My physical transformation in the past month while building my startup, finding coders, raising $20k in funding, and running a Kickstarter.
Six months ago, I got an idea. I was burdened by the growing complexity at my day job as lead web developer, and felt like there had to be a better way. I read a statistic that the amount of information doubles every year, and I asked myself how I was going to deal with the next 10 years of information, and the explosive growth of complexity.
I realized then, we’re going to need tools to deal with the growth of complexity in the future. So I got to work. I quit my job right away, and started consulting so I could own the intellectual property of what I was building. Over the next six months, I worked with emacs and org-mode, building something I could be proud of.
Three weeks ago, I quit consulting to pursue this full time. In doing so, I’ve really made an effort to make sure everything in my life adds to my efficiency in doing what I love. I refuse to fail because I didn’t push hard enough, or work smart enough.
Your Physical Health Drives Your Mental Health
Unhappy programmers make for horrible, unproductive programmers. My overall health is priority number one in my startup. If I’m not performing at my peak levels, I’m not going to be competitive in the marketplace. So I’ve researched on a few books, and found the best information I could get.
Physical Training for My Startup:
- Sleep at least 8-10 hours a night (From The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working)
- Cardio at 65-80% of maximum heart rate for 20 mins / day (Here’s Why)
- Lift weights 3 days a week, focus on maximum weight (My Workout)
- Skateboarding 3 days a week, for socialization, stress relief
Peak Performance Diet (Mostly Paleo)
- No grains, no sugar, no dairy
- Vegetables as replacement for grains in dishes (Great Resource for Cooking)
- Protein with every meal
- 6+ meals per day
- Black coffee, water, or tea
- Fresh veggie or fruit with every meal
Staying Social While Hacking the Day Away
- Make socializing and networking a top priority. (Here’s Why)
- See family or friends every day, and spend time with them, completely away from the tasks that need getting done.
- Give everything freely, immediately.
- Enjoy the company of the opposite sex daily. (This can be interesting too.)
Spiritual Needs Are Real
- Give freely, always enter conversation and interactions wondering how you can help the other person.
- Take time away from everything, to disconnect and sit in silence.
- Walks on beach to reflect and come up with new ideas.
State-of-the-art regimen, excellent! Except for 6+ meals/day. What’s your thinking on that? To maximize hours in ketosis, the paleo cognoscenti aim for 2 meals/day, including a day with zero or only one meal. Frequent small meals keeps blood sugar continuously elevated.
cl3,
I’ve done the 6+ meals per day because that’s how I feel best, and that’s what someone I respected for their physical fitness does. In order to consume the calorie levels I need at my physical level, I need to keep calorie levels high. I went from 9.6% body fat to 7.9% in a few weeks, and got worried about losing too much weight because of calorie deficits.
That being said, I hadn’t run into your data. I’d heard about intermittent fasting being a great way to supercharge your metabolism. I only implement things in month long trials, so do you have any links describing the benefits of 2 meals / day with the intermittent fast?
Thanks for your response, and the new information.
– Kirk