.

Natutunan ko na if I want to transform my body, I have to stick to a workout routine and not just do random things at the gym.

So I did just that, and it worked.

After experiencing results, I realized:

"𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚."

At first, I thought sa fitness lang ‘to gagana. But when I applied the same discipline to building a business, achieving personal goals, etc...

... it worked more than I expected!

Besides achieving my goals faster, life became much simpler for me.

Because now, when I want to accomplish something in my life, ilalagay ko lang yung goals and tasks sa parts ng routine ko, and magically, with time, those goals will automatically be achieved!

And that’s how I became a sucker for routines.

Ito rin yung na-discover kong patterns for working with more than 20,000 paying clients sa fitness + personal development.

Before these people enrolled in my programs, they thought that the reasons they were struggling to achieve their goals were because of:

❌ They lacked knowledge

❌ They lacked discipline

❌ They lacked motivation

But these are not the main reasons.

The reason why they're failing is simply because their days, or even their whole life, lacked structure.

That is the root of all evil. 👿

Let me explain that.

𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦, 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗖𝗔𝗡'𝗧 𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗦

Last post, I shared with you the 10 habits that transformed me from being an unhealthy loser & a tambay, to someone living the life of his dreams.

(If you want to read that, just look for it dito sa profile ko)

While I understand that knowing those habits is helpful, alam ko rin na hindi pa rin sila magagawa ng madami. May kulang eh.

You know what that is?

The structure.

Kumbaga, in that post, I told you the 'WHAT' and the 'WHY' of those 10 habits, but the missing piece is the 'WHEN'.

At dun papasok yung routine.

Think of routines as containers of our habits.

Parang piggy bank, it’s a container for the coins you put inside it, and over time, they will stack up. But if walang container, the coins won’t accumulate; they might just end up scattered all over the place.

Similarly, if walang structure ang habits, which we call routines, these habits won't form. Magiging scattered lang din sila and hindi sila mag stack up to build a strong positive momentum. 👎

To further understand, gamitin nating example yung 'Exercise'.

If you want to build the habit of exercising, hindi ka naman basta lang mag push-up or squat anytime na maka-feel ka ng urge, diba?

But you will do those exercises sa 'gym time' mo. 🕓

Whether that's in the morning, afternoon, or evening, basta pag 'gym time', that's when you'll do your exercises.

And that 'gym time' serves an example of structure or routine; yan yung container for your exercise habits.

Without this container called 'gym time', hindi mabubuo yung exercise habits mo because you will just rely on life's randomness and worse, your feelings. 🙅‍

Another one.

Let's say you want to install the habit of reading. 📚

Would you just tell yourself that you're going to read any time you feel the urge to?

Heck no!

That's the recipe for not doing it (but that's what most people do).

To install this reading habit effectively, what you need to do is check your daily routines (or segments of our day), pick where to insert this habit, then do that consistently the same time and setting every single day.

And that's how you install new habits and behaviors—not just by doing them randomly, but by putting them into your daily routine so they get done repeatedly and consistently. 👌

And that, my friends, is the reason why many people still struggle to do the right things kahit alam naman nilang makakatulong sa kanila yun.

It's because they lack structure; wala silang routines to contain the new habits they want to adopt.

And this is what this post is about.

Hindi ko man maturo exactly how to build a daily routine for your lifestyle since it varies for everyone...

.. what I can do is share my own daily routine (which you can model) that allows me to:

💸 Build and run a successful business

💪 Maintain my six pack abs

🧠 Read multiple books a week

📺 And watch lots of animes!

