6 weeks ago, I quit my full-time job.

On that first day, I bursted awake with excitement. But that excitement quickly turned into a nagging discomfort. As someone who relied on routine and structure for years to balance a side hustle & a 9-5, I needed to have a rough outline for all of this empty space (but I didn't know where to start).

Then, I heard Shaan Puri talk about the idea of "The Ideal Tuesday" — and it's stuck with me ever since.

It's a simple exercise. Picture (in detail) your Ideal Tuesday – a normal day in the life. What do you eat? When do you wake up? What are you working on? Who are you spending time with? What are your hobbies? What's motivating you?

But... if you're like me, you might not know what this ideal Tuesday looks like! Which means you need to run some experiments (and figure out the common themes).

And after 6 weeks of trying different things, I've found 6 staples that define my best days:

1. Structured first 5 hours of the day. Waking up with a morning routine & time blocked for 4 hours of deep work (with all distractions blocked) gives my day a strong foundation (and eliminates decision fatigue).

2. 15,000 steps (or more!). Long walks are where I do my best thinking, learning, talking, brainstorming, and outlining. The more I walk, the better my days.

3. 3+ hours of direct sunlight exposure. Periods of extended sunlight fill me with energy (and it's easy to knock this out with my walks).

4. 1 conversation with a smart person. "Calls" are something I'm never excited to take, but never regret taking (especially when it's worth someone working on something cool & exciting that I can learn from).

5. Monotonous consistency in anything that is for "function." Meals & exercise mostly – I want to avoid making any decisions in these areas (which means doing the same things day after day and letting them compound).

6. Quiet evenings. Finally, I prefer to end the day with some quiet time reading, journaling, reflecting, brainstorming, and planning tomorrow.