Hey, everyone. It is Kevad here, the CEO and founder of NYA. As it is my third year building the company, I have had time to gather my braveness to expose the details of my daily routine.

It is not solely because 'transparency is trendy', but rather to share a few simple habit hacks with you that have stuck with me through these years of researching for Not Your Average.

☀️ Morning

Even though I was the one to write this article about how all high achievers wake up a few hours after midnight ready to conquer the day… I wake up after 8 AM. Even 9 AM if I can, so that's where we begin today...

8:00 Waking up

I used to want to be in the 5 AM club myself years ago after reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (still a very good book), but it just wasn't for me. Analysing my data with a sleep-tracker Oura ring, it turned out that the ideal time for me to wake up was indeed around 8 in the morning, as I tend to get most of my REM sleep after 5 AM (for optimal rest, we should get enough of both REM (the dream-sleep) and deep sleep). This could be for several reasons - age, sleeping environment, and so on. But eventually, it just comes back to what really makes me feel good.

💧Water

Then I drink a large cup of water. For the biohacking geeks here, it's filtered by a reverse osmosis system. I usually remineralise it with some salt and mineral drops. Water is extremely important in the morning. We have literally been sweating and dehydrating for 8 hours…

Make sure to put some minerals in your water though, otherwise, drinking pure water will just flush the electrolytes OUT of your body instead of hydrating you. 

🥑 Breakfast

Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day, all of the meals are pretty important. Especially when you use it to pour yourself over with some chocolatey-sugary cereal, a cup of yoghurt and oat milk. (PS! This will only make your blood sugar spike, and a nice energy crash in a few hours with more food cravings is guaranteed.😉)

I used to do a lot of this intermittent fasting, meaning I skipped breakfast and ate only in a 6-8hour window. This didn't work out great for me, resulting in hormonal imbalance and lots of work to get my health back after stressing my body for 6 months with fasting (thinking I am doing a big favour for myself). Miriam talked about this nicely in our 5th Health Seekers episode.

Anyway, my go-to breakfast is either some eggs and avocados, gluten-, lactose-, sugar-free pancakes, or coconut yoghurt with grain-free granola. It sounds fancy, but is actually super simple! 😋

👩🏽‍💻 Work

By 9:30 at last, I make it to our Workland office. The focus and energy are slowly building up as I open my list for the Weekly and Daily goals, and get into the flow. To not completely lose the track of time, I use an alarm to remind myself to eat some lunch and go to the gym in the afternoon.

☕️ Coffee?

Coming from the mouth of a coffee company CEO, “I don't drink coffee in the morning.” can raise some scepticism… If I want the taste of coffee, or just feel like doing my little coffee ritual, I drink decaf. And get some sun - some blue light in the morning works like a charm helping your body wake up. 😉

My first coffee ideally comes around 12 PM, before I go to the…

🏋🏽‍♀️ Gym

This is something that took me years to figure out but was a total game-changer - going to the gym in the afternoon. Naturally, my focus dampens after a few hours of intense work in the morning, and I lose my productivity for some time. Instead of sneaking in more social media minutes, I discovered that it's a perfect time to get some training done.

I grab my coffee (I often make it in the office as I always have a stack of NYA coffees there!!) and take a walk to the gym to get my 1,5h workout in.

🍲 Lunch

After the gym, I have lunch around 1 or 2 PM. Something fulfilling, warm, and loaded with protein to help me restock my energy.

⚡️ Back to the office

The second session of the deep work is on.

I usually do the hard tasks in the morning and leave more creative ones in the afternoon.

When I work, I make sure to NOT have my phone in sight and have all my notifications off. This excludes me from the statistical majority who use 13 hours of their time at work to browse social media… 

18:30 Home is calling

Done for the day! Both I and my boyfriend really love what we do, hence it can be easy to get lost in work and lose the so-called work-life balance. So we made a deal to pack it up after 18:00. This gives us enough time for commute, getting/making dinner and catching up.

📚 Evening

My evening routines are pretty versatile - they are dependent on my mood. Some days I feel like doing absolutely nothing and just cuddling or meditating. Other days, we go and explore some nature or cultural sites in the city. Most days, of my love for books, I still try to get some reading done. And lately, the new Decaf, or a classic Bedtime has been my cue to wind down and go to sleep.

23:00

💤💤💤💤💤

This is what most of my workdays look like. I am not perfect, I surely don't meditate every day or do 100-hour work weeks like Elon Musk. But what matters the most is that keeping my “WHY” in mind and giving myself space to really feel what my body wants helps me control my stress levels, and feel truly nurtured and happy every day.

I dare you to explore and experiment with different routines and build your own using what really works for you!

If you know someone who would benefit from this article, please be so kind and forward it to them. And feel free to let me know about your magic tricks to sustain a healthy work-life balance in the comments below!⚡️

Yours,

Kevad

 @kevadbelle

❤️