Niels Brabandt

Productivity Tip:
 

Make Time for Learning

Whether you’re building a career or spending your days pottering around at home, it makes sense to make time for learning. Not only do new skills look pretty on your CV, but learning feels good — and keeps your brain healthy.

You might even say learning keeps you young. Research shows that learning new skills protects our brains as we age by delaying cognitive decline and enhancing executive function. 

In this week’s routine breakdown, Niels Brabandt says he dedicates at least an hour a day to learning, every day, no exceptions. But if you don’t have an hour, even 10 minutes a day is enough to start a habit. 

Schedule it into your day, pick something you’re curious about and explore it. If it’s a skill that challenges you a little, even better. Give yourself permission to be a beginner.

Routine Breakdown
 

Niels Brabandt, Entrepreneur, Podcast Host & Founder of NB Networks

Why This Entrepreneur Makes Time to Learn Every Day

Niels Brabandt

Niels Brabandt’s routine grew alongside his career, and he says it’s “very consistent during the working week”. On non-work days, he’s considerably more relaxed.


The Routine:

  • Protect sleep first, rise early second. “On workdays I am up between five and six in the morning, but that is not about proving toughness. My most productive hours are early, so I protect them. On non-work days I sleep until eight or nine, because the actual goal is enough sleep, not suffering for its own sake.”
  • A deliberately boring breakfast. “Pumpernickel bread with turkey breast, and water. Nothing exciting, and that is the point. I want my mornings to run on habit, not decisions.”
  • No coffee, almost no caffeine, and no alcohol, all by choice. “I have never drunk coffee, and during the week I barely touch caffeine at all. I also do not drink alcohol anymore, not because I think it is bad, simply because I am more productive without it.”
  • The whole day is structured, not just the morning. “I take a short walk around ten thirty, a proper lunch break around midday, and a short break again in the afternoon. Dinner is between five and seven, and evenings are often social, dinner with friends or a film, before I sometimes work again later, partly because clients across different time zones need that, and partly because I genuinely like it.”
  • One hour of learning (or more), every single day. “I do this without exception. It is the reason I now hold three master’s degrees and am working toward more. As soon as you stop learning, you fall behind.”
  • Plan far ahead. “I plan up to a year in advance where I can, obviously with room for clients who need something on short notice. When people describe themselves as spontaneous, in my experience it usually means they have not learned to plan, and are looking for a nicer word for it. On non-work days, I still make time for genuine freedom. I am a big fan of electronic music and I go out to techno and house clubs and stay out late, but I hold myself to being productive again the next day regardless.”

Why it works:

  • Niels knows when he works best and plans around it, still making sure he gets enough sleep
  • The same breakfast and a predictable schedule make consistency easier and reduce decision fatigue. 
  • Niels builds in downtime and breaks, which are important for reducing stress and maintaining energy and focus.
  • Instead of waiting until work is quiet to focus on professional development, he builds learning into his day so it always happens!


Overall, Niels looks to strike a balance between work and play, structure and flexibility. What do you think of his routine

Marissa Stapley

Wellness Tip:
 

Give Your Thoughts Somewhere to Go

Ever feel like your mind is totally crowded with thoughts? Well, you may just need to give them somewhere to go. 👉

A handy exercise is simply to set a timer for five minutes and write whatever is on your mind. Typing works too. Don’t worry about making it tidy or even logical: nobody else needs to read it.

Research suggests that writing about your thoughts and feelings can lower stress over time. It’s also thought that “offloading” worrisome thoughts by writing them down can free up mental resources. 

So, why not grab a notebook or open a blank doc and give it a try?

Routine Breakdown
 

Marissa Stapley, New York Times Bestselling Author 

How a Bestselling Author Protects Her Creative Hours

Marissa Stapley

Lucky author Marissa Stapley says mornings, for her and a lot of her colleagues, are “the time when the magic will happen.” That’s why she puts pen to paper before she even gets out of bed.

The Routine:

  • Wakes at 7.30 a.m. Marissa used to wake at 5 a.m. to safeguard her writing time: “Getting up early was the way to get things done.” Now that her kids are older, she wakes at 7.30.
  • Coffee and journaling in bed. Her husband brings her a coffee, and she spends the first hour or two of her day in bed (her cats often hang out with her) journaling and outlining stories with a pen and paper.
  • Moves. She gets in a walk or some exercise. 
  • Gets into creative work. By 10 a.m., she’s at her desk writing. By about 2 p.m., she hits a creative wall and spends the rest of the afternoon on admin work.

