Contemplating Productivity in Latin America

As I have written in other articles about life in Latin America….

There comes a point at which you have to consider your life setup in Latin America.

This article, similar to other ones, I feel is more for young people like me than older folks.

I could be completely wrong though.

But I always suspected that other young folks – especially those new to Latin America – are less likely to consider what I’m going to say here.

To keep it simple – it’s fun and all to party most nights and get wasted.

To hunt for pussy most days of the week.

And to repeat both of those things without taking into consideration your own life schedule and how well you are setting yourself up for the future.

As I wrote here, sometimes gringos only focus on the lower cost of living but not how much income they make relative to their long term goals.

As I wrote in another previous article that I will publish soon, it is also important for gringos to have a purpose in life while living down here.

Especially if you are young.

So that way you have something deeper that gives you happiness while living down here.

And so you have something deeper to wake up to excited to focus on.

Both of those last points seem extremely obvious but they can be so easily forgotten by folks living down here.

Especially as every day becomes Friday and you only focus on the fun but nothing serious long term.

For me, I’ve had those years in the beginning of just pursuing excitement most days without thinking about the future.

Nowadays, I’ve become a little bit more depressed to be honest and have been drinking a lot again.

So, to be fair, this article is as much for me as it is for you.

To just write down a schedule and daily tips for how to be more productive down here.

For any gringo who needs it – young or old.

Experienced or inexperienced with life down here.

Anyway, this schedule isn’t going to be perfect.

So if you have any tips, throw them down in the comment section way below.

Thanks and let’s get to it.

Tip 1: When to Wake Up?

Plenty of folks will say to wake up as early as possible to be the most productive.

I can see that.

Unless your work calls for it though, I wouldn’t wake up with an alarm clock.

I hate alarm clocks and they always made me feel more tired waking up when I lived back in the US.

Or when I use one because I have to be up for a certain hour in the morning down here.

Personally, I find I can be as productive even if I wake up later at around 10 or 11 AM.

So I don’t agree so much with this piece of advice.

Also, for my line of work, it sometimes makes more sense for me to be working later into the night anyway.

And also it just works better for me all around.

If I was to wake up in the morning, I’d only do so if it involved waking up at like 4 or 5 AM.

So that way I can get to work right away and get done with what I need before the afternoon begins.

Because I strongly prefer having the entire afternoon to myself to do whatever I want.

Be it going on dates, meeting up with friends, going for a drink, a walk outside, grocery shopping, laundry, making tea, etc.

So for me, it’s either work in the very early hours of the morning or later into the night.

And I prefer the night anyway.

So when to wake up?

Depends on you but have a schedule for it.

For me, I prefer to wake up around 10 or 11 AM at latest when I am waking up around those hours.

And how much to sleep?

People usually say 8 hours.

Being honest, I can never seem to go for a full 8 hours.

I always wake up at around 6 to 7 hours and never feel tired enough to fall back asleep.

Tip 2: Working Out

Right away, I feel it would be best to work out as early as possible when you get up.

I know some folks don’t want to do that and that is OK.

However, from what I heard, working out right as you wake up before you eat anything can be helpful for burning the right fat.

Since you haven’t consumed anything yet in the day.

At any rate, getting it done now seems preferable for that reason from what I understand.

But also because you can work out right away before you’d take a shower anyway.

Which can be your next thing to focus on.

Maybe have an apple or two though after finishing your workout so you don’t feel as hungry.

Tip 3: Eating

My eating schedule now is actually what I feel works for me.

I usually just have lunch and dinner.

I’m not much of a breakfast person to be honest.

So usually I just eat more or less at around 12 or 1 PM and then about 8 hours later more or less.

Which is basically what intermittent fasting looks like from what I understand even though I’m not aiming to do that specifically.

It just works out that way.

If we were to make an ideal eating schedule though when it comes to building more muscle mass.

Which I’m not an expert on but is something I want to be better at.

Based on what I’ve read, I feel it would make more sense to divide up my meals a little bit better.

Maybe have that third meal and make it more protein based.

Because based on what I understand, supposedly the body can only utilize so much protein at once.

So maybe divide it up better.

Tip 4: Drinking

This is probably one of the worst things about me nowadays.

Is controlling the drinking a bit better on my end.

It adds a lot of endless calories for one.

But also you can argue has not been helpful for my mental health either.

As I’ve written elsewhere, I’ve had days where I’m just alone drinking and listening to music while thinking about the past.