Or, as I like to call it, an '𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗽𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆'. 🚀

𝗠𝗬 𝟲-𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗗𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘

The days I find myself super effective, productive, and happiest are the days when I run this exact routine— it's my bread and butter.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭 - 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲 (𝟭𝟱-𝟮𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘀) 🧘‍

This part of my day is when I practice:

✔️ Gratitude

✔️ Meditation

✔️ Spirituality

✔️ Ownership/Proactivity

✔️ Some fitness habits

How I run this routine:

🔹 Wake up between 7-9am

🔹 Turn off my alarm (this is the only time I touch my phone)

🔹 Think of 10 things I'm grateful for, big or small

🔹 Review my Core Values inside my head to reinforce them

🔹 Get up and put my phone out of sight

🔹 Pee

🔹 Wash mouth and face

🔹 Weigh myself

🔹 Drink at least 16oz water (sleeping overnight dehydrates you)

🔹 Log my sleep quality and weight sa Kaizen tracker

🔹 Meditate for 10-15 minutes

Explanation:

Your morning routine sets the tone of your day.

Kung lalagyan natin sya ng label, this 15-20 minutes are my spiritual/soul time.

The reason why I don't check my phone or any messages is because I want to train my mind to dictate my day, rather than allowing external factors to control it (Ownership/Proactivity).

This time is just me and all me.

Pag inuna ko yung pag-check ng messages, I'll start my day REACTING sa agenda ng ibang tao, and the trait I'll develop is being reactive rather than proactive.

At kung fan ka ng personal development and business gurus, probably na-encounter mo na rin yung mga nagsasabi ng:

"Morning routine isn't that important. Just wake up, drink coffee, and go straight to work."

Well, that's also a morning routine. Shorter version lang.

The main idea is that your morning routine should benefit the next part of your day. If it's taking up more time than it's worth (like maybe a two-hour routine), then you might need to adjust it.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮 - 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 (𝟮-𝟲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀) 🚀

This part of my day is when I practice:

✔️ Deep Work / Focus

✔️ Creative Output

✔️ Business Building

✔️ Leadership

✔️ Management

✔️ Skill Building

✔️ Meditation

✔️ Gratitude

✔️ Some fitness habits

How I run this routine:

🔹 Review my tasks for the day (which I already wrote the night before)

🔹 Turn on website blockers (Self-Control app for Mac)

🔹 Play BrainFM (science-backed focus music)

🔹 Deep work for around 2-4 hours

🔹 Have a protein bar meal

🔹 Treadmill walk + think/listen to an audiobook or course for 30 mins

🔹 (Some days) Check my SMS and Slack messages in case I need to check in with my team

🔹 Deep work for 1-2 more hours

🔹 Meditate for 10 mins

Explanation:

Sabi nila pag CEO ka or business owner ka, wala ka na raw gagawin.

That's far from the truth.

Well, pwede naman, but initially, mahaba haba pa rin yung grind period before ka maka-graduate sa "wala na kong ginagawa sa business".

And it's not really 'wala' ka ng gagawin, but rather, your tasks just evolve, becoming more high-leverage.

Like noong freelancer pa lang ako, despite having the same routine, my tasks back then were different compared to now that I'm managing a bigger company.

This is why part of my daily routine is doing deep work for 2-6 hours.

This means no phone within sight, no social media, no unnecessary browser tabs, and even website blockers are on. 🔕

Sa first Deep Work session (2-4 hours), when my willpower is strongest, this is when I tackle my highest priority tasks, the ones that truly move the needle, including:

⚡ Writing content

⚡ Creating lessons/webinars

⚡ Strategizing

⚡ Product creation

⚡ Research and development

⚡ Marketing strategy design

⚡ Data/survey analysis

⚡ Skill development

⚡ Business process creation & optimization

⚡ Self-reflection and goal-setting

In addition, kung may need akong basahin na book ng mabilis na related sa highest priority tasks, dito ko rin sila tinatapos ng isang upuan.

At kung may new habits ako na gusto install na related sa skill-building, dito ko rin sila nilalagay.

Sa second Deep Work session naman (1-2 hours), when my willpower is somewhat depleted, I handle tasks that don't demand intense focus and concentration. These include:

📍 Management

📍 Delegating tasks

📍 Team meetings

📍 Other meetings

📍 Collaboration

📍 Providing support

For both sessions, I adhere to the same rules of Deep Work—no phone and avoiding distractions. Pero dito sa second session, mas maluwag na because some tasks involve checking in with my team and managing people.

