A strategy that kept me pretty productive is to have a "primary task" for the day, scaled appropriately, and a secondary one. Just those two. Say: Primary task

A strategy that kept me pretty productive is to have a "primary task" for the day, scaled appropriately, and a secondary one. Just those two. Say: Primary task: write outline on all areas of X presentation. Secondary task: replace light bulb of car. It's just that simple. Two tasks that I'll struggle to finish in a day. From there some properties emerge beautifully. It naturally forms chunks of focus. The "flow". Yet, it's flexible because the execution details are not agreed beforehand, they're made up as you go. "2h on the main task at least, now that I've done some stuff and have enough free time for a chunk!" I can still deal with any blow as it comes. Stuff happens. But at least one can be more mindful about priorities, having the easy to remember two tasks in mind. loose systems (good ones) often work better and can handle failures without crashing down. PS for the author: i live & study in Madrid as well! these kind of deliberations are an important part of my self-improvement. I really like trying things out, and bouncing ideas off another person in a good discussion. You can consider this an invitation, open at any time, about things that we both value :)