 

Why it works:

  • Marissa’s routine is structured to protect and nurture her most creative hours of the day. Journaling gets thoughts flowing and promotes mental health. Walking boosts creative inspiration and provides a break from too much sitting. And leaving the admin work for the afternoon means she prioritizes what’s important over what’s “urgent.”


Research on chronotypes suggests that early risers tend to be more creative in the morning, while night owls hit their creative stride later. It differs from person to person, though. When is your most creative time?

Nicky Wake

Productivity Tip:
 

Schedule a Money Check-In

Money admin has a habit of hanging around in the back of your mind: bills to pay, spending to check, savings goals to revisit. 💸 And you probably won’t be surprised to hear that financial strain has been linked to poorer mental and physical health. 

But you know what else? Studies suggest that simply making a concrete plan for unfinished tasks can reduce the intrusive thoughts they create, freeing up mental space for other things.

So instead of dealing with your finances reactively, try scheduling a weekly or monthly money check-in. Use the time to review your spending, upcoming expenses and progress toward your goals, and make any decisions you’ve been putting off.

Keeping everything in one place helps, too. A dedicated tool like the Panda Planner Financial Planner gives you a structured place to organize your finances and plan ahead.

The goal isn’t to think about money more — it’s to give it a designated time and place so you can think about it less the rest of the week.

Routine Breakdown
 

Nicky Wake, Entrepreneur & Speaker

40 Laps, Inbox Zero & a Very Busy Brain: An Entrepreneur’s Routine

Nicky Wake

“Running six businesses and non-profits means I need structure, but I always leave room for the next big idea,” says Nicky Wake, a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and media commentator. With ventures including Don’t Panic, Chapter 2, and Sober Love, Nicky has learned that each business needs something different from her — and that juggling them all means staying organized while protecting time and headspace to think.


The Routine:

  • Starts the day with a swim. “Whenever I can, I start every working day with 40 lengths. It gives me uninterrupted thinking time. I’ll plan my day and my priorities while I’m in the pool, think through upcoming meetings, work through new product ideas and generally get myself into a positive mindset.” Nicky says swimming became important when she quit drinking and went into rehab. “I wanted to find one positive habit that I could build into my everyday routine, and swimming became my sanctuary.”
  • Keeps her inbox clear. “I’m obsessive about inbox zero and simply can’t unwind properly until I know I’ve dealt with everything that needs my attention or filed it for the appropriate action.” She also keeps an ongoing to-do list on her phone: “I get a ridiculous amount of satisfaction from ticking things off throughout the day.”
  • Makes space for a weekly reset. Nicky has hypnotherapy once a week, a practice she originally began to support her sobriety. “I have a very busy brain and there are always several businesses, communities, ideas and decisions competing for my attention, so I’ve found it really helpful to have that regular time to clear my head and refocus.”
  • Builds networking into her working week. “I really believe you’re only as good as your little black book, and I’m a demon networker,“ says Nicky, who goes to business events and hosts lunches regularly. “Some of the best opportunities I’ve had have come through relationships and conversations rather than anything particularly formal.”
  • Protects time for the people closest to her. However busy work gets, Nicky makes time for her partner Dan every weekend and at least one evening during the week. She has also made spending an hour or two each day with her son Finn a priority, although that routine is changing as he heads to university.
  • Is learning to switch off. “I’m a complete workaholic and make no secret of the fact that I love what I do.” Her partner recently bought her a Kindle to encourage more downtime, and she’s trying to read rather than automatically finding something else to work on. “The only problem is that I have to stop myself from filling the Kindle with business books, otherwise I’m not sure it really counts as switching off!”

 

Why it works:

  • Nicky’s routine balances structure with mental space. Simple systems like inbox zero and a running to-do list keep the practical side of a busy working life under control, while swimming and weekly hypnotherapy give her dedicated time to think, reset, and generate ideas. Just as importantly, she deliberately makes room for relationships and downtime rather than expecting them to happen around work.


If you have trouble switching off, as Nicky does, it can help to protect your downtime just as deliberately as you protect your working hours. Whether it’s reading, swimming, or something else entirely, try to find something that gives your brain permission to clock off.