Overall, the tasks I do depend on our business goals and priorities for the quarter or season, as well as the theme of the day (I have themed days). ☀️

After completing my two rounds of deep work, kahit mentally exhausted, I feel great.

Andun yung sense of fulfillment knowing I've fully utilized my day and creative energy by sharing my gifts.

And sabi nga ni Maya Angelou:

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦.” 💡

I then take another 10-15 minute meditation session to clear my mind and ease the cognitive load before preparing for my workout.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟯 - 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 & 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝟭 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿) 🏋️🧠

This part of my day is when I work on:

✔️ Building my body

✔️ Acquiring Knowledge

How I run this routine:

🔹 Pick a course or audiobook to play

🔹 Play it

🔹 (4-5x a week) Do my weight training session for around 60 minutes

🔹 (Non training days) I either walk or jog for around 30 minutes

Explanation:

Gym time is gym time, and learning time.

I don't listen to music but to audiobooks and courses instead. Dito ko sila tinatapos.

Sobrang sulit lang for me kasi you can hit two birds with one stone; you can build your body and brain at the same time. 🔥

Ito yung nabanggit ko sa last post ko about habits na by choosing to live a life with minimal music, I was able to finish an average of 2-3 books a week, simply by listening to books while working out.

So, any things I need to learn, dito ko yun usually nilalagay, sa gym time.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟰 - 𝗡𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 & 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 (𝟭.𝟱 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀) 🍖🤝

This part of my day is when I work on:

✔️ Hitting Protein

✔️ Social/Relationships

✔️ Gratitude

✔️ Maintenance Tasks

✔️ Hitting Steps

How I run this routine:

🔹 Big meal with loved ones

🔹 Treadmill walk + gratitude

🔹 Check messages & emails

🔹 Respond to people

Explanation:

After my brain and body building session, I reward myself with a big meal that fills up almost all my protein and calories for the day.

This is also the time when I bond with my loved ones, while sharing a meal together. 💚

(Still, no phone)

After the big meal, I walk on the treadmill again for around 20-30 minutes to aid digestion and increase my step count (aiming for 10k steps).

Dito ko na rin uumpisahan mag batch-check ng mga messages and emails, but before doing that, I'll take another moment for gratitude and intention-setting to put myself in a great state.

Basically, I'll just count the wins for the day, what made me smile, then give myself a simple reminder that whatever messages I'm going to see, they're opportunities for me to step up and serve.

I do this because I want to show up as my most grounded self when responding to people.

Simple, corny, but undeniably powerful. ⚡

So dito sa 'Nourish & Connect' part of my day, this when I handle all maintenance tasks and anything related to responding to people.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟱 - 𝗦𝗵𝘂𝘁𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 (𝟭 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿) 🚿✍️

This part of my day is when I work on:

✔️ Journaling

✔️ Planning

✔️ Gratitude

✔️ Self-Awareness

How I run this routine:

🔹 Shower

🔹 Sit on my desk

🔹 Journal (wins, reflections, thoughts)

🔹 Review my goals

🔹 Plan tasks for tomorrow

Explanation:

For my journal, I use an app called 'DayOne' for Mac.

I understand the power of handwritten journals, but I prefer using a digital journal mainly because handwritten journals lack a 'search' function.

This becomes increasingly important if you're doing it long-term, as it allows for easy retrieval and review of past entries.

Kung notebooks lang ang gamit mo, highly likely na hindi mo mahahanap yung previous entries mo because you wouldn't bother searching through these notebooks manually, page by page.

As for how I journal, I keep it simple:

I just write what happened in my day and list all my wins I can remember.

If I face challenges, stresses, or conflicts, I write about them too, along with my thoughts.

This not only helps me find solutions but also deepens my self-awareness.

Last part of this shutdown ritual is planning tasks for tomorrow and preparing everything needed for them.

