Entropy-Based Day Design
Split your day into releasing and constraining entropy to protect creative output
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 78%
Koe sorts every day into two modes: releasing entropy (unfocused, open, ideas flowing) and constraining entropy (focused, disciplined building). The morning is protected — a phone-free walk to set a single creative intention, so no rogue thought clouds the day. He then does the novel, long-term project first (a book or new build) because it needs the most effort, followed by his main levers, writing that pulls traffic. A walk creates a segment, after which he lets people in: email, Slack, Telegram, and low-focus admin. The gym is a hard separator, and the rest of the day becomes free-flow reading, writing, and dabbling. Discipline — primarily saying no — is what allows the creativity to emerge.
Origin
Koe developed this from his own practice as a full-time writer designing his lifestyle around peak creativity rather than reactive productivity.
Core principles
- 01Guard the morning from rogue inputs that cloud the whole day
- 02Do the novel, hardest creative work before the world gets in
- 03Discipline (saying no) is the container that lets creativity flow
- 04Use walks as segments to transition between creative and social modes
How to run it
- 1
Phone-free morning walk
Wake and walk with morning sunlight, no phone, sole intention on what you'll write or build. Find a starting point for when you sit down.
Pro tip Don't do anything that could plant a rogue thought that clouds the rest of your day.
Watch out Checking Slack or one email in the morning derails focus for hours.
- 2
Novel project first
Start with the hardest, most novel work — a book or longer-term project that requires extra effort — while your mind is freshest.
- 3
Pull your main levers
Move to your core output that drives traffic — for Koe, newsletter and social posts. If not building a product, this is the priority.
- 4
Segment, then let people in
Take a walk to mark the transition, then handle email, Slack, Telegram, and maintenance or admin work that needs little focused attention.
Pro tip A walk between modes creates a clean psychological boundary.
- 5
Gym as a hard separator
Use the gym to cut the day in two. Afterward the day becomes free-flow: read, write, dabble, do priority tasks if any exist.
Pro tip Pace between productivity and creativity rather than forcing rigid blocks in the back half.
In the wild
Koe deliberately blurs the lines between creativity, productivity, and health. The morning walk both delivers sunlight and generates the day's writing angle. The novel project goes first because it demands the most, then writing that pulls traffic. A second walk segments the day before communications open, the gym hard-separates work from evening, and the rest is a loose pacing of reading and writing. Every block does double duty toward his goals.
→ Consistent creative output with protected deep-work hours and no early-day distraction.
Common mistakes
Opening comms too early
Checking Slack or email in the morning plants distracting threads that fragment attention for the rest of the day.
Assuming creativity needs no discipline
Free-flow output still requires disciplined nos up front; without them, distractions arrive before the creative work is done.
Is it for you?
Best for
Writers and creators whose output depends on undistracted morning focus.
Not ideal for
Roles requiring constant early-morning responsiveness to others.
From the transcript
“lump them into two categories where it's releasing or constraining entropy ... in the morning don't touch your phone don't do anything that would cause…”
“there still is an importance of discipline within the act of being creative ... primarily saying no in order to then allow the creativity to…”
From the episode
How To Design Your Life For Peak Creativity - Dan Koe - #894
Dan Koe