Ben Shelton

Wellness Tip:
 

Use Your Emotions Instead of Fighting Them

This week’s routine belongs to tennis player Ben Shelton, whose approach to competition got us thinking about the role emotions can play in performance. 🤔

Shelton doesn’t try to stay cool and collected on court. He gets fired up, celebrates loudly, and draws energy from the crowd. 🔥

When we’re nervous about something, our instinct is often to try to calm down or push those feelings away. But what if, instead of fighting them, we changed the way we thought about them?

Anxiety and excitement can feel remarkably similar in the body: a racing heart, butterflies, sweaty palms, and a surge of energy. Research has found that simply reframing pre-performance anxiety as excitement can help people feel more confident and perform better.

For example, rather than seeing a pounding heart as a sign that something is going wrong, you might recognize it as your body preparing you to meet a challenge.

So next time you’re nervous, frustrated, or overly excited before something important, don’t immediately ask, “How do I calm down?” Try asking, “How can I use this energy?”

Routine Breakdown
 

Ben Shelton, Pro Tennis Player

How Tennis Star Ben Shelton Stays Grounded

Ben Shelton

How does one of the world’s top-five tennis players use ritual, routine, and downtime to maintain a healthy mindset? Talking to On, 23-year-old tennis sensation Ben Shelton explained what keeps him in balance.

The Routine:

  • Starts match day with a shower. He doesn’t consider it a superstition; it’s simply a familiar way to begin the day before the unpredictability of competition.
  • Uses music to switch into competition mode. Shelton describes his pre-match routines as being about getting “fired up.” Music plays a big role in that transition (he loves hip-hop, especially Lil Baby). His pre-game playlist gives him a familiar ritual before he walks onto the court.
  • Lets emotion fuel performance. Rather than trying to become completely calm or detached under pressure, Shelton embraces his natural intensity. He smiles, celebrates, interacts with spectators and draws energy from the crowd.
  • Makes space for genuine downtime. Away from tennis, Shelton spends time with friends, watches movies, reads and listens to music.
  • Reconnects with people after difficult matches. Tennis can be a solitary sport, something Shelton became particularly aware of after experiencing the team environment of college tennis. Relationships remain an important counterbalance to that isolation. After difficult matches, he turns to his girlfriend, family and the people close to him, and stays connected with former teammates.
  • Keeps learning beyond his main pursuit. Shelton keeps interests outside tennis. He reads finance books in his downtime and, despite leaving university early to turn pro, still plans to finish his finance degree one day.
  • Focuses on progress rather than perfection. Despite his rapid rise through professional tennis, Shelton still talks about himself as a work in progress. “I’m competitive and I want to win but I have to remind myself that I’m nowhere near where I want to be with some things,” he says.

 

Why it works:

  • Shelton’s approach to performance, both on and off the court, is refreshingly simple. A few familiar rituals, time to switch off, strong relationships, and interests beyond tennis give him steady anchors around the intensity and unpredictability of professional sport.


“Progress over perfection” is a well-worn mantra, but that’s with good reason. Taking small, consistent steps — and accepting mistakes as part of the process — helps us build momentum without getting derailed when things don’t go perfectly.

Harry Donald

Productivity Tip:
 

Draw the Problem

Ever thought of drawing your way through a problem instead of writing it out?

Harry Donald, who shares his “thinking routine” below, sets aside time once or twice a week to work through ideas visually. “There are lots of ideas that are easy to articulate on pen and paper, but there are some that aren’t ready formed in your head,” he says. “Writing them down is not always the best way to get clarity on what those ideas actually are.” 

Whether on paper or digitally, he says you can draw the tension around a problem, or sketch out flows or journeys. “Something about working visually allows you to see where the issue / tension really is and sometimes even helps you with the size of it.”

There’s some science behind this. A 2023 review describes drawing as a cognitive tool that can help make visible the otherwise invisible contents of our minds — giving us another way to explore and make sense of an idea.

Try it this week: Pick one problem that’s been circling your brain and spend 10 minutes drawing it. Boxes, arrows, stick figures, scribbles, whatever! Don’t try to make it look good; just try to make the problem visible.

Routine Breakdown
 

Harry Donald, Founder of Hugo Date

Walk, Draw, Talk: A Founder’s Thinking Routine

Harry Donald

Got a lot of thoughts bouncing around? Entrepreneur and founder Harry Donald does, so rather than your usual morning routine, he shared with us his “thinking routine” — a set of steps and tools he uses to stay creative and mentally flexible.

