Please live near work. Following is my triangle (home, work, gym), net distance is 1.5km. It reduces travel, stress, inefficiencies and net net better for the environment.
Do you really need a car? Great break down by Deepak Abbot on Owning vs. Ride Sharing (Uber/Ola)
If you can, own your time to work and back. I used Google Maps (toggle the time/day) to find my optimal travel time.
Best time to go to the gym? Simply ask the trainers when they train. Thinner crowds and free advice.
Try lucid dreaming. I have an hour gap between alarm 1 (wake) and alarm 2 (fully wake). It's awesome.
I have 2 heavy meals a day which are home cooked with a 15 hour gap between dinner and breakfast.
Once upon a time I could do 3-4 hours / night as a banker. Today I literally won’t be able to function unless I get 8–9 hours of sleep.
My work day starts the night before. 10:30pm - 1:30/2:30am. I first time all my emails, slack messages for the following morning, replies to which typically form my day. Then I work on 1 core task distraction free with some chill music (these days I'm loving generative.fm.)
Post the gym, I plan my day around email and slack replies. Typically breaking down the day into small tasks (< 30 mins). ie. To dos, Calls, meetings, etc. I save the larger tasks for my night slot.
There are plenty of planners out there I use workflowy for all my planning and kaagaz.io for my notes.
I believe in personal days, mine is mid-week on Wednesday where I skip the gym and kick it off with a trip to my local barber for a trim and Champi with Navratan Oil (my favourite time of the week).
My routine as it stands today. (Note: I'm currently unmarried with no family)
“Give a man a reputation as an early riser, and he can sleep ’til noon.” — Mark Twain