Special Release Three How I Spend A Typical Day #

Hello, I am Hu Xi.

Today, let’s temporarily put aside the lengthy code and take a break. I want to share with you a topic unrelated to the course - how I spend my daily routine.

Of course, this is not a lecture. After reading this, you may have a feeling of seeing an “old cadre”: getting up and going to bed at fixed times, having a cup of tea in the afternoon, and a few traces left by an old fountain pen, regardless of the weather.

Many people say that self-discipline is the highest form of freedom. I dare not say that my life is self-disciplined, but I truly enjoy it and cannot extricate myself from it. I enjoy the sense of security and rhythm that this regular lifestyle brings me. I am grateful for day after day, and I am grateful to myself.

Confucius said, “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” But I believe that what you wish for yourself, do not impose on others.

“Everyone should have their own life and live the life they want.” I deeply agree with this statement. Therefore, I advise myself that today’s sharing is not intended to promote a certain lifestyle to you. It is an experience, a summary, and I hope you can gain some inspiration and enlightenment from it. I will try my best to write it in an interesting and lively manner, so that you don’t skip directly to the part where I go to bed at 11 o’clock at night. After all, there doesn’t seem to be much to write about sleep, haha.

Breakfast: Providing Sufficient Protein Is the Key to High Efficiency at Work #

“When your dreams come alive you’re unstoppable. Take a shot, chase the sun, find the beautiful.” At 6:30 in the morning, accompanied by the alarm clock playing “Dream it possible,” I start a new day. After getting dressed and finishing my morning routine, I start having breakfast.

I strongly recommend treating breakfast seriously. Some people think that eating too much breakfast will make them sleepy in the morning. In my opinion, this is not true because even if you skip breakfast, you will still feel tired in the morning. Drowsiness depends on the work you have to do, not on breakfast.

Please try to have a variety of options for breakfast, at least some meat or protein. For cognitive workers like us, providing enough protein is essential to maintain high productivity in the morning.

After breakfast, it is around 7:30. Faced with the crowded traffic during Beijing’s morning rush hour, I have given up the idea of driving to work. The 60-minute subway journey is neither long nor short, and it gives me enough time for a short nap. Oh, no, it gives me enough time to learn something new.

In most cases, as soon as I step onto the subway, I habitually open the English learning app on my phone and spend 10 minutes memorizing vocabulary for the graduate entrance examination. This is followed by a fixed program: listening to three episodes of EnglishPod, to awaken my ears that are not yet fully awake in the morning. After finishing these tasks, the rest of the time is more casual. Generally, I spend it on my Kindle.

I really enjoy reading. Holding my Kindle on the subway, the action of swiping the screen with my index finger gives me a sense of being an “intellectual,” although I think I already am one. Of course, I don’t exclude physical books. In fact, recently the physical book I’ve been reading the most on the subway is called “The Legend of Di Renjie.”

I usually arrive at the company early, around 8:40. If you work in a state-owned enterprise or government agency, please ignore the “early” here, as it is relative to the Internet industry. I personally cherish this time in the morning because my work efficiency is the highest during this time. Therefore, no matter where I work, I am willing to arrive at the company early.

In general, people who arrive at the company so early are probably “lonely” because many colleagues are still on the way, and those who live near the company may even still be in bed. The quiet atmosphere allows me to escape from the hustle and bustle of the subway station and quickly relax both physically and mentally. At this moment, all the objective conditions conducive to focused work have been met, so I immediately enter into work mode.

Unfortunately, in regards to work, I haven’t developed that kind of obsessive concentration yet. I am not able to sit like a pine tree or sit still like a clock on my seat for several hours and busy myself with work. Fortunately, there is an extremely efficient work method: the Pomodoro Technique, which means working for 25 minutes, then taking a 5-minute break, and then starting another 25 minutes, repeating this cycle.

Now, for any non-meeting work, I strictly adhere to the Pomodoro Technique. This work philosophy, coupled with the right app, is truly effective and helps me greatly increase my focus and execution. Therefore, I can always accomplish my planned work goals.

Efficient Meetings Focus on Core Issues Instead of Divergent Discussions #

Due to my position, I often have to attend many multi-person company-level meetings throughout the day. Even at 8 or 9 o’clock when there are not many people around, one or two of these meetings can fill up the already very short morning time. Therefore, studying efficient meeting organization has become an important task in front of me. Based on my day-to-day practice, I highly recommend the Amazon Meeting Style. This was invented by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. Its main feature is the silent start.

What does the silent start mean? Simply put, before the meeting begins, the organizer should send the main topics and content to all participants in the form of a document. Once the meeting starts, all participants carefully read these topics and content, which is referred to as the silent start.