The Routine:

  • Start every week with one question: what is the single problem that, if solved, would make all other problems go away? “Obviously no single problem makes everything else disappear. But asking myself the question forces me to isolate the thing that actually ‘moves the needle’ and put everything else to the side for a bit.”
  • Go for a walk or a drive twice a day, every day, for 30 minutes. “I have ADHD therefore struggle heavily at desks, sitting in cubicles, etc. However I also need to spend 12 hours a day on my laptop. Walking around or even driving gives me something light to focus on, and this allows me to focus in a way that staring at a screen doesn’t. I do this twice a day, scheduled, and whenever I hit a wall on something. 99% of the best ideas I’ve had have come on these ‘wanders’.”
  • Talk to five strangers a day. “I don’t do this for networking or serendipity but purely because you have to acknowledge your own perspective is narrow and always will be. Even if it takes 100 conversations, you will find one that fundamentally changes how you think about a problem and either gives you the solution or triggers a thought that leads you there. These strangers should be either found online or in the street. Throw things at the wall, the success rate will be low but it gets you there. It’s simply good for your soul and expands your brain.”
  • Do 1–2 creative exercises per week that aren’t writing. See “Draw the Problem” above!


Why it works:

  • Walking, talking to new people, thinking visually… This routine is really about getting your brain out of its usual grooves so you can stay creative, find solutions, and get a change of perspective. All of that is powerful. Research supports some of these habits: walking can boost creative idea generation, while mind-wandering may help with creative problem-solving by giving ideas time to incubate. Interacting with people with different perspectives can also encourage more flexible thinking.


The common thread? Sometimes the best way to think harder is to stop staring at the problem quite so hard. 

Kate Hughes

Wellness Tip:
 

Cultivate Resilience

How well can you bounce back from difficult experiences? That ability is what we call resilience, and the good news is it’s something you can build. 💪

One way to do that is through mindfulness. 

When she shared her routine with us (below), mindfulness expert Kate Hughes told us how her meditation practice has helped her navigate some incredibly tough times.

“I can honestly say that my baseline level of contentment is unshakeable, and in recent months I have lost my father and my partner’s cancer came back,” says Kate. “In recent years I have had other bereavements through suicide that I do not know how I would have navigated without my practice.”

There’s no single mindfulness practice you need to follow. PsychCentral suggests several techniques that can help you manage stress and build resilience:

  • 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding techniques, where you notice things in your surroundings.
  • Mindfulness meditation or a body scan meditation.
  • Progressive muscle relaxation to release tension in the body.
  • Various mindful breathing or deep breathing exercises.


If, like us, you’re inspired by Kate to flex your resilience muscles, pick one and give it a try. Let us know how it works for you.

Routine Breakdown
 

Kate Hughes, Mindfulness Expert & Founder of Kate Hughes Meditation

How a Mindfulness Expert Builds Resilience Every Day

 

Kate Hughes

“My morning routine involves meditation, which has been a key part in my emotional and physical health since I suffered burnout as a lawyer in 2014,” says Kate Hughes. “I know that this practice helps boost my resilience, ability to be calm in the moment, and to be far more present than I ever have been.”

The Routine:

  • Meditates. “I get up and brush my teeth. I have a glass of water and I sit and meditate for around 20 minutes. The meditation itself has not changed. It is mindful meditation rooted in the Rinzai Zen tradition; simple yet effective.”
  • Journals. “I then journal some set questions every day, although sometimes the questions change or I free-write.“
  • Moves. “Since I began this routine, I have worked open-water swimming and an online exercise class into it, but I very rarely miss my meditation.”

 

Why it works:

  • Mindfulness and gratitude both support resilience and wellbeing. As Kate says, “To be focused, grounded and positive means that a totally different version of me shows up for the day. I used to wake up and think, ‘How will I get through this?’ Now I am hopeful and far more positive thanks to my daily gratitudes. I am able to manage the stresses of everyday life, whereas previously I was flying by the seat of my pants in every area, and life was something that happened to me, not for me.”

While there’s no need to beat ourselves up if we miss a day (life happens), consistency can make a difference when it comes to meditation and mindfulness. You don’t need to start with 20 minutes, either. Start small, choose something that feels sustainable, and think about how you can turn your practice into a routine or ritual.