Poisoning the day

A rockstar might seem an unusual choice for a personal productivity guru.

But Jack Antonoff manages to be both the lead vocalist of a rock band and the producer for many of the great contemporary musicians of our time (think Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and - most recently - Kendrick Lamar).

So he’s probably as good a candidate for productivity wisdom as anyone else.

A few months ago, Antonoff was interviewed by Zane Lowe ahead of his band’s latest album release. The interview began on a grim Manhattan morning, with a walk-and-talk before they headed to a nearby recording studio.

When they arrived, Lowe asked Antonoff whether he’d taken drugs (the answer: lots), if he’d stopped (the answer: yes), and why.

His reason, unexpectedly, was productivity.

“The magic is when the magic is. The magic isn’t when you’re fucked up at three in the morning. For me, the kind of music I’m writing, the kind of stories I’m telling, the magic is kind of right now. I feel like myself. I haven’t been poisoned by the day yet.”

What does it mean to have your day poisoned?

Here’s Antonoff’s explanation, slightly edited:

“Every day is a new beginning. You wake up and at some point in the day, someone shoots up a school, or something’s going on with your family, or you wake up and eat the wrong thing. And then you’re done. Emotionally cooked. Literally and emotionally poisoned.

Every day I wake up and can get to the studio before something has shattered my existence, I am grateful. And I can do things.

Then, at some point throughout the day - whether it’s reading about the state of the world, or something happens in my personal life, or even just my own emotions. I disintegrate. That’s when I focus on food, calling friends and family, or watching TV.”

This, to me, is what 90% of productivity advice on the internet is really about: how to get through as much of your day as possible before something takes you out.

It’s why podcasters love early mornings. Start work at 4:30 a.m., and no family member is going to message you with the ominous words: “Can I call you?”

Same with digital minimalism. No phone, no early morning notifications - no sudden alert about Putin’s latest military actions.

It’s also probably why founders like productivity advice so much: try to start something from nothing, it’s guaranteed something will come along at least once each day with the potential to knock you off your stride.

This is what I particularly love about Antonoff’s idea: its fatalistic acceptance that focus can’t be sustained indefinitely. At some point, you’re done. The magic is gone. You’re not getting it back.

Give up on trying to get back on the horse. Accept that it’s bolted, and focus on the easy stuff instead.

Adherents of this approach to productivity find an unlikely ally in Jeff Bezos.

Lots of people have seen the interview where Bezos talks about the value of his time spent puttering around each morning. Most haven’t seen what he says next:

“I like to do my high IQ meetings before lunch, like anything mentally challenging, that’s a 10am meeting. By like 5pm I can’t think about anything. Let’s try this tomorrow at 10am.”

Straight out of the Antonoff playbook.

Helpfully, this is one area of productivity where people with children are actually ahead of the curve.

Because kids are professional day poisoners.

If they’re not waking you up at 6 a.m. by prying your eyelids open, they’re upending your schedule when childcare falls through or illness strikes.

In this world, there are no delusions about the possibility of an unpoisoned day - there is no perfect game.

So how do you actually manage this? Embarrassingly simply.

Best option. Get as much done as early as possible. Limit your exposure to outside stimuli. And run the gauntlet until the poison strikes.

And when it does, don’t fight it. Reschedule anything demanding to the next day. Shift to easier tasks or simply call it and start on dinner.

Not an early riser? No problem, just flip it.

Avoid the day. And when it’s done, that’s when your focussed work starts (my favourite adherent of this approach is Demis Hassabis: who works a “second day” from between 11pm and 4am).

No matter what you do, avoid the kill zone - the heat of the day, when everyone’s about, the tweets are flying, and the news keeps on happening.

It’s the reason I sincerely doubt that anything great in the history of humanity has been built in the post-lunch afternoon.

Because even the best of us can’t escape it forever.

Every day when you wake up, there’s a clock ticking. You have no idea when it will run out.

The only question is: how much can you do before it does?

aled@ashore.io

__

Once a week I write about lessons in building from unexpected places. You can see the rest of what I write, and sign up to my email - Crossover Creativity - here.