This usually lasts for 20-30 minutes. During this time, participants can provide real-time feedback and interact with each other through written replies, focusing on the discussion topics. Thanks to advanced collaborative document editing tools, the Amazon Meeting Style ensures that all participants stay focused on the core content rather than engage in divergent discussions.

Furthermore, after the meeting ends, it is important to create clear action items with assigned responsibilities. It’s interesting to note that if the action items are not assigned to specific individuals, then the “unfortunate” person will be the meeting organizer, as they are responsible for organizing the meeting. Therefore, in our company, for meetings with four or more participants, it is mandatory to specify the follow-up action items and the respective responsible persons.

How can we stand out among the crowd if our daily work is following the routine? #

Whether it’s daily work or meetings, lunchtime usually arrives quickly. After a productive morning, I am usually quite hungry. Personally, I don’t have the habit of taking a nap during lunchtime. So, after having a fulfilling meal, I usually take this time to learn something outside of work, such as studying Kafka source code. This is both a way to reset my mind and make the most of this time to improve myself.

Some say that the time to surpass others is beyond the 8 working hours. I strongly agree with this. If our daily work is just following the routine, how can we stand out among the crowd? Of course, here’s a bitter truth: even if we work hard, the probability of achieving great success is low. However, as Javier’s famous saying goes, “We persist in doing something not because it will work, but because we believe it is the right thing to do.”

I cherish this leisure time in the afternoon. Usually, I brew my favorite green tea, take out an old pen and A4 blank paper, and refer to the latest technical documents or business reports that I enjoy reading. I jot down the insights gained from my learning, stroke by stroke.

I have always considered myself not particularly smart, and I have found that I remember things better when I write down the knowledge I need to understand. I also enjoy this learning method. The process of writing helps me think about what I have learned, which is a valuable learning outcome. Furthermore, the daily practice of writing has honed my handwriting skills. Sometimes, I feel that this is a greater achievement than the actual learning itself.

Many decisions are not about right or wrong; what we need to do is to do our best to make our decisions right. #

After a short nap, the busy and lengthy afternoon work began.

Usually, I would be busy until around 6:30 p.m. During this time, there were various meetings that fragmented the originally neat 4-hour block. But I have to say, this is what work looks like. Honestly, I used to feel frustrated because I didn’t have uninterrupted time to get things done, but now I think I was being too fussy. In the battlefield, there is no time for you to fully prepare before going into battle, is there?

Similarly, every decision we make quickly in our company’s business doesn’t have a right or wrong answer. They only become right through subsequent hard work and efforts. Now I am truly grateful for this fast-paced, fragmented business-driven work because it allows me to make business decisions as quickly as possible.

Personally, I don’t like the step-by-step approach of making detailed plans and then going to work, especially in the ever-changing internet environment. At present, the market does not give business decision-makers the luxury of time for careful consideration. Things are done by doing, paths are forged by treading, not by making plans.

In fact, technology works the same way. If you want to learn a new technology, just roll up your sleeves and start learning, without the need for a learning roadmap or wasting energy on shortcuts, or constantly worrying about making the right decision. Many times, we haven’t reached the stage of competing in theory and methods; we just need to work a little harder than others, and we can already be far ahead of them.

After dinner, I usually follow the same pattern of self-study as I did after lunch.

When the clock strikes 7:30 p.m., I will resume working. If there is nothing special that requires overtime, I will finish work and go home around 8 p.m.

Unlike reading on Kindle during my commute on the subway, on the way home every day, I usually take some time to reflect on my words and actions of the day. For example, which words were poorly spoken, which tasks were not carried out well, and which people were not treated properly. Although it is far from the level of “reflecting on oneself three times a day” (a reference to an ancient Chinese teaching), this is indeed my daily ritual.

Maybe because of being an Aquarius, I particularly enjoy my alone time. That line from “One Hundred Years of Solitude” resonates with me: “All the noise that ever existed in life will be paid for with loneliness.” Having the ability to combat loneliness is an important sign of maturity. I enjoy using my alone time to enhance my maturity.

When the clock reaches 10 p.m., the streets become quiet, and my favorite one hour of the day arrives. During this hour, I engage in various activities: researching technology, studying finance, and of course, writing articles and recording audio for my column. Sometimes, I don’t even do anything in particular; I just open a meditation app on my phone and let my mind wander… The hour swiftly passes by, but I look forward to its timely arrival the next day.

Alright, finally, it’s time to go to bed at 11 p.m. I’m going to sleep now. See you in the next class, Zzzzz…