This includes tidying my desk, closing all browser tabs na hindi kailangan, setting up a website blocker schedule, and opening necessary documents to work on.

Para pag upo ko sa desk, execute na lang, no more wasteful thinking, which saves a lot of willpower.

And then, I called it a day.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟲 - 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 (𝟰-𝟲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀) 🍿📺

This part of my day is when I work on:

✔️ WHATEVER I WANT (Fun)

How I run this routine:

🔹 Do whatever I want for 4-6 hours

Explanation:

By this point, I've spent about 8-10 hours on meaningful projects, learning new things, taking care of my health, connecting with loved ones, and building a life of value and meaning.

This leaves me with 4-6 hours (a conservative estimate, with buffer time) to do anything na trip ko.

I can:

🤩 Watch Netflix

🤩 Binge anime

🤩 Browse the internet

🤩 Read more books or watch more courses

👅 Bebe time

🤩 Do stuff not related to work

And in case you didn't know..

4-6 hours is a lot of time to have fun!

And this is why I never feel the need to complain na "wala akong oras mag enjoy" even when I'm grinding hard sa business and self-improvement.

It's all thanks to having these structures in place. 👌

And before I retire to bed, I meditate again for 10-15 minutes, just to quiet the monkey mind and prep me for a good night's sleep.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗦

The idea of this chosen lifestyle of mine revolves around the principle known as 'Liberating Constraints'.

Which means, by restricting one's freedom in some aspects of life, it opens up more freedom in other areas.

In other words, by being strict the first half of my day, let's say, I can have more time to enjoy the second half!

And my life will continue on an upward trajectory. 🚀

(Kaya ko sya tinawag na: Automated life of upward trajectory)

Contrast this sa lifestyle ko dati na gusto ko simula umaga slacking off lang, tapos hanggang gabi slacking off pa rin.

100% fun, walang progress and growth, and it leads to a downward life trajectory; tumatanda lang ako ng paurong. 📉

𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗡 𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗

To summarize, here’s my 6-part daily routine:

✅ Part 1 - Morning Routine

✅ Part 2 - Deep Work

✅ Part 3 - Workout & Learning

✅ Part 4 - Nourish & Connect

✅ Part 5 - Shutdown Ritual

✅ Part 6 - Free Time

Now, can you see why achieving goals feels much easier for me than many people?

It's not because I'm extraordinary, but simply because I have these routines (fixed containers) in place.

If I want to learn something, I'll just pick an audiobook or a course at ilalagay ko yun sa '𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵 & 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨' time.

If I want to create or build something, I'll just pick the action/habit at ilalagay ko yung execution nila sa '𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬' time.

If I want to connect with someone, ilalagay ko lang yung task na yun sa '𝘕𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 & 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵' time.

And if I want to have fun, you guessed it, dun sya sa '𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦' time.

Whatever actions or habits I put inside each of these containers, with time, they will automatically be accomplished because these containers remain constant.

At ito rin yung source ko ng self-efficacy and self-reliance because I know that whatever happens, I have these routines that can get me out of anything. ✊

(It's my version of "I know that whatever happens, hindi ako pababayaan ni Universe")

The thing to remember is you don’t have to do all these. Hindi mo rin need gayahin yung routine ko kasi magka-iba tayo ng work/lifestyle.

The idea is to set up your OWN routines, something constant in your days, where you can deal with whatever life throws at you.

Kasi hindi naman mawawala yung mga unexpected challenges na yan eh, but if you have something like this na pwede mo pag-kapitan no matter what, something that can balance out those stressful randomness...

... then life becomes less fearful. 😊

While I know spontaneity and variety are important for enjoyment, having certainty and consistency (through routines) are equally crucial for growth and stability.

For me, relying on pure 'randomness' is the same as being a powerless leaf in the wind..

"𝘛𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘩𝘪𝘯."

And it's not the life that I want.

And if it's not the life you desire either...

Then I challenge you to live MORE intentionally. 👊

That was another in depth-one, and I hope you found it helpful!