So last Tuesday I was scrolling through some videos when I saw this headline screaming about David Almaraz’s work secrets. Guy runs like five companies? Figured, why not, maybe he’s cracked some code I haven’t. Grabbed a coffee and dove straight into his stuff, hunting for those top three secrets everyone was hyping about.
Starting Point: The Chaos Zone
My desk looked like a tornado hit it. Papers everywhere, three different to-do lists scribbled on random sticky notes, and my email notifications were basically fireworks. Felt overwhelmed before even starting the actual work. Classic Monday vibe every single day. This had to stop. Almaraz kept hammering on about focus being the bedrock. Okay, fine. Day one experiment: killing distractions.
- Unplugged the wifi router for 90-minute chunks. Sounds drastic? Yup. Hurt like hell.
- Shoved my phone into a drawer. Out of sight, kinda out of mind.
- Told my housemate flat out: “If it’s not on fire, don’t knock.”
First hour felt like detox. By hour two? Actually finished that project proposal that’d been rotting for a week. Maybe he was onto something.
Secret Two: The Ruthless Cutting
Next up, he talked about merciless prioritization. Made a list of everything I “needed” to do. Then, Almaraz-style, I asked: “Does this actually push the needle today?” Brutal.
- Checked social media engagement stats? Deleted it from the list. Could wait.
- Replied to non-urgent “just checking in” emails? Nuked ‘em.
- Scrapped two “nice-to-have” tasks clinging onto my schedule.
Looked at my newly thin list. Felt scary, like I was being lazy. But here’s the kicker: with only two actual critical tasks left for the afternoon, I crushed both by 3 PM. Legit finished early. My brain felt… lighter.
The Hardest One: Resting (!)
His third secret sounded like nonsense to me: schedule strict rest periods. Me? I power through. Lunch at the desk, always. Almaraz insisted high performers plan downtime like meetings. Felt counterintuitive as heck. But, experiment demands commitment.
Wednesday lunchtime: I actually blocked 60 minutes on my calendar. Labeled it “DO NOT DISTURB – LUNCH BREAK.” Walked away from the desk. Ate outside. Stared at a tree for 10 minutes. Didn’t check work once. Felt weirdly guilty but… also kinda refreshed? Came back and smashed the afternoon coding session faster than usual. Who knew staring at leaves counted as productivity?
One Week Later: The Messy Results
So, did copying David Almaraz’s secrets turn me into a productivity god? Nope. Life’s messier than that. I still accidentally checked Slack during a focus block once. And scheduling rest felt stupid some days. But the underlying ideas stuck:
- Protected focus time is non-negotiable now (mostly).
- Cutting fluff tasks saves actual weeks over a year.
- Forced breaks stopped the 4 PM crash-and-burn cycle.
Progress, not perfection. Still figuring it out. Maybe that’s the real secret.
