Day in The Life of a Creative Director in Los Angeles

What's it like working at a startup company in Los Angeles? How do you take a slow and steady approach to a busy lifestyle? How do you get more stuff done in a day?

Hello, 👋 I'm Matthew Encina. I work as a creative professional in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
In a previous life, I was a designer, animator, and a creative director working on TV commercials. Now I teach and create content at The Futur, an education startup, where I help creative professionals sharpen their skills and earn money, doing what they love. This is a typical day in my life.

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🎧 Do you like the music in this video? It's all from MusicBed. Use my link to get your first 30 days for free: http://share.mscbd.fm/matthewencinamusic

🎒 What gear do I use? Complete list here: https://kit.co/MatthewEncina/what-s-i...

0:00 – Who am I?

0:20 – LA drone footage provided by Mark Contreras

👨‍💻 0:25 – What do I do for a living?
I was a Creative Director at https://blind.com/
Now I make content and teach at    / thefuturishere  

⏰ 0:52 – I try to wake up between 6-7am every day to make the most of the morning.

☕️ 1:06 – I LOVE coffee. Below are my favorite coffee tools.
Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle: https://geni.us/StaggEKG
AeroPress Coffee Maker: https://geni.us/aero
Hario Cold Brew: https://geni.us/HarioColdBrew

📱1:28 – I start my day with a dose of GOOD social media @matthewencina.
Tip: If you don't like your feed, curate it. Unfollow accounts and hide content that doesn't enrich your life.

💪🏽 1:40 – I climb, box, dance, and lift weights to stay in shape.
My workout headphones are the Power Beats Pro: https://geni.us/PowerBeats

📝 2:15 – Writing is my brain workout.
I write articles on Medium:   / matthewencina  
Take a tour of my home office:    • DIY Home Office and Desk Tour — Work ...  

🗣 2:30 – I give talks around the world.
Here's one from TED x CSULB:    • Start Before You’re Ready | Matthew E...  

🤼‍♀️ 3:00 – To keep my team productive and organized we use these tools:
Practical Project Management: https://thefutur.com/course/practical...
The App we used to run a virtual post-it note session: https://mural.co
Project management in Notion: https://bit.ly/3FMdM1g
Sprint by Jake Knapp: https://geni.us/DesignSprint
I also recommend AJ & Smart to learn about Design Sprints:    / ajsmart  

🖥 3:35 – Personal planning, inside my office
Notion, my favorite organization tool: http://bit.ly/2MUXPMy
Here's an interview I did on how I use Notion:    • How We Use Notion  | The Futur Editio...  
My appointment app: https://calendly.com
My email app: https://sparkmailapp.com
Like my office? Take a tour:    • Perfect Productive Workspace – Minima...  

🌮 4:25 – LA, hands down, has the best food in the world. I eat healthy (most of the time), and I'm slowly getting on board with this vegan thing 😛.

☕️ 4:48 – Coffee part 2. Revenge of the 3pm energy slump.
At work I use a Chemex to make coffee: https://geni.us/chemex

🤔 5:24 – Focus Sprints help you get so much done.
I explain Focus Sprints, and how to reclaim your productivity in this video:    • 3 Ways to Reclaim your Creativity and...  
The clock is the Amazon Echo Spot (Update 12/19: they've discontinued, and replaced with the Echo Show): https://geni.us/BsC1UW

🎮 5:40 – Taking breaks is as important as working hard.
We love to play Smash Brothers in Nintendo Switch: https://geni.us/NinSwitch

👨‍💻 6:04 – Learn all about our creative community
https://thefutur.com/

🕹 7:02 – Decompression
I spend most evenings playing Xbox after dinner: https://geni.us/onex

👩‍🎨 7:14 – My wife is an artist
You can check out her work:   / belindarodriguezzz  
Take a tour of her mini art studio here: https://kit.com/MatthewEncina/art-wor...
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Hello. I'm Matthew Encina. I'm the Chief Content Officer at The Futur and a Creative Director at Blind. I’m a Filipino-American. Born and raised in LA.

You can find me on many platforms:
Instagram (Workspace Aesthetics):   / mod.musings  
Instagram (Creative Projects & Thoughts):   / matthewencina  
Facebook:   / matthewencina.design  
Twitter:   / matthewencina  
Kit: https://kit.co/MatthewEncina
The Futur:    / thefuturishere  
Medium:   / matthewencina  
Linkedin:   / matthewencina  

#DayInTheLife #Productivity #Startup #TheFutur #MatthewEncina

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