Welcome To Alpine Rugged

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here.

A year ago I was burned out and feeling like I was just muddling along. Truthfully, really the last 10 years had been like that for me. I'd purchase books I would never read, I'd plan projects I would never begin, I'd create long to-do lists that would simply sit on my desktop. Chances are you recognize the feeling. It seemed the pressure of all the things I wanted to accomplish was suffocating my productivity to accomplish anything at all. I was at a standstill.

I had heard of "productivity hacks" previously but wrote them off. Kinda seemed like buzz words and BS. Not for me, after all I'm a seasoned writer, director, and producer who is used to meeting deadlines. But I found I was wasting so much time throughout the day and I was only interested in getting work done so I could spend time doomscrolling or playing video games. I had lost my creative spark and I was just going through the motions.

I was burnt out.

Finding the Building Blocks

My wife introduced me to the Pomodoro Technique about a year and a half ago. Essentially it's a system where you work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. You focus, rest, and then repeat until you require a longer break. It;s dead simple, but it really helped me focus and provided me with multiple small victories throughout the day. It even encouraged me to begin doing tasks I had been delaying. Rather than feeling overwhelmed and then feeling terrible about it, I was really getting tasks completed in bite-sized chunks that didn’t feel overwhelming.

That was the gateway drug. That was what kicked off a dedicated search for more and more productivity hacks, systems, and motivation tools.

What I've Learned—and Why I'm Sharing It

These approaches have assisted me over the last year:

• Relieve overload by breaking down tasks into bite-sized increments.

• Stay concentrated even when my inbox beeps.

• Balance productivity with self-care so hustle doesn't become burnout.

But the truth is: I’m still learning. Productivity is not a finish line but a long-term path of experimentation, adaptation, and progress.