Blogging Productivity Tips

Dear friend,

I think I am currently one of the most productive bloggers on the internet (and the world). I want to share how I do it– and perhaps a little on why I do it.


First of all, what is ‘productivity’?

To me, it is simple — producing a lot of [x].

For example, to be “productive” as a blogger means to PRODUCE (create) lots of blog posts. From 2010-2018 I’ve made over 5,000+ blog posts.

Some practical ideas:

1. IA Writer + Markdown

I have written thousands of blog posts in IA WRITER. I write in full screen as well as in “focus mode”.

Also, writing in “markdown” is one of the best ways to be more productive as a blogger. When you’re writing down your ideas, you don’t want to be distracted by formatting. Markdown keeps things minimal.

2. Beats

You gotta find some beats which get you in the zone of writing. For myself, I love hip hop. I’m currently really into Eminem’s “Kamikaze” album, especially his ‘Not Alike’ song. I also use bass-heavy earbuds to get me in the zone.

3. Coffee shop

I also find my best blogging always happens at coffee shops. It doesn’t really matter which coffee shop — whether hipster, or just a local Starbucks.

This is my theory: when you’re at a coffee shop, you actually are more focused, because you have distractions in the background. I believe Nassim Taleb calls this ‘stochastic resonance’ — having some distractions actually invokes your attention mechanism, which helps you focus more.

4. Powerlifting

This is a big thing — I think I am so productive because I powerlift (heavy “1 rep max” style deadlifting, heavy dumbbell press, squats, and weighted chin-ups and dips).

This is my theory:

To maximize your intellectual strength and productivity, you must be physically strong.

After an intense workout in the morning or afternoon, I get an insane “pump” which powers me throughout the day.

5. Fast typing speed

I think I can type around 140 words per minute. Ever since I was in the 4th grade in Bayside, Queens — I remember getting a “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” CD-rom, and I learned how to “touch type” at around 11 years old.

I can type very fast, and this helps me very much to blog more. In Elon Musk’s words, I have a faster output of blogging-writing-ideas, because I can type very fast with all 10 of my fingers (instead of just using my two thumbs– which is slower to output information-data).