Oh man, I sure do have such days. I'm amazed at how much I can do - everything seems simple, the actions are quick and correct. Then the next day I wake up all groggy and try to repeat it - no dice. No matter what I try, I can't have more than a day of this kind of productivity, and yes, it is 50% compared to the usual 2%. I've tried to do it - the most I could get was a week, but the following 6 days were like what, 10%?

The real question is how to always maintain that level of productivity, and I'm afraid I'll never find the answer. Maybe a combination of motivation + iron will/discipline, but I don't have either, especially when I need them the most...

> The real question is how to always maintain that level of productivity, and I’m afraid I’ll never find the answer.

Schedule regular meetings, connect, and correspond with great people. When you're interacting regularly with great people, it pulls you back into good things happening. It takes a while to set up - again, maybe a year or two from scratch - but it keeps pulling you into good things when you do.

You're absolutely right that a pull is required. Thank you. And, you are observing that max capacity is filled during the expansion, maintenance and world phases of your day, which is also interesting to me as I believe this only happens when they are done in order. That lazy morning in a coffee shop usually yields nothing, but this early evening I am going to a lecture and I can feel that I am likely to make interesting connections because I'm riding on a high of doing things all day.

Great post, I was just this week going over what my perfect day, a concept that internet marketer Frank Kern made me aware of, would look and feel like.

I have scheduled a point at the end of the week to get my thoughts on this day down on paper. But I have found that by knowing what a perfect, full/happy/productive/fulfilling day looks like and what emotions it contains, I get this strange buzz whenever I feel one of these emotions during my day-today activities. The thought process is almost along the lines of "huh, so this must be what it feels like to experience my perfect day," even if it only lasts for a second.

It's great that you've put some thought behind reaching full, or higher levels, of capability - maybe it is possible to one day utilize 80%-100% of our brain capacity like in the movie 'limitless' and find bliss in operating like finely tuned machines.

First comment, so I'll start out by saying I've been really enjoying your ideas the last couple months- thanks for sharing.

Wonder if you've read the excellent book: The Power of Full Engagement: why managing energy not time is the key to high performance and personal renewal.
The authors talk about how we need to strategically recuperate following moments of pushing our limits - just like in exercise. It talks about building strength, endurance, resilience, and flexibility in all of our capacities (physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional).

I like the idea of strategically interspersing an extremely productive day followed by day of renewal activities.

I'd also think optimizing our diet and sleep would play a big part in all this.

Thanks. I just bought Full Engagement last week actually - it looks great. Thanks for commenting with the suggestion and hope you stick around. Fully agreed on diet/sleep/training/renewel too.

I love this article man.

I like the idea of having some of these epic days, not just once a month. But why not, every week? Or every few days?

I believe it involves a complete alignment of everything in your life. I am working on aligning my internal world (things that are within my control - such as, the music I listen to, the movies I watch, the foods I eat, how often I excercise, getting good restful sleep, the vitamins I take, the friends I talk to) and then, I usually put out good energy into my external world - which causes good things to happen.

So for example, if I am in a good mood, I will interact with people in a way that will make them feel good too. Lately I have been getting a lot of "free swag" and the only explanation for it, is that I am making people feel good when I interact with them. The other day I forgot my wallet, and I didn't have the money to pay for a coffee and a muffin. The lady paused for a moment, and said: "don't worry about it" and she gave it to me for free. I was a bit shocked, we had chatted a bit beforehand, but nothing too major.

I am realizing that people are starved for connections. And when you have your life going well, and you put out a certain energy, people pick up on that, and they want to be part of it.

Lately things have been going well, but I am not operating nearly where I want to be. Today was a very productive day for me - got a ton of work done, and I am about to hit the gym. But it was maybe a 10% day or 15%.

In order to get to 40-50% range, I have to be firing on all cylinders and I have to very motivated about what I am working on.

Cheers,
Vish

Sebastian, interesting insight.

A few thoughts: Most people are going to ignore this concept of "not fully utilizing one's potential" prematurely because it's just very difficult to truly grasp it. I mean, it's difficult for me to grasp it.

How can you compare what a 50% (based on your scale) day would feel like, when you've spent 30+ years at an average of 2-5% ? It's like someone trying to compare what air-travel would look like BEFORE even electricity was invented.

I think the biggest key AND the most difficult element in this entire thing is: Great People. How does one surround themselves with great people? I think if you figure out how to satisfy JUST that element, everything else will take on it's natural course.

Thanks again for the post
Dilanka

Great post.. I used to moderate a group of entrepreneurs when I lived in Berlin and someone from the facebook group just posted this. I've been building up to a greater capacity over the last couple years. I haven't read the Full Engagement book that Nate suggested (yet, but I'm excited to now!) but I definitely think its a cycle. One of the other commenters said he's having trouble recreating these kinds of days on a constant basis.. well for me (and I imagine others as well) it works like this: I can have several in a row, but a break is always needed. I definitely agree with days of renewal activities. Work and rest.. you can't have one successfully without the other. Looking forward to reading more.

Best from LA, Melissa

So this has now been added to my daily routine/tracking system (loosely based on yours). Each night I need to answer "% capacity". I've only been doing it for a few days now so I doubt it's too accurate, though still, a 40% day (a few days ago) is something compared to a 15% day (today) even if the numbers are off a bit.

Again, helpful for the self accountability.

Great post.