It isn’t helpful.

One thing I’m aiming to do once April begins (meaning after this is published) is to only drink when I have a date over.

But just one drink and nothing more.

And put the bottle down the rest of the month.

At least then it won’t interfere with my health goals and not keep me at home thinking about stuff.

Tip 5: Chicas

This is another thing that gringos can sometimes be guilty of.

Basically only hanging out with chicks they want to fuck.

And nobody else.

No real friends.

Just only going outside to meet someone if that someone is someone that they are trying to stick their dick inside of.

Sure, the chicas can be fun.

Nothing wrong with that.

The only advice here is to have some real friends in your life that are not sucking your dick also.

I have a few myself.

And they help me at times personally.

And can be just fun to hang out with.

Without real friends down here, I don’t see how you can truly be happy with life down here.

If you don’t have any real social network of people you actually like being with.

Tip 6: Family?

Speaking of having a social network…

Should you have a family down here?

I’ve always been of the opinion that having a family in Latin America is not necessarily the wisest choice.

Given the issues that come with the land down here.

I can handle myself but I would always be cautious with raising kids down here unless it was in Argentina, Chile or Uruguay.

The rest of Latin America?

It can work.

Plenty of folks pull it off.

I’d just be more hesitant.

Still, it’s something to think about long term for yourself.

If you want kids or not.

A wife or not.

A family.

Can definitely give you deeper purpose in life down here.

Which goes to the next point…

Tip 7: The Purpose

Do you have a purpose in life?

A family?

A business?

A job you love?

Some hobbies down here that you really enjoy so much?

I strongly recommend pursuing that purpose.

Which is true for wherever you live in life.

Not just Latin America.

But I emphasize it here because it can be easy to fall into a life of depression down here if you don’t have some purpose I feel.

If your life is just drinking and fucking…

After a while, I do feel that can make someone feel rather empty.

So try to find a purpose.

Something to make you happy.

That you enjoy.

Tip 8: Enjoy Life

The next thing to enjoy beyond your purpose…

Is to also just do side things that you really enjoy down here.

For me, that means taking trips.

I like taking side trips.

Could be to another country or somewhere local.

Where you can travel and see something so nice in Latin America.

That reminds you of how nice this region can be.

With its history and beautiful scenery in the countryside.

Don’t forget to have a real life also obviously that involves doing things you enjoy.

But what about something simple?

Tip 9: A Walk Outside

Just take a walk outside.

This is especially important if you ever find yourself in a depressive episode down here…

Stuck inside your apartment all day just drinking and coping with stuff.

Go take a walk outside.

Get sunlight.

Appreciate the trees.

Appreciate you are life.

And can enjoy just the simple things around you.

While you are outside, also remember one thing…

Tip 10: Don’t Take it Personal

Just when you are living down here in general…

Don’t take things personal when something to do with life down here happens that annoys you.

Maybe you are sitting in a park just relaxing and some random person begs you for money.

Gets aggressive.

Perhaps you trip when walking because the sidewalks are not constructed properly.

Whatever the minor issue is with life down here.

Don’t take it personally.

Learn to be nuanced with life down here.

To take the bad with the good.

And see Latin America for what it is.

Not a terrible place to always think about the bad.

But not to kiss its ass either.

Appreciate what you have down here.

And don’t let the negative live in your mind rent free.

Finally, one last tip…

Tip 11: List of Stuff to Do

For me, I have two things on my list I always try to do that I rotate between the days.

For one day, I read a book for one hour.

Any book.

Just read something.

For the following day, I just casually learn some new Spanish vocabulary or whatever.

Something to improve my language skills.

I’ve been planning on doing this with Portuguese because I’d like to spend some time in Brazil in the future.

At any rate, that’s one thing on my schedule.

Other things might be something I have to do with my websites.

Or something simple like laundry or whatever.

Have a list of things to do anyway.

To keep your mind preoccupied for a tiny bit a day.

And to get the things you need to get done anyway.

When you have your life made down here, it can be so easy to let things slide and not get them done.

Which ultimately means they pile up on you and you have to face the music later.

Feeling stressed about getting it all done now.

With some of it being fucked.

So just don’t let that happen.

Anything Else?

Like I said, if you have any tips yourself for having a productive day while living abroad, drop them below in the comment section.

I might include it in this article.

At any rate, thanks for reading.

And follow my Twitter here.

Best regards,

Matt