Do what you love.
It sounds simple, but for me, it’s the principle that guides everything. When you build your life around what actually energizes you, everything else falls into place. If you’re curious about what that looks like in practice, let me share a bit of my daily reality.
My schedule is fairly strict. Every weekday, I wake up three hours before my day job starts. That gives me a dedicated, uninterrupted two hours every morning to write my novel.
After my morning writing session, I transition to my full-time job as a software engineer for a US-based company. I work out of our London office near Holborn Station on some days, and from home on others. I genuinely love what I do—it’s a passion that pushed me to start studying computer science in London when I was 33, balancing university while working long, hectic hours in a restaurant kitchen. I earned my degree at 37, the same year I made my career transition into tech.
Every day, I learn something new about cloud systems, AI, and software architecture. And when my shift ends at 17:30, I usually spend an extra hour at my laptop building personal side projects to apply what I’ve learned. Over the years, I must have built dozens of web apps just for the joy of creating.
By the evening, it’s time to move. I usually head to a boxing or Muay Thai class, cook dinner, and wind down with a physical book. After spending all day looking at screens, reading a printed book is the only way I truly relax—I rarely turn on the TV.
My weekends follow a similar rhythm, mixed with plenty of downtime. Sometimes I explore different neighborhoods in London or take day trips around England. Often, I’ll train with friends from the gym, read, write, or code.
Last Sunday was a perfect example: I spent four hours working on my manuscript in the morning, followed by a heavy Muay Thai session. I picked up some fresh groceries, made lunch at home, rested, had an espresso, and then coded until the evening. After dinner, I read until bedtime. To anyone else, that might sound like a workday, but to me, it was a deeply restorative Sunday.
When people hear about my routine, some call it crazy, overbooked, or exhausting. But they’re missing the point: when you love what you do, it doesn't drain you—it fills you up. I love writing. I love coding. I love reading. I love martial arts.
You only get one life. You don't have to copy my routine, but don't ignore the core lesson: find what you love, and make room for it every single day. It changes everything.
